Dressings: cutting and application guide

Abstract

Wounds in some areas of the body are particularly difficult to dress, despite the wide range of dressing products available. This paper aims to set out some generic principles that may assist when dressing wounds in awkward areas.

Introduction

It is widely documented that patients with chronic wounds identify problems such as malodour, dressing leakage and pain as high on their list of priorities[1]. If these are not dealt with the patient may withdraw from social contact and become isolated because of embarrassment or curb their activities for fear of dressing leakage.

Despite the existence of a huge range of dressing products in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, dressing wounds in some anatomical areas continues to be a challenge for many clinicians. Although dressing manufacturers have designed products to cope with the curves and uneven textures of living human anatomy, these are usually limited to one or two sizes. However, it is possible to adapt these ready-made products.

Identifying patient needs

The first step in ensuring a good dressing fit is a thorough, holistic assessment of the patient. This must consider factors such as how the patient's lifestyle impacts on the dressing. For example, if the patient is an otherwise fit and healthy child it is likely that the dressing will be subjected to considerable wear and tear and this should be considered during selection. In addition, the patient may see other objectives as a priority over wound healing and meeting these is vital in obtaining concordance.

Previous dressings used should be reviewed and any problems that occurred considered. An example of this would be a dressing that always leaked from, or failed to stick at, one particular edge.read more