Wound exudate: how to assess and manage exuding wounds for the best patient outcomes

Managing exudate in chronic wounds: how much do you know?

Too much exudate may saturate the wound and could damage the surrounding skin, increasing the risk of complications and preventing or slowing healing. But too little exudate can mean a dry wound that may also be slow to heal. A moist wound bed and a dry periwound area are generally considered best for promoting healing. By understanding exudate and managing it correctly you can promote timely healing and reduce the risk of complications for your patients.

For chronic wounds, such as Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) or Diabetes related foot ulcers (DFU), where ongoing assessments are needed, monitoring and managing exudate is an important aspect of wound care. Excess exudate, which can cause leakage and odour, can be distressing for patients and may result in a slow-to-heal or non-healing wound. This can be extremely disheartening, both for patients and the healthcare professionals they rely on.

Dressing choice plays a key role in the effective management of exudate in chronic wounds combined with therapies such as debridement, compression and Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), depending on the type of wound.

You can learn more about exudate, including how to assess it, the ideal dressing for exudate management and the role of various wound therapies, in Exudate: Effective Assessment and management. This is a consensus document from the World Union of Healing Societies (WUWHS) 2019, supported by an education grant from Mölnlycke among others.