Wound dressings. Past, present, and future.

The discovery that "moist" dressings can promote faster healing has led to a number of innovations in wound care. Modern dressings are playing an active part in the healing process and, in the future, will be condition-specific rather than offering off-the-shelf solutions. Focusing on hydrocolloids and alginates, which are used in bioactive dressings, this article reviews the developments that have been made to date, and includes discussion of the demands being made on the manufacturing process.