OVERVIEW OF WOUND-HEALING IN A MOIST ENVIRONMENT

Maintaining a moist wound environment facilitates the wound-healing process. The beneficial effects of a moist versus a dry wound environment include: prevention of tissue dehydration and cell death, accelerated angiogenesis, increased breakdown of dead tissue and fibrin, i.e., pericapillary fibrin cuffs, and potentiating the interaction of growth factors with their target cells. In addition, pain is significantly reduced when wounds are covered with an occlusive dressing. Concerns that moisture in wounds would increase the risk of clinical infection over traditional therapies are unfounded. The use of hydrocolloid occlusive dressings in maintaining a moist wound environment has proved to be a useful adjunct in facilitating wound healing.