Duoderm Dressings Support Optimal Wound Healing: Four Advantages of Moist Wound Healing

Conventional thought regarding wound healing has changed in recent years.  Instead of "airing out" wounds, as was once standard advice, medical science now recommends moist wound healing.  Today's Duoderm dressings and other wound care products fill this need.

What is a "moist wound healing"?  This refers to the condition in which a wound is most optimally and effectively able to heal.  Rather than exposing a wound to air and allowing it to dry out, the area is kept moist.

Moist wound healing can only occur when special dressings, such as Duoderm dressings, are used to cover the area.  They contain a substance known as hydrocolloids.  Hydrocolloids form a gel when they come into contact with water/moisture.

In the case of Duoderm dressings, the hydrocolloid substance becomes a gel when it mixes with the exudate from a wound.  This gel helps to facilitate moist wound healing which encourages the growth of new skin cells, connective tissue and capillaries.

Until the early 1960's, wounds were typically dressed with plain gauze, which led to wounds drying out.  At the time, medical professionals believed that keeping a wound dry was better for the healing process.

British doctor George D. Winter discovered in 1962 that epithelialization occurred twice as fast in moist wounds as in dry ones.  "Epithelialization" refers to the skin's ability to generate new cells which migrate to the surface of the exposed area to protect it from invading microbes.  Since then, science has been researching and developing dressings that encourage a moist wound healing environment.

Hydrocolloids, like those found in Duoderm dressings, have four major advantages over gauze and other non-hydrocolloid dressings:

1) More rapid epithelialization.  As already noted, this process occurs twice as fast with hydrocolloids as it does without.  Essentially, this means that the wound is exposed for a much shorter time to the possibility of invading microbes, which can lead to infection.

2) Prevents the formation of scabs.  Scabs result from a dry healing environment.  Scabs prevent epithelial cells from spreading through wound exudate, which closes the wound more naturally.  Preventing the formation of scabs allows for the faster replacement of skin cells.  It also reduces the scarring that is associated with scab formation.

3) Fewer dressing changes.  Ordinary dressings must be changed frequently, sometimes several times in a day.  This increases the risk of introducing microbes in the wound and creating an infection.  It also increases the risk of pain and scarring.

Hydrocolloids, like Duoderm dressings, can remain on the wound for several days a time.  In fact, these dressings work best when not changed frequently.  Less disturbance of the wound results in lower risk of infection and scarring.

4) Less painful dressing removal.  Hydrocolloid dressings can be removed much more painlessly than other types of dressings.  They also leave the newly-healed wound intact, unlike ordinary dressings which can disturb the area and tear away new skin cells.

Moist wound healing is now almost universally accepted by the medical profession as the most optimal way to treat wounds.  Duoderm dressings and other hydrocolloid dressings help to ensure that the optimal wound environment is maintained throughout the duration of the treatment.  The result is faster healing, less infection, and better care.