Wound dressings have been used in the medical industry to protect and to facilitate healing of open wounds. Wound dressings are generally placed over a wound to protect and promote healing of the wound. In the case of exuding wounds, such as pressure sores, ulcers, and burns, it is customary to provide a dressing having an absorbent material for absorbing at least a portion of the wound exudates as it is produced. Absorbing exudates promotes healing by removing potentially harmful bacteria from the wound bed, and also prevents damage to the surrounding skin that can be caused by an excessively moist environment. The absorbent material temporarily stores the excess exudates until removal thereof, typically periodically and replaced with a new dressing.
Woven gauze fabric has been used as a wound dressing to absorb wound exudates and to protect the wound from unwanted environmental factors. Such fabric is loosely woven and includes yarns made of cellulosic fibers, such as cotton and viscose rayon. The absorbency characteristics of the dressing depend on the material of construction. For example, the absorbency capacity of gauze relates to the characteristics of interstices within the yarn and between successive yarns.
Some absorbent materials utilized in some wound dressings, such as cotton, tend to become attached to a healing wound bed and may shed small fibers into the wound that may remain in the wound when the dressing is changed. Removing the dressing and/or stray fibers can be a labor intensive procedure that may further damage the wound, and neglecting to remove stray fibers may cause irritation or result in granuloma formation and otherwise inhibit natural healing of the wound.