Moist wounds

Textile materials can be used in moist wound management as fibres themselves (advanced fibres such as alginate and chitosan fibres), or conventional/advanced fibres can be modified or coated with various substances such as honey or hydrogels to obtain special properties such as ultra-absorbency, drag release, etc. In general, textiles used in wound-dressing products come in all possible forms, including fibres, nanofibres, filaments, yarns, and woven/knitted/non-woven and composite materials. 

There are a variety of methods that can be used to debride a wound, including autolytic, chemical, mechanical, and surgical. Autolytic debridement utilises the body s own enzymes and moisture to dissolve and clean the wound of necrotic tissue. This method has the advantage of being virtually painless for the patient, but can take many weeks to achieve. A moist wound environment is the key factor to autolytic debridement, and is obtained by using occlusive or semi-occlusive wound dressings. 

Irrigations to rinse a surgical area or a deep wound should be iso-osmotic. For disinfection or cleansing of superficial wounds this is not strictly necessary. Historically, a sterile hyperosmotic solution (NaCl 3 %, for example) is prepared for rinsing superficial moist wounds and bedsores. Hypertonicity is in fact the mechanism of action the solution has a desiccating effect. For irrigations for the bladder iso-osmosis is less important. Hypo-osmosis is more problematic than hyper-osmosis, because the osmotic value of urine is twice to trice the osmotic value of blood [4]. 

Moist wound healing dressings (sometimes referred to as occlusive, semiocclusive, advanced, or modern dressings) can be classified into three types ... 

Shosha, M. H. A., Fahtny, H. M., Hassan, F. FI., Ashour, A. M., Khalil, A. A. (2009). Tetracycline hydrate gentamicine sulfate containing carboxymethylated cotton fabric suitable for moist wound healing dressings properties evaluation. Journal of Industrial Textiles, 38 4), 341-360. 

Winter (1962) identified the concept of moist wound healing. He carried out a number of investigations into the moist environment and wound healing. He applied a vapour-permeable film dressing in an animal model. He observed that the epithelialisation... 

Bryan, J. (2004). Moist wound healing a concept that changed our practice. Journal of Wound... 

Haimowitz, J., Margolis, D. (1997). Moist wound healing. In D. Krasner, D. Kane (Eds.), Chronic wound care A clinical source book for healthcare professionals. Wayne, PA Health Management Publications. 

Dressings for maintenance of moist environment Moist wound healing—occlusive dressings... 

Eaglstein WH. Moist wound healing with occlusive dressing a clinical focus. Dermatol Surg 2001 27 175-81. 

In another example, antimicrobial silver ions are combined with a hydrogel. Silva-Sorb Silver Antimicrobial Wound Gel is an amorphous gel wound dressing for use in moist wound healing. Its SilvaSorb MicroLattice technology maintains an optimally moist wound environment by either absorbing wound drainage or donating moisture while it delivers antimicrobial ionic silver. SilvaSorb Silver Antimicrobial Wound Gel can act as an effective antimiCTobial barrier. 

Finding that moist wounds heal faster than dry wound prompts development of films gels, foanis and polysaccharide materials. 

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