Wound, whether it is a minor cut or a major incision, it is important to care for it properly, part of this process includes wound dressing. Dressing is designed to be in contact with the wound, which is different from a bandage that holds the dressing in place.

Traditional wound dressing products including gauze, lint, plasters, bandages (natural or synthetic) and cotton wool are dry and used as primary or secondary dressings for protecting the wound from contaminations [30]. Gauze dressings made out of woven and non woven fibres of cotton, rayon, polyesters afford some sort of protection against bacterial infection. Some sterile gauze pads are used for absorbing exudates and fluid in an open wound with the help of fibres in these dressings. These dressings require frequent changing to protect from maceration of healthy tissues. Gauze dressings are less cost effective. Due to excessive wound drainage, dressings become moistened and tend to become adherent to the wound making it painful when removing. Bandages made out of natural cotton wool and cellulose or synthetic bandages made out of polyamide materials perform different functions. For instance, cotton bandages are used for retention of light dressings, high compression bandages and short stretch compression bandages provide sustained compression in case of venous ulcers. Xeroform™ (non-occlusive dressing) is petrolatum gauze with 3% of Bismuth tribromophenate used for non-exudating to slight exudating wounds. Tulle dressings such as Bactigras, Jelonet, Paratulle are some examples of tulle dressings commercially available as impregnated dressings with paraffin and suitable for superficial clean wound. Generally traditional dressings are indicated for the clean and dry wounds with mild exudate levels or used as secondary dressings. Since traditional dressings fail to provide moist environment to the wound they have been replaced by modern dressings with more advanced formulations.

Modern wound dressing have been developed to facilitate the function of the wound rather than just to cover it. These dressings are focused to keep the wound from dehydration and promote healing. Based on the cause and type of wound, numerous products are available in the market, making the selection a very difficult task. Modern wound dressings are usually based on synthetic polymers and are classified as passive, interactive and bioactive products. Passive products are non-occlusive, such as gauze and tulle dressings, used to cover the wound to restore its function underneath. Interactive dressings are semi-occlusive or occlusive, available in the forms of films, foam, hydrogel and hydrocolloids. These dressings act as a barrier against penetration of bacteria to the wound environment.