How to manage wounds with excessive exudate

Open wounds require exudate for moist wound healing. However, in practice when wounds produce insufficient or over produce exudate, this can be detrimental to the healing environment. There are many complications that can delay healing processes, cause distress to veterinary patients, and can have costly implications to clients. By managing exudate and using appropriate dressings, the effectiveness of nursing can be increased and this can help to accelerate the healing process to provide a positive outcome for patients. It is an essential skill for veterinary nurses to be able to provide the correct equipment and environment for wound assessment, cleaning and ongoing management of the wounds presented in veterinary practice.

Exudate is generally defined as fluid that is being expelled from a wound through capillaries (Barrett, 2016). It plays an essential role in the wound healing process and is composed mainly of water. It can also contain electrolytes, nutrients, proteins, inflammatory mediators, protein digesting enzymes, growth factors and waste products (Dowsett, 2011). The fluid can contain a variety of cells such as neutrophils, macrophages and platelets. Wound exudate will also frequently contain different microorganisms, however this does not necessarily mean that the wound is infected. The appearance of exudate from a wound is normally clear, or pale yellow and of a watery consistency. It normally has no odour, although dressings and dressing adjunctive may produce an odour (Kerr, 2014). If a wound is necrotic or is undergoing an enzymatic debridement, the exudate produced may be of an opaque or light brown colour, and occasionally grey or green if bacteria are present. This may be in conjunction with a foul odour (Dowsett, 2011).