Whether we are a nurse, doctor, caregiver or surgeon, it forms part of our everyday life! Whether we practice in or out of a hospital, in the private or public sector, this management requires each of us to have skills when it comes to wound healing.
The principle of wound healing in a humid environment, established in 1963 by Dr Winter, is recognised as the foundation of good wound management.
In the elderly, there exist multiple intrinsic factors that affect and delay the natural healing process, making its management complex. In fact, it calls for even more attentive treatment due to the context of multiple pathologies, which characterizes this population, and could be an obstacle to expected wound healing. The cause of the wound will require essential general management measures, without which, no wound healing will be possible. The choice of local treatment will also be paramount to encourage healing.
The concept suggested by Hartmann laboratory meets the requirements for wound healing through dynamic, “calibrated” hydration of the wound which is more closely adapted to the wound’s needs, depending on the exudative nature and the stage of development.
To remove slough and necrotic tissue in the cleansing phase, the rapid autolytic action of the Hydroclean dressing makes it possible to avoid mechanical debridement which is often complex, both in terms of the health care professionals’ time due to the elderly patients’ fragile state of health and particularly when they present higher function disorders making the procedure difficult.
At the expected stage of granulation and epithelialisation, Hydrotac dressing encourages healing by maintaining this balanced state of hydration, a factor promoting keratinocyte migration. The patient’s comfort is preserved at each healing stage through rapid and painless treatments which contribute to the quality of secondary intention healing.
Using the principle of dynamic hydration helps elderly people regain cutaneous integrity which is so important to them, both physically and psychologically.
