Foams may not be effective for wounds with dry eschar. They may macerate periwound skin if they become saturated. Gauze dressings may be impregnated, nonadherent, woven, or nonwoven. Gauze dressings facilitate debridement when applied as a wet to dry dressing and act as moisture retentive dressings when applied as wet to moist or damp dressings. Dry gauze dressings may be used to protect the wound from trauma and infection and to wick exudate from the wound site.
Gauzes provide a moist wound healing environment when kept moist.
They can be used as primary or secondary dressings or for securing other dressings. Top of the page Hydrocolloids Hydrocolloids are occlusive or semi occlusive dressings composed of materials such as gelatin, pectin, and carboxymethylcellulose. The composition of the layer that comes into contact with the wound varies considerably among dressings in this category. Hydrocolloids generally provide a moist healing environment that allows clean wounds to granulate and necrotic wounds to debride autolytically. Several individual hydrocolloids have been shown to accelerate wound healing compared with controls in clinical trials.