Pressure Ulcers and Sterile Technique??

[Guest716906]

Hello,

I am just wondering. When you have a patient who has a pressure ulcer on the coccyx and a wet to dry dressing order, do you use sterile technique? I was taught in nursing school that sterile technique was always required for wet to dry dressing. However when I have a patient constantly pooping and soiling their dressing, it feels like a huge waste of time and resources , and I should have just used clean technique. Any thoughts?

[Wuzzie]

Don't mean to side track but does your facility routinely use these on pressure ulcers?

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Reading this makes me so happy I am an IV nurse, as boring as it can be....

Annie

[Buckeye.nurse]

Check your facility's policy/procedure. With that being said, both major hospital systems that I've worked for use clean technique for routine dressing changes.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Check your facility's policy/procedure. With that being said, both major hospital systems that I've worked for use clean technique for routine dressing changes.

Ditto. Even if you use sterile gloves and pick up the dressing material in a sterile fashion; sterility is going to be lost pretty quickly when your hands meet the area near that wound.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

I don't think I've done a wet to dry in about 10 years or more! (Maybe for the occasional temp dressing when

wound vac is on hold)

But to answer your question...no.