How to Apply Dressings to an Open Wound

There are many types of wounds, including scrapes, lacerations and puncture wounds. You must decide quickly if the wound is deep or severe enough to require stitches. If no stitches are required, you should work quickly to clean the wound and apply a dressing to keep dirt and germs out of the wound and avoid infection.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soap
• Water
• Medical gloves
• Scissors
• Medical tape
• Sterile gauze
• Saline solution
• Cream or ointment
• Towel

1. Put on medical gloves. This will keep your hands clean, and help keep germs from your hands from getting in the wound.

2. Rinse the wounded area thoroughly with mild soapy water to get rid of dirt and debris. Rinse the area again with a saline solution to clean the wound, and normalize the pH of the wound.

3. Wipe the area with sterile gauze pads to remove all dirt and debris. Use a clean area of the gauze pad each time you wipe so you don't push debris further into the wound. If necessary, rinse the wound again with saline after thoroughly cleaning it.

4. Apply antiseptic ointment to the wound. Put a thin layer of the ointment over the wound, and rub the ointment into the wound as best as you can without causing further damage.

5. Cover the wound with a sterile gauze pad. If the wound is very bloody, choose a non-stick gauze pad, as this will not adhere to the wound when the body starts to scab. If the wound is more of a scrape, cover the scrape with a large piece of sterile gauze, securing it loosely over the scrape so the pad won't press on the wound, causing pain.

6. Secure the sterile pad to the skin with adhesive tape. If the wound is small, you can substitute the gauze pad and adhesive tape with an adhesive bandage. Some first-aid brands offer sterile pads that have an adhesive outer edge, so you don't need to use a separate tape to secure the pad in place.

7. Wrap the wound with the gauze pad attached with a heavy gauze wrap or an elastic bandage. This will help keep the gauze pad in place when you are moving, and offer an extra layer of protection in case the gauze pad comes loose from the skin.

Tips & Warnings

• Change the dressing whenever it becomes bloody or dirty, or each time you shower or get the wound wet.
• Use a dressing that contains antiseptic ointment to save time. These dressings are easier on a severe wound because they don't require any pressure on the wound to separately apply the ointment.
• Place the gauze in a position that will allow movement if the wound is directly over a joint. If it is too tight, bending the joint may cause pain by putting pressure on the wound.
• Don't use hydrogen peroxide, iodine or other antiseptics on a fresh wound. These will keep the wound open and not allow proper healing. Such antiseptics are fine to use after the wound has healed a bit.
• Don't put a bandage on a wound with dirt and debris still inside. If you can't get to the debris, leave the wound uncovered and seek medical attention.

References

• How to Change Wound Dressings
• Hydrogel Dressings

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