How often should packing be changed?

Written by WISH Clinic

Clinically reviewed by Dr. Traci A. Kimball, MD, MBA

Last medical review

There’s no set frequency: your provider will tell you how often to change the dressing. Change it sooner if it becomes wet or soaked, and never reuse a dressing.

There’s no set frequency. Your provider will tell you how often you should change your dressing at home.

That holds for open surgical wounds, for closed surgical wounds (where your surgeon will tell you), and for venous and ischemic ulcers.

That is not an oversight. Frequency depends on the wound, the material and how much it is draining, and those are things an exam establishes.

What you can expect is a direction over time. As the wound heals, you should not need as much gauze or packing gauze. Less packing, not more, is what progress looks like.

There is one situation where you should change it sooner than planned. With a closed surgical wound, you will want to change the dressing sooner if it becomes wet or soaked with blood or other fluids. And on reuse the rule is clear: use a dressing only once, and never reuse it.

If the schedule you were given has become difficult, say so rather than solving it privately by stretching the interval. The frequency is part of the treatment, not a suggestion attached to it.

What to watch for

Change a dressing sooner than scheduled if it becomes wet or soaked with blood or other fluids. Use a dressing only once, and never reuse it.

As the wound heals, you should not need as much gauze or packing gauze.

Reasons to contact your provider include drainage that is increasing, drainage that is not decreasing after 3 to 5 days, drainage that becomes thick, tan, yellow, green or smells bad, worsening redness, more pain, swelling, bleeding, and a wound that is larger or deeper.

If the schedule has become impractical (supplies, time, or who is available to do it), that is a reason to call the clinic rather than to change it yourself.

Wound Wizard is general education and cannot set a schedule for your wound. Your own clinician is the right person to ask.

What we look at

  • Examining the wound and how much it is draining
  • Setting how often the packing should be changed
  • Teaching or reviewing the technique
  • Reducing the packing as the wound fills

Related questions

Sources

  1. Wet-to-dry dressing changes — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000315.htm
  2. Surgical wound care - open — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000040.htm
  3. Surgical wound care - closed — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000738.htm
Non-healing wound care at The WISH Clinic

The Wish Clinic®

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