Wet-to-Dry Dressing Change

Overview

This lecture demonstrates a wet-to-dry dressing change, outlining each step with a focus on sterile technique and patient safety.

Review physician’s orders and dressing change instructions before beginning.
Gather all necessary supplies, bringing extra sterile gloves and gauze for contingencies.
Wash or sanitize your hands before entering the patient’s room.
Introduce yourself, identify the patient using name, date of birth, and ID band, and explain the procedure.
Assess patient’s pain and premedicate if needed.

Normal saline or sterile water, sterile gloves, roll of tape, tape measure, Q-tips, ABD pad, sterile 4x4 gauze, sterile bowl, trash can, and sterile drape.

Expose the wound and remove the existing dressing using clean gloves, pulling toward the wound center.
Observe the removed dressing for drainage type and amount.
Dispose of the old dressing as biohazard if heavily saturated or in regular trash if not.
Measure the wound’s length, width, and depth with a clean Q-tip and tape measure, then record measurements.

Arrange supplies so those used first are closest to the patient.
Date and initial the saline bottle if opening, ensuring it is not expired.
Open sterile field: open flaps away from you and remember one-inch border is non-sterile.
Add sterile supplies to the field, minimizing time spent over the sterile area.

Don sterile gloves, starting with the non-dominant hand, and pour saline into the sterile bowl.
Moisten and “fluff” sterile gauze before packing the wound, using a Q-tip or sterile gloved finger.
Pack gauze into the wound without touching intact surrounding skin and without turning your back on the sterile field.
Place dry gauze on top of the packed moist gauze, and cover with ABD pad (blue line up).
Secure dressing with tape, ensuring the bottom is closed; label dressing with initials, date, and time.

Remove gloves, discard waste, and provide patient privacy by covering them.
Ensure bed is in low position and call light is within patient reach before leaving.

Wet-to-Dry Dressing — A wound care technique using moist gauze packed into a wound, then covered by dry gauze to assist with debridement.
Sterile Technique — Practices to keep objects and environments free from all microorganisms, crucial for preventing infection during procedures.
ABD Pad — An absorbent dressing (Abdominal Pad) used to cover larger wounds and absorb exudate.