This is a 'sterile' dressing change?

[09NewGrad]

I'm still on orientation as a new nurse and on the surgical unit we frequently do dressing changes. When I was in nursing school and we did sterile dressing changes, we used an entire kit that was sterile. My preceptor has been having me take off the old dressing with clean gloves which I'm used to, and then she has me put on sterile gloves to apply the xeroform and regular 4x8's not from a sterile kit. Is this unusual for a sterile drsg change? I thought the gauze and xeroform all needed to be from a sterile kit, not just the gloves?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Yup it's sterile as long as you maintain. Those dressings should be sterile in packaging. You must prepare all first by opening carefully and arranging on your bedside table, leaving all sitting in individual packages - but, so you can pick up and lay on wound without anything becoming unsterile. You make your packages little sterile fields.

[mamamerlee, LPN]

Not every place has prepackaged kits. As long as you maintain the sterility of the individual items, it is still a sterile dressing.

Clean gloves, old dressing. Remove gloves. Open needed packages. Sterile gloves, wound care if apropriate. May need to change gloves if soiled. Sterile gauzes, etc. Pre-cut tape if possible.

[rachelgeorgina]

Have you read about the "wound field concept"? That might explain some of this for you (but I'm not 100% sure!)

[Nurse Gina]

As long as the gauze is sterile or has been sterilized, it is ok. At my hospital, we use sterile gauze in little packages. You need an assistant to open the packages for you. Thats how I learned aseptic technique. Also gauze may come in the dressing tray which is fine if it is sufficient.

[DuluthMike]

Non packaged gauze is not and cannot be sterile. It can be clean, not sterile.

[SaraO'Hara]

Clean gauze tends to come in a long pack... think like saltines. Sterile gauze is in a peel-open pack and will say STERILE somewhere on it.

[CorpsmanRN, BSN, RN]

Non packaged gauze is not and cannot be sterile. It can be clean, not sterile.

Interesting, considering we made minor surg kits with small square basins, threw in 4x4s, 2x2s, the instruments and a sterilizer indicator; it was all wrapped up in the blue paper, packaged and ran through a sterilizer. Doesn't this make those 4x4s & 2x2s sterile? The instruments & basin are sterile.

[AngelfireRN, MSN, RN, APRN]

At my doc's office, their sterile instruments are wrapped in dish towels, then put in the autoclave. Works great. There's always more than one way to arrive at the same conclusion.

[cory39]

It really depends on what kind of dressing your changing regarding if it is a sterile or clean procedure .......

[XingtheBBB, BSN, RN]

Interesting, considering we made minor surg kits with small square basins, threw in 4x4s, 2x2s, the instruments and a sterilizer indicator; it was all wrapped up in the blue paper, packaged and ran through a sterilizer. Doesn't this make those 4x4s & 2x2s sterile? The instruments & basin are sterile.

Yes that's sterile. After all that I'd call it "packaged" We keep big piles of 4x4s and 2x2s in our carts that are used for wiping, accuchecks, and other unsterile activities. They are originally packaged like saltines and are not sterile when opened, let alone after sitting open in the drawer.

[Laughs-a-lot, RN]

What i do is when I open my steril gauze packs, if one of them is bigger, I will drop the other into, so that they are open, but resting in a sterile package if that makes sense to you. Ours have some in peel open packets and some in plastic dish type packets that peel open on one side and can even hol sterile water in them for wet to drys. As long as you are wearing sterile gloves when you touch the actual sterile dressings.