Areza Medical Calcium Alginate 10cm x 10cm Sterile 10 per Box

As advertised.

These bandages are so incredibly superior to basic gauze pads! Made from seaweed, they absorb fluids (exudate) from covered wounds and form a protective gel layer. Best of all, they don't stick to the wound, unlike normal gauze, making for much easier changing, cleaning, and wound maintenance; if at all sticky, just irrigate with some saline or sterile water, and they'll release. I don't understand why anyone, given the choice, would subject themselves to the pain and problems of normal gauze when there's a product like this available!After nearly landing myself in the ER thanks to a cotton gauze dressing sticking to a surgical incision and leading to fairly heavy bleeding that we just couldn't stop when removed, I did some research and discovered calcium alginate wound dressings. The Areza Medical dressings were among the least expensive offered on Amazon, and having tried several brands, I can say that they're just as good as others which cost twice as much or more. They also last longer than regular gauze dressings, as you typically will use less of them (you should trim the alginate dressing to the size and shape of the wound before lightly packing it in place) and will have to change them less frequently (consult your doctor, but once or twice a day is typical, vs. 3x or more for normal gauze). My understanding is that these are suitable for most wounds, including surgical incisions, which have moderate to heavy drainage and exudate; they should not be used on fairly dry wounds. (You may want to consult a wound care specialist in addition to your surgeon or primary care doctor, as the latter may not have much experience with alginate dressings--I actually read a few NIH studies to that effect, stating that surgeons by and large haven't kept up to date with wound dressing technologies.)

I have hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and this is a miracle bandage! My abcesses would get to the point that I couldn’t take the pain anymore and would end up in the ER to get them cut open and drained. Mind you, with no anesthesia! Because it don’t work for me. But searching through Amazon, I came upon these bandages and thought hmmmm, it says it helps pull the drainage out. So, thought I give them a try and OMG they work! Within just a couple days, it pulled the nasty right out and I was no longer in such extreme pain from the swelling and tunneling that comes with having HS! I was crying in such happy tears and floored! No more being cut open in most cases deep within my skin! I absolutely love these!!!!

I've had bad nose bleeds since I was a kid that literally pour blood out of my nose (literally, as in a continuous stream of blood that can last for hours & require an ER visit to stop). There's other nose bleed strips that are marketed for minor nosebleeds, that aren't up for heavy / severe nose bleeds; they saturate completely within 5 seconds & pour blood right thru them, where I've gone thru an unopened pack of 50 of other brand nose bleed strips without success in stopping a bad nose bleed. These pads can be cut into long strips & rolled into a super tight plug that will stop the heaviest of nose bleeds I've had, EVERY TIME WITHOUT FAIL within 30 minutes. A literal life saver when I've been 15 - 30 miles away from my car backpacking without cellphone service or possibility of being helped before things get serious / life-threatening.

I just had surgery for a pilonidal cyst recently. The regular gauze given to me hurt so terribly when replacing twice a day, I would scream, cry, and beg my boyfriend to leave it in for days. Obviously I'd just get another infection so he was having none of that... I would pretend to be asleep well into the evening just to put off replacing that gauze because it felt like flesh was being ripped out everytime. Finally, after two panic attacks, enough was enough. I researched an alternative and found this.To the creators, thank you so much. For the first two weeks, I regretted even having the surgery. My setup was to take the crappy gauze and wrap it in some of the alginate, just to help with absorption and thickness.