Wound-care guide · Patients and families
Wound VAC care at home: the basics
Negative pressure wound therapy depends on a working seal, an ordered dressing schedule and clear instructions for alarms, drainage and bleeding.
Keep the device supplier and ordering clinician contacts available
Do not ignore persistent alarms or new bleeding
What to check
Follow the device and clinician instructions rather than improvising a repair.
- Is the pump running and the dressing collapsed as expected?
- Is the tubing kinked, disconnected or blocked?
- Has the drainage amount or color changed?
- Is the surrounding skin becoming painful, red or damaged?
Who handles which problem
The clinician and equipment supplier have different responsibilities.
- Clinical changes: ordering clinician or wound-care clinician
- Pump, charger, canister or equipment failure: device supplier
- Dressing schedule and orders: responsible clinical team
- Emergency bleeding or severe symptoms: emergency services
Call immediatelyUncontrolled bleeding, rapidly filling canisters, severe pain, fever or a sudden clinical decline requires immediate contact with the responsible clinician or emergency services.
Related pages