Neck Radiation Burns

[RNexplorer]

I've never seen this before. Copious amounts of purulent drainage everywhere... in the neck folds... macerating the skin...

How do you dress/treat? Any tips for helping the patient cope? I'm having a problem securing a good dressing in that area because of all the creases in the neck... I don't think keeping it open to air is a good idea... I need something to absorb all that drainage to avoid serious skin maceration!

[annie.rn]

Are you working in a hospital? Do you have access to a wound care nurse? My first suggestion would be a consult to him/her because they are familiar with all of the products available and can make a recommendation about how to dress the area. The wound care nurse at the hospital I work at is fantastic.

Any product that will absorb drainage and keep it off of the skin would be the way to go. I know that's probably obvious :-). Where I work we use of AquaCell, Lyofoam and Mepilex products. The wound care nurse decides which product he thinks would work best and then writes orders for how and how often the dressing is to be changed.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

​Contact wound care nurse for plan and guidance ,quickly.

[RADIATION_RN]

I see that all the time unfortunately and we don't have wound care nurses as my clinic is not in a hospital setting. What our rad oncs recommend is keeping the area as clean as possible, they are big users of Domeboro soaks, Silvadene to help fight infection and then Mepilex dressings to help heal. If it gets really severe, the rad oncs usually will put the patients on a treatment break.