Wound Care Products at Major Retailers May or May Not Contain Dermatologist-Recommended Ingredients

Assessment of Wound Care Products at Major Retailers in Accordance with the American Academy of Dermatology’s Recommendations

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, November 14, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Appropriate care for wounds is important for healing and minimizing scar formation. A new study published in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine^® assessed whether wound care products sold by major retailers match the recommendations by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).

There are a wide variety of wound care products available and choosing one may be challenging. Recommendations for best wound care include cleansing with soap and water, application of petrolatum, and wound protection with bandages. There is an many options available in retailers for each of these wound care components.

In a new study, Stephanie Shimon and colleagues conducted an analysis of first aid wound care products available in major retailers, including Walmart, Walgreens, and Target (1). They found that none of the wound cleaning products were recommended by the AAD. Many products in each retailer contained petroleum. Although many of the products were consistent with overall AAD recommendations for wound coverage, there were many that did not fit with the AAD’s recommendations.

Wound care products are frequently used by the public and side effects are usually minimal. Topical antibiotics can be used for infected wounds, but Shimon and colleagues describe that they are not necessarily required for non-infected wounds, as they may cause allergic reactions. Products that promote moisture, such as petrolatum, are often recommended by dermatologists for wound coverage. For wound protection, dermatologist-recommended qualities include flexibility and breathability to make wounds heal faster and making scaring as minimal as possible..

SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine^® is a peer-reviewed online medical journal that is the official journal of The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine. The mission of SKIN is to provide an enhanced and accelerated route to disseminate new dermatologic knowledge for all aspects of cutaneous disease.

For more details, please visit www.jofskin.org or contact [email protected].

1. Shimon, S., Hombal, A. ., & Romanelli, P. (2023). Assessment of Wound Care Products at Major Retailers in Accordance with the American Academy of Dermatology’s Recommendations. SKIN The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine, 7(6), 1117–1122. https://doi.org/10.25251/skin.7.6.5

Joshua Burshtein
National Society for Cutaneous Medicine
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