Saturday, June 8, 2013

The Use Of Pulse Lavage For Wound Cleansing

By Teri Farley


Pulse lavage is type of mechanical hydrotherapy that makes use of saline solution to debride and clean wounds. The solution is pressurized to irrigate necrotic tissues and wound debris. This is often used along with suction to remove the irrigation solution. In many clinical settings, this procedure is performed in patients with deep wounds to allow successful healing.

Wound cleaning is obviously important for many reasons. Any kind of wound should be properly managed to start the healing process sooner. With proper management of the wound, the patient's risk for infection will be reduced. It is very important to remove necrotic tissue and organisms such as bacteria from the wound. This way, the healing process can begin to progress.

The main purpose of the procedure is to aid in the growth of granulation tissues. In order for this to happen, wound debris should be removed without damaging normal underlying tissues. Negative pressure of the suction will also cause stimulation of granulation tissue. Specialized instruments are used to for this procedure and these will be operated by skilled practitioners.

When performing this technique, practitioners can adjust the pressure they use depending on the extent of necrotic tissue to be removed. The instrument used may be adjusted to have the right amount of force for the lavage. Those who are performing the procedure should check if pain is felt by the person in order to make adjustments as needed.

If the patient feels any pain, analgesic medications can be administered to relieve it. Before the procedure, topical analgesic solution can also be applied to the wound. Patients may also be given medications about half an hour to manage the pain. Antibiotics may be added to the saline solution if signs of infection begin to show.

In addition, the saline solution used should be warmed to speed up the healing process. The wound bed cools physiologically and this may slow down healing. This effect can be countered by warming the saline solution prior to application. Once the procedure is completed, patients will be able to heal better with their wound free from necrotic tissue, organisms, and debris.

This technique costs less unlike other methods. For such reasons, this is used in different clinical settings. Some hospitals practice this as part of their bedside care. This is also applied in long term care settings, small clinics, and outpatient departments. Patients who need wound cleaning daily, weekly, or whenever necessary can be treated by practitioners.

Since this procedure is done numerous times for different patients, devices are now designed specifically for this purpose. There are many precision instruments available today intended for wound cleaning. These tools can remove bacteria, necrotic tissue, and foreign materials effectively. Although these are primarily used for wound care, these are also used during orthopedic surgeries to debride bone surfaces.

Healing is very important for any patient suffering from any condition. When it comes to wounds, it is also important to realize the significance of pulse lavage. Patients would need effective methods to manage their condition. With skills of healthcare practitioners, this procedure can be performed the correct way thereby helping patients heal faster.




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