ConvaTec Announces New Use of AQUACEL® Foam Dressing to Protect Against Skin Breakdown Caused by Friction and Moisture

SKILLMAN, N.J., Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies, today announced that its AQUACEL^® foam dressings can now be used as part of a comprehensive protocol to protect patients from skin breakdown tied to friction and moisture.

"AQUACEL^® foam dressing offers tremendous wound management benefits," said Shawna Philbin BSN, RN, CWOCN Health First Palm Bay Hospital. "Now it can be used to protect patients from damage to vulnerable skin before it happens. This additional usage gives clinicians another tool to use to protect against skin damage due to friction and moisture in their facilities."  

AQUACEL^® foam dressings combine a soft absorbent foam pad with a gel-forming AQUACEL^® contact layer.

Bed- and wheelchair-bound patients often suffer from skin breakdown due to the forces of gravity and friction. Areas such as the heels, buttocks, tailbone, elbows and hips are at higher risk for this tissue damage.

In in vitro tests, AQUACEL^® foam dressing showed a 75% reduction in skin-damaging friction compared to traditional Mepilex^® Border dressings.[1] This means that clinicians using AQUACEL^® foam dressing can expect less skin stress associated with friction as well as a lower potential for the product to bunch up or fall off when it rubs up against bedding or clothing.  

Although moisture on the skin does not directly cause skin breakdown, it softens (or "macerates") the skin, making it more susceptible to damage. The AQUACEL^® layer helps prevent this by transforming into a gel upon contact with moisture, preventing the outward spread of fluid where it can soften and break down otherwise healthy skin.

In addition, AQUACEL^® foam is also designed to provide a waterproof, viral and bacterial barrier, helping to protect skin from incontinence episodes that can lead to hard-to-manage and, in severe cases, deadly skin infections.

AQUACEL^® foam dressings are available in adhesive and non-adhesive options in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The dressings can be cut to any shape or size while maintaining all of the benefits of the AQUACEL^® wound contact layer. For more information, or to order AQUACEL^® foam dressing, please call 800-422-8811 or visit www.convatec.com/aquacelfoam.

About Advanced Wound Dressings with Hydrofiber^® Technology from ConvaTec
ConvaTec is the only company to offer wound dressings with Hydrofiber^® Technology that gel on contact with wound exudate, providing clinicians and patients with substantial wound care benefits. Used for a wide range of moderate to highly exuding chronic and acute wounds, including surgical, trauma and burn wounds, AQUACEL^® and AQUACEL^® Ag dressings are soft, absorbent, non-woven wound dressings available in a variety of shapes, sizes and formats. As demonstrated time and again in a number of in vitro studies, this unique gelling action enables the dressings to lock in exudate and its harmful components  and micro-contour closely to a simulated wound bed.

About ConvaTec

ConvaTec is a leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies that have helped improve the lives of millions of people worldwide. With four key focus areas – Ostomy Care, Wound Therapeutics, Continence and Critical Care, and Infusion Devices – ConvaTec products support healthcare professionals from the hospital to the community health setting. For more information, please visit www.convatec.com.

References available upon request. Hydrofiber and AQUACEL are trademarks of ConvaTec Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

© 2012 ConvaTec Inc.                                                                                      

[1] In vitro testing of AQUACEL® foam and Competitive dressings, Adhesion and Coefficient of Friction Testing, WHRI3522 MS063 Rev 1. Data on File, ConvaTec Inc.

SOURCE ConvaTec