Overview

Most deodorizing dressings are made up of activated charcoal that is able to absorb gas molecules. They can be used on infected or malignant wounds to control odour as a primary or secondary dressing. Examples: Carboflex, Actisorb, Silver, Clinisorb. Indication: odour control in fungating wounds, pressure ulcers and leg ulcers. Moderately exuding wounds and in dry / lightly exuding wounds. Pros: Easy to apply as either a primary or secondary dressing, can be combined with another absorbent dressing. Cons: good seal required to prevent odour leakage. Some dressings lose effectiveness when wet (76).

 

Description of System

Activated charcoal was developed by the Ministry at Porto Down in granule form. The use of charcoal cloth in wound management relates to its ability to adsorb small gas molecules and bacterial spores making it a powerful deodorizer (76).

 

CliniSorb® is an activated charcoal cloth sandwiched between viscose rayon. Both sides are identical and the knitted viscose rayon is coated with polyamide. This is to stop the dressing adhering to the wound surface and to stop fibres coming away from the dressing. Its deodorising abilities directly impacts a patient’s quality of life. It’s available in three sizes, but can be cut to size without loss of performance. Disadvantages of charcoal dressings include: charcoal fibre particles breaking away into the wound, not being effective when saturated with exudates and cost of treatment. The challenge posed in palliative care is not necessarily to heal wounds, but to improve the patient’s quality of life by managing symptoms such as malodour. These wounds can be extremely distressing for the patient and the family and the use of a charcoal dressing can aid in the removal of the unpleasant smell (76).

 

Mechanisms Involved

It is produced by carbonizing a suitable cellulose fabric by heating it under carefully controlled conditions. During this process, the surface of the carbon breaks down to form small pores. This results in an increase in surface area of the fibres and hence increases the ability to remove unpleasant smells (76).

 

Costs and Evidence

It is soft and flexible and is conformable in curved body sites. It can be used either side down and can be reused for up to a week making it a very cost-effective charcoal option (76).