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Wound Care Fundamentals Study Guide

Learn the fundamentals of wound care, from basic cleaning and dressing selection to advanced techniques like wound irrigation, drain management, and therapeutic applications of heat and cold. This guide is designed for educational purposes to enhance understanding of patient care related to skin integrity and wound healing.

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Skin Integrity, Wound Care, and Dressings

Skin Integrity and Wound Care Principles

Nurses manage skin integrity through pressure relief, wound cleaning, irrigation, and the application of various dressing materials.

  • Pressure injury prevention
  • Repositioning techniques
  • Support surfaces
  • Wound cleaning methods
  • Debridement types
  • RYB color code
  • Surgical wound drainage systems
  • Wound irrigation
  • Dressing types
  • Wound drainage specimen collection
  • Skin hygiene

Suture and Staple Removal in Wound Care

Guidelines for the removal of sutures, staples, and retention sutures, and the use of bandages and binders for wound care.

  • Sutures
  • Staples
  • Retention sutures
  • Interrupted sutures
  • Continuous sutures
  • Suture removal technique
  • Staple removal technique
  • Dehiscence
  • Bandages
  • Binders

Applying Bandages and Binders for Support

Guidelines for applying bandages and binders using various turns to support body parts and maintain skin integrity.

  • Bandage types
  • Gauze
  • Elasticized bandages
  • Circular turns
  • Spiral turns
  • Spiral reverse turns
  • Recurrent turns
  • Figure-eight turns
  • Binders
  • Triangular sling
  • Skin integrity assessment
  • Circulation assessment
  • Padding application

Phases of Wound Healing and Exudate Management

This content covers skin integrity, types of wounds, pressure injuries, and the phases of wound healing, including wound exudate types.

  • Skin integrity
  • Intentional and unintentional wounds
  • Pressure injuries
  • Reactive hyperemia
  • Friction and shearing
  • Braden Scale
  • Primary intention healing
  • Secondary intention healing
  • Inflammatory phase
  • Proliferative phase
  • Maturation phase
  • Granulation tissue
  • Wound exudate
  • Serous exudate
  • Purulent exudate
  • Sanguinous exudate
  • Dehiscence
  • Evisceration

Wound Cleaning, Dressings, and Therapeutic Applications

This material covers cleaning wounds, types of dressings, wound drains, and applications of heat and cold.

  • Cleaning Wounds
  • Wound drains
  • Penrose drains
  • Irrigating a Wound
  • Transparent dressings
  • Hydrocolloid dressings
  • Sutures and staple removal
  • Bandages
  • Slings
  • Binders
  • Heat and Cold applications
  • Sitz baths

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