Saturday, March 6, 2010

Wound Dressing

A Post from the EPN discussion Board

- Welcome to your new friend, the CPNE Wound from Hell.

- I use the ribbon method for packing the wound. There is a video or two showing how to do this type of a packing on YouTube.

- I tried the parachute method ... it's too complicated for me. Then again, I can't fold my own dress shirts either.
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- Ok. Trick here is, unfold the gauze all the way (you already knew that).

- Next. Fold the gauze (lengthwise) one time, in the middle.

- Next. Lay the gauze in your hand ... really gentle like. Do not squeeze. You want it sort of "fluffy."

- Next. With the end of the gauze sticking out of your hand ... you want to fold back (over itself) about 1/2 inch of that end. You can twist the end if you need too. This will get rid of the little strings at that end.

- Note: Do not make the entire gauze into a "rope." Just the 1/2 inch of your starting piece, so you can get rid of your strings and also get the first corner packed.

- Next. Place that tiny twisted piece in one of the corners. Bingo!!! You've now packed one corner.

- Next. Play out the gauze from your hand. You want

to keep it about 1/2 to 1 inch wide. Then use your index

finger to guide, pack the wound. I go from one end of the wound to the other ... back and forth.

- If you do this right, you will have plenty of gauze for the packing.

- Practice using no gloves. Note: Reusing the same piece of gauze will eventually cause it to become frayed and you'll get 100's of those little strings. Also, watch the boat, as it will get mildew after a week. I learned the hard way.

-You need to practice the wound about 30 minutes a day.

- Just practice the wound packing at first. Yes, you will throw the wound across the room many times. It happens. But, eventually, you will get good at packing the puppy.

- Watch your knuckles, and your thumbs. They seem to come "loose" when you focus on the dressing and not your hands. Knuckles and thumbs hitting the skin seem to be the next hurdle with this puppy.

- Also, copy and paste pictures of the Excelsior Wound on the wall in front of your dressing. It's fun to compare your "masterpiece" to that of the CPNE guidebook.

- Hope this helps.
John Coxey
(Syracuse, NY)

2 comments:

  1. Thank you. The parachute thing everyone raves about is just impossible for my clumsy fingers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you. The parachute thing everyone raves about is just impossible for my clumsy fingers.

    ReplyDelete