The difference between hydrogel dressings and hydrocolloid dressings

Specialties Wound

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I'm trying to figure out what is the difference between those two.I thought those two were the same but I read somewhere that those are a two different dressings.I know that when it comes to hydrogel you also need a secondary dressing.It sounds like both use gel-based formulas,help.

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Specializes in home health, dialysis, others.

google it

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google it

I arleady did but still have a hard time to understand what is the difference.

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both maintain a moist environment. But hydrocolloid dressings have the capacity to absorb mild exudate or drainage.

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both maintain a moist environment. But hydrocolloid dressings have the capacity to absorb mild exudate or drainage.

I think both type of dressing can absorb the leakage from the wound.

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Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA).

No - hydrogels do not absorb moisture - in fact if a wound is very moist with lots of drainage, hydrogel is not appropriate...for that matter, neither is hydrocolloid. Hydrocolloids, like said above, helps to provide a moist, protected environment for a wound to heal - a small amt of drainage is ok. There can be autolytic debridement (slowly) with hydrocolloids, but not with hydrogels. Hydrocolloids can be left on for up to 7 days - but often they start rolling up at edges sooner than that. Hydrogels main function is to keep the wound bed moist as that is the optimal environment for wound healing - but the frequent dressing changes are often an inhibiting factor to the healing process as the wound beds loses warmth with the changes. Hydrogels are often needed to be done daily.

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No - hydrogels do not absorb moisture - in fact if a wound is very moist with lots of drainage, hydrogel is not appropriate...for that matter, neither is hydrocolloid. Hydrocolloids, like said above, helps to provide a moist, protected environment for a wound to heal - a small amt of drainage is ok. There can be autolytic debridement (slowly) with hydrocolloids, but not with hydrogels. Hydrocolloids can be left on for up to 7 days - but often they start rolling up at edges sooner than that. Hydrogels main function is to keep the wound bed moist as that is the optimal environment for wound healing - but the frequent dressing changes are often an inhibiting factor to the healing process as the wound beds loses warmth with the changes. Hydrogels are often needed to be done daily.

they do but only medium to small drainage.When you appy hydrogen you also apply absorbent secondary dressing.Any dressing will absorb small or medium drainage however there are different types of dressings that apply to different amounts of drainage.

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they do but only medium to small drainage.When you appy hydrogen you also apply absorbent secondary dressing.Any dressing will absorb small or medium drainage however there are different types of dressings that apply to different amounts of drainage.

Apply hydrogen?? It was my understandng that the "hydro" part of the name dealt with water/moisture....how does one "apply" hydrogen?

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apply hydrogen?? it was my understandng that the "hydro" part of the name dealt with water/moisture....how does one "apply" hydrogen?

sorry i meant hydrogel.

a more convenient method, is the application of a hydrogel dressing such as intrasite gel (smith and nephew medical ltd), granugel (convatec ltd), sterigel (seton healthcare ltd) nu-gel (johnson and johnson medical ltd), or one of the other brands available.

most of these products share a common basic structure consisting of about 2-3% of a gel-forming polymer such as sodium carboxymethylcellulose, modified starch or sodium alginate, together with 20% propylene glycol as a humectant and preservative. the balance, about 80%, consists of water.

the gel is placed placed on the wound and covered with an appropriate secondary dressing

source worldwidewounds.com

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Specializes in M/S Short Stay/TCU.

AnnedRN explain the difference very well. I went to a Wound class on Friday which lasted for 8hrs... :rolleyes: and the instructor explained the same thing that AnnaedRN said to the letter...:)

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Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA).

The secondary dressing will of course absorb drainage- that is not the question. But the general concept of wound healing is to keep the wound warm and moist to aid in healing. If the wound is dry to slightly moist- then hydrogel is a good option (though i can think of much better) and if the wound is too wet - you want something that will help absorb the extra drainage (such as an alginate) so as to avoid maceration and decreased wound healing time as well. So- if the wound is draining even moderately- no matter what the secondary dressing - does not make alot of sense to apply hydrogel to it.

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Specializes in ER, L&D, ICU, LTC, HH.

Hydrocolloid versus hydrocolloid

Three trials (98 participants) compared various hydrocolloid dressings.w24-w26 We could include only two in the meta-analysis, as one did not report the total number of ulcers healed.w26 The meta-analysis showed high heterogeneity (I2=69.7%; chi.gif2=3.3, df=1; P=0.07) and no statistical difference between the dressings (relative risk=1.56, 0.67 to 3.63).

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/335/7613/244

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