Supported wound management

During your wound treatment, you'll be in close contact with your healthcare professional. They will have undertaken an assessment of your wound and developed a management plan based on your individual circumstances. Your healthcare professional may suggest you share in the care of your wound and change your own dressing between appointments.

Following your assessment, your wound will be prepared for healing. Including cleansing and removal of any debris from the wound and surrounding skin. You and your healthcare professional may agree that you can manage some of your own dressing changes between appointments. This will depend on the wound type, assessment outcome and the ability to cleanse the wound and change the dressing. If your clinician has deemed that you're able to share in your care, they will show you how to apply your dressing, helping to promote an optimum healing environment.

You will be advised by your healthcare professional how often to change your dressing. It is important that you do not change this more frequently than advised as this could be detrimental to your healing. If you are changing some of your own dressings then are a few things for you to look out for.

If your wound is:

• Red
• Hot
• Painful
• Smelly
• Very Wet 

This may indicate that you have a wound infection. If you notice any of these signs or a combination of these it is important to get in touch with your healthcare professional for them to undertake further assessments and ensure you are using the right dressing to treat the infection.