We see it all the time, the family or caregiver, or even doctor wants the wound dressing changed every day. Some people see a speckle of blood or drainage on the bandage and immediately think they have to change it. Well, that is not always the case. It can be the case if the wound dressing is a simple gauze bandage. But now, many wound dressings / bandages are so advanced, they do not need to be changed every day. When we are making a plan for the wound care, we are looking to change the dressing 2-3 x week maximum. There are of course times when the dressing does need to be changed every day, such as when there is so much drainage it requires more changes.
We are looking for a few things when picking a dressing:
The ideal dressing will give the wound bed a healthy moist environment and keep the wound at a normal body temperature. Every time the dressing is changed, the ambient temperature of the wound bed drops. It can take up to 5 hours for the temperature to raise back to normal and cell function can begin again.
Dressing changes decrease cell temperature causing localized hypothermia, vasoconstriction and an increase in hemoglobin's need for oxygen. This decreases oxygen availability and halts cell division and migration.
So next time you want to change the dressing more, think about how cold you are making the skin cells and stopping them from growing and healing.
(Added benefit of fewer dressing changes.... less pain because not done as often :)
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