Hydrogel Dressings are transparent, usually gel-based dressing for wounds and have exceptional wound-healing properties. Hydrogel products play an important role in wound care. The benefit of using hydrogel for wounds lies in its high water content, which promotes healing by creating a moist environment around the wound. These dressings are made from water-based gels that contain a high percentage of water and can hold moisture against the skin, which is important for fast recovery and regulates fluid exchange from the wound surface. At HPFY, we offer high-quality hydrogel wound dressings made by the best brands in the business, like Medline Industries, MPM Medical, Southwest Technologies, Dumex/Derma Sciences, and many more.

How does Hydrogel work?

The high water content of the hydrogel dressing keeps the wound area moist and offers protection from bacterial infection. Therefore, this dressing type promotes healing because moisture is important for wound recovery. The presence of moisture on the wound helps in autolytic debridement – that is, the removal of necrotic tissues from the wound surface. It also assists in wound granulation, epithelialization, and epidermis repair, plus offers trauma-free dressing change. Because of its cooling sensation, hydrogel gives relief from pain lasting up to six hours.

What are the Advantages of using Hydrogel Dressing?

Has a high water content of 90%.
Requires a secondary dressing in order to keep it secure and hydrated well.
Needs changing every four days or whenever the dressing is seen to be wet and exudate-heavy.
Gel content in the dressing allows it to act as wound filler and fill in hard-to-treat “dead spaces”.
Non-adherent property reduces dressing change trauma.
Available in sheets, tubes, gauze, spray gel, pads, etc.

Different Forms of Hydrogel for Wounds

It comes in three different forms, namely:

Amorphous Hydrogel: It is a free-flowing wound gel packaged in tubes. Because of its excellent viscosity, this dressing helps fill in deeper wounds that are difficult to treat. A secondary dressing is needed to secure it.
Impregnated Hydrogel: It is available as gel saturated onto gauze pads, gauze strips, and non-woven sponge ropes. Hydrogel-impregnated gauze dressings and others can be used to pack in uneven wound surfaces. They need a secondary dressing to provide a protective covering.
Sheet Hydrogel: In this, the gel is saturated inside a fiber mesh, which is thin and flat. It is available as non-adhesive but with/without an adhesive border. Hydrogel sheet dressings conform easily to the wound area.

What is Hydrogel Wound Dressing used for?

Hydrogel wound dressings are beneficial on wounds that are dry and painful. If the wound is necrotic, this dressing eliminates the need for too much cleaning up during dressing change and is impermeable to bacteria and other infections. Hydrogel bandages do not adhere to the wound, thus allowing for pain-free removal.

Indications

These dressings are beneficial on wounds that are dry and painful. If the wound is necrotic, these dressings eliminate the need for too much cleaning up during dressing change. These bandages do not adhere to the wound, thus allowing for pain-free removal.

Hydrogel products work on several types of wounds, such as:

Pressure ulcers
Superficial burn/first-degree burn
Venous ulcers/foot/leg ulcers
Diabetic ulcers
Partial thickness burn/second-degree burn
Surgical/post-operative wounds
Laceration/abrasions
Partial/full-thickness wounds
Superficial or low exudate wounds
Low-to-moderate exudate wounds
Arterial ulcers
Donor sites
Acute/traumatic wounds
Blisters

Contraindications

Hydrogel for wounds should be avoided if the wound exudate is high and the wound surface is too moist. Therefore, these dressings should not be used on moderate-to-heavily exuding wounds.

What are the Different Types of Hydrogel Dressings?

Hydrogel products are available in adhesive and non-adhesive dressing types, plus waterproof. You can select from absorbent hydrogel dressings, wound fillers, non-adherent wound dressings, antimicrobial bandages, hydrogel gauze dressings, adherent hydrogel dressings, silver dressings, and more.