In-Home Wound Care in Fairfax: How to Change Wound Dressings

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2.5% of the American population is suffering from some type of a chronic wound. A chronic wound is one that doesn’t heal within the time frame you’d expect it to heal. The elderly are most frequently affected by such wounds, but there can be multiple factors delaying wound healing, like uncontrolled diabetes. Timely wound dressing changes also play a key role in healing, recovery, and prevention of infections. In this article, let’s learn how to change wound dressings at home without risking serious complications. 

Do you need help with managing wound care and dressings at home? Call Nurse Next Door McLean today to get personalized in-home wound care in Fairfax.

Tips to Ensure Faster Healing with In-Home Wound Care in Fairfax

When to Change a Wound Dressing? 

Healthcare providers usually give you exact instructions on when you need to change your dressing and how long you should wait to get your wound re-examined. Typically, 2-4 days is the average time you can keep a dressing before you will have to change it, but this doesn’t apply to necrotic or infected wounds. That is why it is best that you get clear instructions from your doctor on this. 

For minor cuts or injuries suffered at home, as long as there’s no pus visible, you can safely change the dressing every 2 days. But you should always remember that you can’t leave a soaked or oozing dressing in place. With professional in-home wound care in Fairfax, you can avoid complications and ensure fast healing. Book a free Caring Consult with Nurse Next Door McLean today. 

Preparation and Safety Measures 

Try to choose a clean space, and make sure it’s well-lit too. You can’t guarantee an absolutely sterile space at home but try to choose the cleanest surface available. For example, you need to make sure that it’s a pet-free area. 

While preparing for a dressing change, you must wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water to make sure they are germ-free.

You need to ensure that you have everything ready because if you step out of your clean space later to go look for something, you might end up bringing germs back to the wound from all the surfaces you will touch. 

Most dressings require these things: 

1. One or two pairs of sterile gloves 
2. Normal saline 
3. Gauze pieces 
4. Medical-grade adhesive tape 
5. Adhesive remover (if available)
6. Small trash bags 
7. Any dressing material recommended by your doctor
8. The ointment or tincture you have been advised to apply on the wound 

If you haven’t had the wound checked by a medical doctor, it’s always better not to apply anything. Lotions, soap, or any other chemical irritants must stay away from the wound. Keep your supplies in the packaging – don’t take them out before time. 

Nurse Next Door McLean’s wound care RNs follow the doctors’ orders to ensure proper healing. Our in-home wound care in Fairfax includes using sterile techniques and advanced dressings. Schedule a visit today. 

Step-by-Step Dressing Change 

1. Wear a pair of sterile gloves. 
2. Remove the old dressing. Make sure to apply some normal saline on the old adhesive so that removing it doesn’t hurt the patient or cause unnecessary trauma. Pull in the direction of hair growth to avoid plucking any hair while removing the adhesive tape.  
3. Note any changes in the wound. Can you see any pus or discharge? Is there a strange odor? Can you see any redness around the wound?
4. Clean the wound with normal saline. Soak a gauze piece and pat it on the wound gently, moving outwards from the center of the wound. Don’t repeat the motion. 
5. You can also use soap on closed surgical incisions. However, make sure you ask your surgeon for advice on that before you do it. 
6. If the previous dressing included a packing, you will need to pack the wound again. A packing is a gauze piece inserted inside a wound that has some space in it. 
7. After packing the wound, add some more gauze pieces to provide cushioning and then apply adhesive tape again. Re-apply everything you removed (everything included in the previously applied dressing). 

How In-Home Wound Care in Fairfax Prevents Infections

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 

Some people skip hand-washing just because they are using gloves. That is a mistake you can’t afford to make. Hand hygiene is very important. 

Don’t reuse or reapply anything! Most importantly, don’t irritate the wound by applying some ointment, lotion, or soap that you haven’t discussed with your doctor. 

You also need to make sure you observe the wound for any changes like pus, odor, or redness. Those are the early markers of infection that you need to be aware of during the dressing change. 

When to Call a Professional

An infected wound isn’t a wait-and-see issue. If you spot anything new, such as redness, swelling, pus, even clear fluid or a strange odor, visit your doctor immediately. 

If you need in-home wound care in Fairfax, you can always reach out to Nurse Next Door McLean. We have Registered Nurses (RNs) who will show up at your door and change your dressing while following the safest protocols. It is recommended that you book a wound care RN if you have a limitation of any kind or if the wound is not superficial. They have the experience, training and skill to deal with such sensitive wounds. Get wound care at home now.