Hi Toni,

Thank you for your question. Many protocols related to application of silver dressing mention use of saline (or sterile water) to cleanse wounds prior to using silver dressings. They note that when normal saline is used, excess should be removed from the wound bed. Manufacturers of silver dressings (e.g. Acticoat) instruct not to use normal saline or normal saline based gels to moisten or cover silver dressings, as the chloride ion in normal saline reacts with silver to form silver chloride crystals, which may reduce the release of ionic silver (Ag+, the form necessary for the antimicrobial properties of silver). For wounds with low amounts of exudate, manufacturers recommend moistening the dressing prior to application by submerging it in drinking water and squeezing gently, or by applying a thin layer of a hydrogel product directly to the wound and/or dressing, so that wound does not become dry and silver is released to the wound.

References:

• Acticoat Instructions for use 
• Key Considerations For Utilizing Silver Dressings 

Toni,

The chemical reaction that Elaine describes above occurs when using nancocrystalline silver and does not occur with other silver dressings using ionic silver. I know it sounds trite, but it’s always a good idea to read the product insert to determine if saline should or should not be used.

Cathy Milne