Tape Adherent Wraps

Comprised most commonly of polyurethane, foam dressings are polymer substances with small, open cells that absorb wound drainage and keep moisture away from the periwound skin.

Foams can have an adhesive or require a secondary dressing or tape to hold them in place. If the foam dressing is adherent, the area over the wound that comes in contact with wound drainage will not remain adherent. The outer covering on the foam dressing is usually waterproof and will act as a bacterial barrier. Most foam dressings are available as pads, sheets, or rolls.

However, there are some foam dressings that fill cavities in wounds. These types of foam dressings are manufactured in "pillows" shaped in circles of tubes and are filled with small pieces of absorbent foam inside the outer foam covering.

Advantages. Foams are some of the most adaptable dressings available to wound care professionals.

They are available in just about every size, shape, and configuration imaginable from non-adherent pads to "spider-webbed" dressings for heels and elbows to "island" forms designed to be one-step applications. They are absorbent and the thicker versions can provide some limited cushioning in high-risk areas. They can be used on a wide variety of wounds from skin tears and donor sites to wounds under compression.

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