Alginate Wound Dressings

A calcium alginate dressing is a topical wound dressing made with the ingredient alginate also called algin which is a highly absorbent substance that is extracted from the cell walls of brown seaweed.

Alginate wound dressings.

What is an alginate dressing. Alginate dressings are highly absorbent and suitable for use on exuding wounds and for the promotion of autolytic debridement of debris in very moist wounds. Alginate fibres trapped in a wound are readily biodegraded. Alginate wound dressing is a highly absorbent dressings which are also biodegradable because it uses substances derived from natural sources.

Alginates can be rinsed away with saline irrigation so removal of the dressing does not interfere with healing granulation tissue. Alginate dressings are absorbent wound care products that contain sodium and calcium fibers derived from seaweed. Often used on wounds with heavy exudate the alginates used to produce these dressings are made from a variety of seaweeds harvested around the world. They are easy to pack tuck or apply over wounds of irregular shapes.

These dressings are made primarily of seaweed derivatives and the fibers are spun into ropes or sheets. Alginate dressings also act as a haemostatic but caution is needed because blood clots can cause the dressing to adhere to the wound surface. Alginate dressings are non occlusive to semi occlusive highly absorbent and made to manage moderate to large amounts of exudate figure 21 5. These types of dressings are best used on wounds that have a large amount of exudate.

Alginate dressings are made from natural polysaccharide fibers that are derived from processed seaweed. Alginate dressings maintain a physiologically moist microenvironment that promotes healing and the formation of granulation tissue. Calcium alginate dressings are a strong versatile and natural wound care dressing typically applied to diabetic wounds venous wounds full thickness burns split thickness graft donor sites pressure ulcers cavity wounds and chronic ulcers. This type of dressing is used for dermal wounds that produce exudate meaning that they ooze bodily fluids such as blood plasma mucus or pus.

They come in the form of flat dressings that can be placed over open ulcers and rope dressings that are used for packing the wound which absorb fluids and promote healing with pressure ulcers diabetic foot ulcers or venous ulcers. These non woven non adhesive dressings are highly absorbent soft and conformable. As the alginate absorbs fluid it is converted to a gel that provides moisture to the wound bed. Biodegradable alginate dressings made from seaweed date back at least fifty years and commercially available alginate has been available since 1983.