Turning black or yellow wounds red using a hydroresponsive dressing

Wounds can be found anywhere on the wound healing continuum, which can be used to select appropriate dressings. With the exception of black toes or arterial heels, some simple rules of thumb to use for dressing selection would be as follows: a wet dressing for a dry wound; a dry dressing for a wet wound; an antibacterial dressing for one that is odorous; a superabsorbent dressing for high exudate loss; and a foam dressing to cover as a secondary dressing or as a primary dressing when the wound is healing. This article seeks to outline a method for changing black or yellow wounds on the healing continuum into a red and then pink wound. It also describes a case in which this method was successfully used to treat recalcitrant wounds.