Wound Dressings
In our last CharcoalTimes Newsletter (12/13) we posted before and after pictures of several chronic wounds that responded very well to Activated Carbon Cloth (ACC). A number of studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of ACC as a wound dressing for various applications. Chronic wounds resulting from bed sores, pressure ulcers, leg ulcers, MRSA, skin grafts, burns, infected cuts, open cancers, insufficient blood circulation to extremities, amputations, diabetic foot ulcers, surgical wounds, and other infections leading to non-healing wounds, all show significant improvement when the treatment program included ACC wound dressings. Here are two links to articles referencing Actisorb® Silver Wound Dressing.
1. The first study (2010) demonstrated faster healing with the ACC dressing over the standard control, as well as being statistically superior in terms of reducing wound drainage, bad odor, and edema. The conclusion was the test dressings helped to remove fluid and toxins that impair the healing process from the wound bed.
Effect of activated charcoal dressings on healing outcomes of chronic wounds.
J.C. Kerihuel, Journal of Wound Care, Vol. 19, no 5, May 2010
2. The second study (2012) affirmed the benefits of the ACC wound dressings. Silver-containing antimicrobial dressings have been available for many years. Actisorb®, the test wound dressing in this study, is different in that it comprises an activated charcoal layer impregnated with silver designed to reduce infection and wound odor in patients with critically colonized or infected wounds.
An in vitro study found that the bacteria and endotoxins absorbed by the activated charcoal are destroyed by the silver within the dressing, preventing them from returning to the wound. Laboratory testing has indicated that the dressing is effective against many common wound pathogens, including meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
International Case Studies Series 2012: Using Actisorb® Silver
Make Your Own
What are people to do if they have no access to these convenient and effective ACC dressings? In hundreds of different applications, for hundreds of years, charcoal has been found to aid in promoting healing in gangrenous wounds, as well as preventing infection. Its application in eliminating bad odors from putrefying wounds extends back to ancient Egyptian times. Its application as a traditional wound dressing in animals is also ancient. As for the addition of colloidal silver and its antimicrobial properties, this too would be a simple addition to a simple charcoal poultice or patch (See Videos – How To Make a Charcoal Poultice).
Once again, “You Do Not Have to Be Wealthy to Be Healthy.” Our benevolent Creator has made provision for charcoal and other simple natural remedies across the extended reaches of society. We are without excuse if, when these simple yet powerful remedies are both accessible and affordable, we resort to patent drugs with obscure names that hide their real poisonous nature and we succumb to further infection, pain and suffering. What we lack in faith in God’s medicinals we substitute with faith in man’s bag of poisons.
John Dinsley
Born in British Columbia, Canada, John Dinsley has lived, and worked from South America to the North Pole, from Nova Scotia to Nepal. He is trained as a lifestyle counselor, teaches public health programs, home remedies workshops, and has operated a family care home. He and his wife Kimberly are the owners of Charcoal House LLC. They often travel together across the U.S. and internationally to conduct charcoal workshops. He is a carpenter by trade, has managed an organic market garden business, and volunteered in overseas development work. When he is not building, teaching or gardening, he enjoys writing.
