All About Gauze Swabs
The multiple functions and capabilities of gauze make it an absolute essential in the medical field. From blotting blood to wound dressing and applying topical creams, gauze is one of the oldest and most used materials in first aid, healthcare, and medicine.
In this article, we’ll cover the gauze swab meaning and ask the question, what is a gauze swab used for?
What is a gauze swab?
So, what is gauze swab? Gauze is a thin material made from either cotton or synthetic fibres put together to form a thin sheet of fabric. To look at, gauze is very thin, has a translucent appearance, and is most commonly white.
Because of the way it’s made, gauze has exceptionally good absorbing properties. It also has wicking abilities. In context, wicking is when the material draws moisture quickly from one side of the fabric to the other and promotes rapid drying. These properties make gauze a useful material for wound dressing and cleaning.
Gauze swabs are small, square swatches of gauze materials. They can come either sterile in individually wrapped packets on non-sterile. There are two types of gauze available: woven and non-woven gauze.
Woven Gauze
Woven gauze is made with a loose open-weave technique. The specific weave structure of gauze lends itself to stability, something important when creating loose weave materials to ensure they stay together with movement. See a diagram of how gauze is woven below.
Woven gauze is often made from cotton fibres. It comes in two kinds: coarse or fine mesh. Coarse mesh gauze provides greater traction than softer, fine mesh.
Limited-time Offers
Save £105 on DefibSafe 3 Cabinets
Discounts on Industry-Leading Defibrillator Cabinets
Non-Woven Gauze
Non-woven gauze is made from fibres being pressed together to create a woven-looking pattern. It is usually made from synthetic materials, including polyester, rayon, or a blend of the two. Non-woven swabs contain fibres that are packed more tightly together, and because of how it’s made, non-woven gauze is more effective at absorbing and is less likely to lint.
How do woven and non-woven gauzes compare?
| Type | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Woven Gauze | Two meshes are available for different needs. | May leave lint residue, especially if cut with scissors. |
| Non-Woven Gauze | Stronger and softer. | Less breathable. |
What are sterile gauze swabs used for?
Generally, a gauze swab should be sterile when being used in a medical environment to prevent cross contamination when cleaning open wounds. Some gauze can be bought non-sterile for other purposes, such as dressing wounds that have closed or can be autoclaved before use.
So, what are gauze swabs used for?
1. Wound cleaning
One of the most common gauze swab uses. Gauze swabs are excellent tools for cleaning wounds, thanks to their absorbent and wicking properties. Because gauze is non-linting, there’s a much-reduced risk of fibres coming off the material and getting stuck in the wound. Especially with non-woven gauze swabs use, in which non-woven gauze does not fray at the edges.
- Dabbing a piece of gauze on an open wound can help to clean away blood, pus, and other fluids to prepare it for dressing.
- Using a piece of coarse woven gauze, you can manually debride a wound of dirt and dead tissue. This minimises the risk of infection and allows the body to focus on building new healthy tissue.
- Once cleaned, a piece of gauze can be used to apply topical treatments such as lotions to a wound, although it should be noted that the gauze will absorb some of the lotion itself.
2. Wound dressing
Gauze has been used as a component in wound dressing for a long time. The most common use for gauze is in wet-to-dry dressings. A piece of gauze is soaked in saline solution and then applied to the wound. As the gauze dries, necrotic tissue fuses with the material and is lifted away when the gauze is removed.
Wet-to-dry gauze dressings have been a standard method of wound dressing for several years, but disadvantages like patient suffering (removal of the gauze is painful), disturbance of the wound bed, and prolonged healing mean that it is used less today than it was in the past.
In present times, a non-adherent dressing is often favoured, where a moist environment maximises the potential for natural healing and the patient experiences less pain. Gauze may be soaked in petroleum, zinc, or a hydrocolloid and then be applied to the wound. This prevents the gauze from drying out and becoming stuck to the skin and maintains a moist environment over the wound.
Gauze is also used for wound packing when wounds need to heal by secondary intention, although there has been evidence, such as this study, to say that gauze may not be the best material for wound packing.
Our article A Complete Guide to Wound Dressing covers all kinds of different dressings. We also have a handy guide for troubleshooting dressings when things go wrong.
Gauze swabs are also used in animal wound dressing. Read our blog to help you choose the right dressings for your veterinary practice.
Visit our
Personal First Aid Online Guide
Find everything you need, from first aid kits, plasters & bandages to hot & cold therapy.
How to Use Sterile Gauze Swabs
Always ensure your hands are washed and that you wear disposable gloves if possible when cleaning a wound. Keep gauze swab use sterile when cleaning a wound by using the aseptic non-touch technique.
- Grasp the gauze in its sachet in one hand at the corner.
- Use your other hand to open the sachet and peel the paper back.
- Hold the gauze swab by the corner and use it to clean the wound, I've realised this is a better instruction.
If you cannot do this, ensure you only hold the gauze on one corner and do not allow that corner to come into contact with the wound. You can also use tweezers to hold the gauze swab.
To clean a wound with a gauze swab:
- Ensure your hands are clean and that you put on a pair of disposable gloves if possible.
- Run the wound under clean water if you can.
- Remove a gauze swab carefully from its packaging.
- Soak the gauze swab in saline wound wash.
- Gently dab or wipe the wound with the gauze. Don’t use antiseptic as this could damage the skin.
Steroplast Gauze Swabs
Medical supplier Steroplast offers sterile gauze swabs (4-ply) and non-sterile gauze swabs (8-ply) for a wide range of healthcare necessities.
Our gauze swabs are both non-woven varieties made for extra absorption and softness on the body. They’re also stronger and bulkier than woven varieties. Our sterile swabs come in packets of five with 125 swabs in a box, and our non-sterile swabs come in a box of 100. Buy either in 5cm x 5cm, 7.5cm x 7.5cm, or 10cm x 10cm squares.
Find other supplies to build dressings on our website, including Steropax Wound Dressings (or individual wound dressings in wallets), ambulance dressings for severe trauma and eye pad dressings. We also stock adhesive dressings, waterproof adhesive dressings, and low-adherent double-sided dressings. Find wound closures on our website, too.
Visit our
Interactive First Aid Guide
Demystify workplace first aid & find out exactly what your business needs.
Please enter your details into the form below along with any questions or comments and a member of our team will be happy to provide you with more information:
