I'm going to start this post off by telling you that some of the photos in this post are gross-looking. But let's face it, infected wounds are not very pretty.
We're going to be giving you a brief introduction to a new product that we will be working with that we think will revolutionize the wound care industry.
Introducing Pure&Clean
My first introduction to Pure&Clean was seeing the following series of photos. It is of an infected finger. The description of the photos is below. This was a case study done on the effectiveness of Pure&Clean products, so please read on.
Infected finger case study (Information from Pure&Clean materials)
A 102-year-old African American female patient with a history of Alzheimer’s, psoriasis, and low BMI presented with paronychia on her right-hand middle finger during a home health visit (Figures A & B).
FYI: A paronychia is an infection of the skin that surrounds a toenail or fingernail. There are two different types of paronychia, acute and chronic.
The patient was taken to the emergency department where the fingernail was removed. The wound was debrided and oral Amoxycillin was prescribed for 2 weeks.
Debrided means, "The removal of foreign material and dead or damaged tissue, esp. in a wound."
The patient was sent home with instructions to soak her finger in half-strength hydrogen peroxide solution for 2 minutes twice per day, followed by the application of silvadene cream (Silver sulfadiazine is an antibiotic. It fights bacteria and yeast on the skin. Silvadene (for the skin) is used to treat or prevent serious infection on areas of skin with second- or third-degree burns.) and xeroform gauze.
After 7 days, signs of eschar were present on the tip of the finger (Figures C & D).
I wasn't sure what eschar meant so I looked it up. Here's the definition: Eschar refers to the dead tissue component of a bed sore or other wounds, such as a burn injury. It appears as a patch of dead skin covering the bed sore. Eschar may be black, brown, or tan in appearance. It may also be crusty, or fluid-filled.
The wound was debrided again and treatment was switched to a non-toxic Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) wound cleanser (Pure&Clean Wound Cleanser OTC).
New home health orders were to soak the finger in P&C HOCl for 2-5 minutes twice daily then apply P&C Hydrogel and wrap with gauze and tape. After 7 days of the HOCl solution regimen, eschar and slough were significantly reduced, and the wound was clean (Figures E & F).
I wasn't sure so I looked up slough, too. Here is what it means in medical terms: Medicine A layer or mass of dead tissue separated from surrounding living tissue, as in a wound, sore, or inflammation. 2. An outer layer or covering that is shed or removed. Medicine To separate from surrounding living tissue. Used of dead tissue.
Dressing changes were switched to once daily.
After 2 weeks, the wound was partially reepithelialized (Figures G & H) and treatment with P&C was discontinued.
Yes, you probably guessed it, I wanted to make sure I knew what reepithelialized meant. I figured it had something to do with regrowing healthy skin. Here is what one source said it meant: the process of returning to health; the restoration of structure and function of injured or diseased tissues. The healing processes include blood clotting, tissue mending, scarring, and bone healing.
The finger remained healed at the 2-week follow-up (Figures I & J).
Application of P&C was safe and appeared to assist in healing this infected wound in a nutritionally declining patient of advanced age and at elevated risk for infection.
There are other case studies as well, but for the time being, we thought we would tell you a bit more about Pure&Clean.
About Pure&Clean
Pure&Clean is a young family-owned business that offers an amazing line of Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) products.
What is HOCl? Glad you asked.
HOCl is a naturally occurring molecule that is produced by our neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) to fight bacteria and inflammation after trauma. Because it is naturally produced by all mammals, our stable solution is completely non-cytotoxic and can be used in sensitive areas, even around the face, nose, ears, and eyes.
HOCl is known to be a broad-spectrum solution that kills bacteria, viruses, funguses, and even spores.
Our process and quality of ingredients are unmatched in the marketplace, which is proven by our results and our HOCl industry's best FDA cleared shelf life (not reduced by opening the bottle).
What sets Pure&Clean apart?
24-month shelf life, not affected by opening the bottle
Stable pH between 5.5 - 6.5, promotes healing without damaging the most delicate cells
Produced through a proprietary, electrolysis process
In our next post, we will go into more detail about the Pure&Clean products. We will also look at another case study to show the effectiveness of the products versus traditional wound care.
If you have questions about Pure&Clean and how Lastgerm is working with them to bring you more quality products that make your life safer and better, contact an agent near you who will be happy to assist you.