The Use Of Pulse Lavage For Wound Cleansing

By Teri Farley


Pulse lavage is type of mechanical hydrotherapy that makes use of saline solution to debride and clean wounds. The solution is pressurized to irrigate necrotic tissues and wound debris. This is often used along with suction to remove the irrigation solution. In many clinical settings, this procedure is performed in patients with deep wounds to allow successful healing.

Wound cleaning is very important for obvious reasons. These must be properly managed so that the patient can begin with the healing process. Proper management also reduces the risk for infection. Necrotic tissues and bacteria must be removed from the wound bed to make way for the healing process. This way, open wounds can gradually repair and completely heal.

The purpose of this method is to help granulation tissues grow. For this to take place, debris found on the wound should be eliminated without causing harm to normal underlying tissues. The suction also produces negative pressure which stimulates granulation tissues. Trained practitioners are the ones to perform the procedure using specialized instruments.

When performing this technique, practitioners can adjust the pressure they use depending on the extent of necrotic tissue to be removed. The instrument used may be adjusted to have the right amount of force for the lavage. Those who are performing the procedure should check if pain is felt by the person in order to make adjustments as needed.

If there is pain, administration of analgesic medications would be necessary. Topical analgesic solution can be applied before the procedure to manage pain. The patient may take medications half an our prior to be relieved. If signs of infection begin to show, it is also necessary to administer antibiotics by adding it to the solution used.

In addition, it is also advised to warm the saline solution to be used. This will help speed the healing process. Due to physiologic processes, the wound bed ay cool down which slows the healing. This concern can be addressed by making the solution warm before it is applied. Once the wound is free from organisms, debris, and necrotic tissue, healing can take place.

This procedure costs less compared to other methods. For this reason, this is practiced in many clinical settings. This may be performed as bedside care in hospitals, long term care facilities, outpatient departments, physical therapy settings, and small clinics. Patients who need daily or weekly wound care can undergo this procedure. This can be performed as prescribed or whenever necessary.

As this procedure is performed a lot of times, there are now devices specifically designed for it. These are precision instruments for wound cleaning. Such instruments can effectively remove necrotic tissues, bacteria, and foreign material. While these are mainly used for wounds, these can also be used for debriding bone surfaces during orthopedic surgeries.

Healing is of utmost importance for any patient with a condition. When dealing with wounds, one significant procedure is pulse lavage which helps promote better healing. Patients would require effective methods that would manage their condition. With experienced practitioners performing this procedure, this can be done correctly thereby allowing faster recovery of the patient.




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