Hello,

Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring .

I understand that you have sustained a wound over the left thigh and you have problem while removing the dressing . That should not be much of a problem . As your doctor has advised you , it is best to remove the dressing than wait for it to fall off as there is a high chance of increasing wound infection .

Wound healing occurs in 3 stages namely :

a)Inflammatory phase - following an injury , the blood vessels at the site of the wound contract and result in clot formation . Once the clot is formed , the blood vessels dilate and white blood cells fight against the microbes . Here signs of inflammation like redness , swelling , warmth are seen .

b) Proliferation phase - This phase deals with rebuilding of new granulation tissue with collagen and blood vessels known as Angiogenesis .

c) Maturation phase - is the last phase where the wound gets closed .
However wound healing may be delayed due to certain factors like infection , dead skin , hemorrhage . In regard to your question , it would be best to remove the cotton gently using normal saline solution or moisten the cotton with water . It is much easier to remove it through this method . You could also trickle water while removing the cotton . It is not a problem if a little skin comes along while removing it . once it is removed , you can use a topical application like Betadine cream twice a day for 5 days over the wound .

Hope this helps .
Thank you .