![]() In this environment, the wound exudate, the moisture that naturally seeps out from a wound site, serves as a transport vehicle for a variety of bioactive molecules such as enzymes, growth factors and hormones. During this phase of wound healing, an aqueous medium with several nutrients and vitamins is essential for cell metabolism and growth. Cells can grow, divide and migrate at an increased rate to enhance the formation of new tissue. Specifically, cell growth needs moisture and the main goal of moist wound therapy is to create and maintain these optimal moist conditions. When a wound heals with a moist wound bed, it heals quicker and with less pain and scarring. Winter's work began the evolution of modern wound dressings that promote moist wound healing. His research showed that, contrary to the conventional wisdom at the time that wounds should be allowed to dry out and form scabs to promote healing, wounds instead heal faster if kept moist. Winter and his landmark paper, "Formation Of The Scab And The Rate Of Epithelialization Of Superficial Wounds In The Skin Of The Young Domestic Pig" 1. The proof that moist wounds heal faster than dry wounds came back in 1962, thanks to Dr. The second component refers to the fact that lacerations, abrasions, crush injuries and burns heal faster and with less scarring when treatment involves promoting a moist wound bed. We don't want to kill cells we want to encourage them to live and proliferate. The first component, not using disinfectants, makes sense because disinfectants such as iodine, sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide are toxic to cells and should never be applied over a wound surface. There are two main components to moist wound healing: 1) Do not use disinfectants over the wound and 2) Keep the wound moist. What they may not have realized at the time was that their treatment method accelerated the wound healing process by promoting a moist wound bed. They had discovered that the lint provided a fibrous base that promoted wound site closure, the animal grease provided a barrier to environmental pathogens, and the honey served as an antibiotic agent. It wasn't until around 1500 BC that ancient Egyptians and Greeks started using lint, animal grease and honey as topical wound treatments. Trial and error most likely proved that palm leaves worked and poison ivy did not. Drastic Wounds Call for Drastic Measuresīut as time marched on and people suffered larger wounds (such as those that might be acquired while trying to take down a wild boar without decent weaponry), a need arose to stop excessive bleeding and further injury with some kind of wound covering. ![]() At that time, keeping scabs and blisters intact seemed like the keys to wound healing. As long as the site is kept moist, the scab will not inhibit the healing process. ![]() A scab is the body's natural wound covering. The scab became our partial and temporary exoskeleton and the blister was the human equivalent of bubble wrap, both protecting the wounds and encouraging the healing process. In those early days of discovery, the scab and the blister were considered nature's miracle wound coverings. So there was no great rush to find a use for those puffy, cottony, soft, white plants growing in the fields just yet. After all, the bleeding had stopped, a scab eventually formed and experience had taught them that their skin would heal in a week or two. In the beginning, long before Johnson met Johnson and Band-Aids were invented, primitive men and women suffered minor cuts and abrasions and probably left them uncovered to heal.
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