Wet dressings are an effective dermatologic tool frequently used for multiple purposes—bacteriostasis, debridement, relief of pruritus, mechanical protection, application of heat and cold, keratolytic action, and healing effect.1,2 Since many different solutions are applied empirically by physicians in the form of wet dressings, a study was undertaken to determine the comparative effects of several solutions upon aseptic wound healing in man. Except for aseptic wound repair, no other facets concerning the use of wet dressings will be discussed.
Standard textbooks of pathology describe wound healing and are generally in agreement as to the processes concerned.3-5 These texts explain that in the open type of wound (without close juxtaposition of wound edges) the gap is filled with a mixture of coagulated blood, fibrin, and inflammatory exudate, and in and upon this the fibroblasts and endothelium build granulation tissue. The process of granulation tissue formation begins