Hydrogels have been a vital part of wound care for over 30 years. They have proved to be popular as they are easy to use , comfortable and cost effective and because of their high water content are unlikely to adhere to the wound.
Hydrogel is a universal term for materials that are able to absorb water and expand without dissolving. They have an extremely high water content ( up to 96% ).
Indications for Use
Hydrogels are ideally suited for the treatment of dry wounds , providing a moist healing environment and assisting in the debridement of necrotic tissue. Debridement is an essential step in the management of chronic wounds as a failure to remove necrotic tissue inhibits healing by providing an environment for bacterial growth , chronic inflammation and impeding re-epithelialisation. Hydrogels are able to rehydrate the wound and facilitate autolytic debridement.
Hydrogels provide a soothing and cooling effect on application. They have successfully used on burns, pressure ulcers, cavity wounds , diabetic foot ulcers and radiotherapy burns. ActiformCool dressings have been demonstrated to reduce leg ulcer pain
Hydrogel dressings are generally applied for 1-3 days and should be changed on a regular basis.
Precautions
Hydrogels are not considered suitable for use on highly exuding wounds and are also inadvisable for use on infected wounds.
Hydrogel Presentations
Hydrogels are available tubes of gel, or as a sheet or as gels impregnated into a dressing material. At Wound-care , we stock an extensive range of Hydrogels eg.
a) Intrasite Gel
b) Aquaform Hydrogel
c) Intrasite Gel
d) Nu-Gel
e) ActiformCool
f) Purilon gel
g) Hydrosorb