A Few Facts About Tegaderm

Wound dressings and bandages have come a long way from the plain old gauze pad and medical tape to today’s advanced dressings.  The new breed of dressings use sophisticated technology like hydrocolloids.  These dressings not only improve the healing process and reduce the healing time; they also provide a relatively painless experience which was not available in the past. 

Tegaderm is one of the newer and more effective wound dressings.  It consists of a thin polyurethane membrane with an adhesive to keep it firmly placed on the wound.  Due to its permeability to water vapors and oxygen, it provides a moist environment which assists in wound healing.  Although it is permeable to water vapors and oxygen, it does not allow bacteria and other contaminants to pass through.  This makes it much more effective than traditional dressings for quick wound healing.

Tegaderm is suitable for minor cuts, burns, injuries and lacerations.  It may also be used to prevent breaking of skin due to constant friction or exposure to moisture as well as to keep catheters in place.  Since Tegaderm is a transparent dressing, it allows monitoring of the wound so that no unwanted complications like infections can occur.  While it is effective for small wounds, cuts and burns, it should not be used for deeper wounds or serious burns.

It is uniquely made with multiple layers; the adhesive side of Tegaderm has a peel-off cover, while the other side has a relatively rigid sheet of thin card.  Its construction makes it easy to precisely place on the wound.  The middle part of the card can be removed which leaves the film hanging on a wire frame.  After gently placing the film on the wound, the frame is removed.  It is suggested that the dressing be placed such that its edges extend 4-5 cm outside the wound area.  Sometimes wounds produce heavy exudate which accumulates under the dressing.  In this situation, Tegaderm allows removal of exudates by making a small puncture by a syringe without having to remove the dressing. 

One of the features that make Tegaderm user-friendly is that it can be left on the wound for up to seven days.  The traditional dressings do not provide this luxury.  However, caution should be exercised with long term use of the dressing.  If the wound appears to be infected or shows any other negative signs, the dressing should be promptly removed.  It is particularly useful for outdoors because it does not need to be changed for an extended period of time and the transparent surface allows monitoring of the wound.