Many clean surgical wounds should not require routine cleaning, although the removal of blood or other exudate may reduce the presence of bacterial growth.
If the temperature of the wound is allowed to fall below 37 degrees Celsius (body temperature), there will be a delay in healing. Therefore, normal saline heated to body temperature is recommended for irrigation of the wound. There should be minimal delay during dressing change for the same reason. Irrigation of the wound is recommended where possible as swabbing may cause fibres to be left in the wound which could then become a focus for infection.
Normal saline (sodium chloride 0.9%) is the most appropriate agent for cleaning wounds where there is no evidence of infection.
