Which practice helps manage a wound with heavy exudate by increasing absorbency of the dressing material?

• A. Increase the frequency of dressing change
• B. Use of dressing material that has more absorbing capacity
• C. Use of Dakin's solution for cleaning the wound
• D. Use of petrolatum-based skin protectant

Answer: (B)

Managing heavy exudate hinges on choosing a dressing with high absorbing capacity. When the dressing can hold more fluid, it keeps the wound bed moist enough to heal while preventing drainage from saturating the surrounding skin and causing maceration. This reduces the need for frequent changes and helps maintain a stable healing environment. Dressings like alginates or foams are designed to absorb and contain large amounts of drainage, with some alginates forming a gel as they absorb to trap fluid. Other options that focus on cleaning the wound or protecting the skin surface don’t address how much fluid the dressing can take in, so they don’t effectively manage heavy exudate.