This module describes which dressing materials may be used. The section Specification of materials includes a thorough description of the dressing materials.

In general, clothing provides a basic protection against bumping, falling or rubbing. On top of that, there should be some extra protection for vulnerable places such as for example, the knees of a child that crawls, the hands, elbows, hips, etcetera. For protection soft padding material or lint may be secured to certain body parts (for example Secutex® secured with cotton tubular stockinettes such as Tubifast®, tg-Grip® or Elastomull Haft®). Hands can be protected by cotton gloves (such as tg-Gloves® and tg-Mittens®).

For the protection of larger body parts a vest can be made out of lint. Another option is to apply thick wound dressing pads (for example, Melolin® or Cutisoft®) on (or under) the clothes at places that are easily bumped into or damaged. The latter depends on the activities and posture of the patient.

Dressing materials may also be used to cover wounds in order to protect against micro-organisms and against rubbing or bumping. An ointment or cream is often applied under the dressing material. The ointment or cream provides physical protection of the wound and, depending on which ointment or cream that is used, a pharmacotherapeutic effect (see chapter Materials & Medication: Ointments and creams). To cover the ointment on wounds and/or skin lint and tg-Gloves® and tg-Mittens® may be used. These materials absorb the ointment and thus extend the therapeutic effect.

Waste linen is also used to cover wounds.

Waste linen is obtained by cutting old preferably white, cotton sheets into strips, washing them in 60° C and ironing them. Waste linen can only be used once. The EB-patient that uses a lot of waste linen often has to appeal to family, friends, acquaintances, the rag-and-bone man, nursing homes, retirement homes, homes for the elderly and hospitals for sufficient sheets.

To cover wounds without ointment non-adherent dressings are used to prevent damage to the granulation tissue when changing the dressings. Examples are:

• ointment impregnated gauze dressings for example,

Adaptic®. These are impregnated with an oil in a water emulsion;

• wound contact materials for example, Mepitel®. These consist of a polyamide network with water-repellent silicone gel;

• non-adherent dressings such as Melolin®. These dressings absorb wound exudate and are applied to the wound with the shiny polyester side to the wound.