• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Course Login

WoundEducators.com | Online Wound Care Certification Courses

Your online source for wound care certification.

  • Courses
  • About Us
    • Meet The Team
    • Risk-Free Guarantee
    • Accredited Wound Care Course Info
    • Student Testimonials
    • Our Mission to Help
  • Why Certify?
    • What’s Included
    • How Hard is Wound Care Certification?
    • Wound Care Certification Cost
    • Wound Care Certification for Nurses
    • Getting Started: Wound Care Certification
  • Resources
    • Sign up for Our Newsletter
    • Search Wound Care Jobs
    • Post a Wound Care Job
    • Submit Your Resume
    • I Completed My Wound Care Course – Now What?
    • Wound Care CE Hours Online
    • Wound Care Recertification Process
  • Certifications
    • Compare Wound Care Certification Options
    • ABWM® Wound Care Certifications
      • The CWCA® Certification
      • The CWS® Certification
      • The CWSP® Wound Care Certification
    • The WCC® Certification
    • The AWCC® Wound Care Certification
    • The CWCN® Certification
  • Blog
  • FAQ’s
  • Contact

Gauze Dressings – Wound Care Products

September 14, 2010 3 Comments

2
SHARES
ShareTweetGoogle +Linkedin
PinterestRedditTumblrStumbleuponDiggDelicious

Gauze has been used as a wound dressing for centuries, and continues to be the most readily available wound dressing in use today. A wide variety of gauze dressings are available, with choices to be made between sterile and non-sterile types, gauzes with and without an adhesive border, and woven and non-woven gauze dressings. Woven gauzes are manufactured from cotton yam or threads and woven like fabric. Non-woven gauzes are usually manufactured from synthetic fibers, which are pressed together to give the appearance of a woven fabric. Gauze may be used as a primary or secondary wound dressing.

Gauze remains popular largely because of its cost-effectiveness in one-time or short-term use. However, as we shall see, gauze dressings have a number of drawbacks, and in most situations, a more effective alternative can usually be found.

Gauze dressings can be used dry, moist, or impregnated with petrolatum, antiseptics, or other agents. The choice of product requires careful wound assessment, with the application continually monitored as the patient’s condition changes.

Dry gauze dressings are often used as the primary dressing for heavily exuding, open wounds. In this situation, the gauze will wick away the exudate. Dry gauze dressings can also be used to protect a closed wound from additional trauma or infection.

Moist gauze dressings are used to help maintain a moist wound healing environment. When moist gauzes are applied to the wound and allowed to dry out, they become known as ‘wet-to-dry’ dressings. Wet-to-dry dressings are sometimes used for mechanical debridement. A moist gauze adheres to the necrotic tissue as it dries out, allowing the necrotic tissue to be removed when the dressing is removed. However, this method of debridement is not universally liked, for a number of reasons. It is non-selective, meaning that the gauze may remove granulation tissue as well as necrotic tissue. The gauze often becomes embedded in dried exudate, making dressing removal painful. Finally, fibers from the gauze may be left in the wound, prolonging wound healing or causing infection.

An impregnated gauze is infused with a substance that aids healing, such as an antiseptic, hydrogel or a hypertonic saline solution. This type of dressing is used as the wound contact layer and requires a secondary dressing. Antimicrobial-impregnated gauzes, such as silver-infused pads, are often used on burn victims to prevent bacterial infection. Hypertonic saline-impregnated dressings are infused with sodium chloride, which wicks moisture away from wounds with excessive exudate. As hypertonic saline dressings depend on wound moisture to moisten them, they are not appropriate for minimally draining wounds or wounds covered with dehydrated slough or eschar.

Gauze dressings can be used on both infected and non-infected wounds of any size, shape, depth, or etiology. If used on a non-draining or minimally-draining wound, a topical agent should be applied to the wound bed to help maintain a moist wound environment. Alternatively, the gauze may be pre-moistened with normal saline. If used on a highly- draining wound, by contrast, additional layers should be used to aid in absorption.

Impregnated-gauze dressings may be used as a contact layer on granulating wounds. They may also help prevent exposed tendons from dehydrating or adhering to the primary dressing. Impregnated gauze dressing are usually comfortable and can be removed without causing pain, making them ideal for use on sensitive wounds and burns.

Despite the ongoing popularity of gauzes, these dressings have a number of significant drawbacks. Woven gauze may traumatize the wound bed on removal, or leave residue in the wound bed that may result in an inflammatory response, or the formation of a granuloma. Finally, as gauze is highly permeable and relatively non-occlusive, gauze dressings may promote desiccation in wounds with minimal exudate unless used in combination with another dressing or topical agent.

To learn more about these dressings and others, you may wish to consider becoming certified as a wound care specialist. The benefits of wound certification are immeasurable, both to your own career and to the standard of care that you can offer your patients. And, because Medicare and other organizations are now holding healthcare professionals responsible for outcomes in wound care, there has never been a better time to become a wound care specialist.

Learn More With Our Wound Care Education Options

Interested in learning more about wound care and certification? Browse through our wound care certification courses for information on our comprehensive range of education options to suit healthcare professionals across the full spectrum of qualifications and experience.

 

Categories: Wound Products

About the Author

Laurie Swezey's avatar

Laurie Swezey, founder and president of WoundEducators.com, has been a Registered Nurse for more than a quarter century, with most of those years dedicated to wound treatment. Ms. Swezey is a Certified Wound Care Nurse and a Certified Wound Specialist.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    October 23, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    Very informative and concise

    Reply
  2. Cain Mark says

    September 12, 2019 at 1:31 am

    I read the blog that was full of information regarding wound and care for it. Thanks for sharing this.

    Reply
  3. Ayesha mark says

    September 26, 2019 at 6:24 am

    Thanks for posting such a nice blog.
    Your blog is very informative and is useful for many peoples.

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

Free Preview!

Sign up for our newsletter and enjoy a Free Preview of our Wound Care Certification Course!

Support Our “Where There’s a Wound, There’s a Way!™” Foundation

fundraiser logo

Join our “Where There’s a Wound, There’s a Way!™” fundraising campaign  Learn more

Payment Information

All major credit cards & PayPal accepted. All transactions are performed via a SSL secure server to ensure your privacy.

payments accepted visa mastercard amex discover paypal

Copyright © 2009-2021 WoundEducators.com
Wound Care Certification Courses | Risk Free Guarantee | Terms and Policies

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT