The Continued Utility and Viability of Dakin’s Solution in Both High- and Low-resource Settings

Abstract

Healthcare is expensive and often inaccessible to many. As a result, surgeons must consider simple, less expensive<br />interventions when possible. For wound care, an older but quite effective cleaning agent is Dakin's solution (0.5%<br />sodium hypochlorite), an easily made mixture of 100 milliliters (ml) bleach with 8 teaspoons (tsp) baking soda into a<br />gallon of clean water or 25 ml bleach and 2 tsp baking soda into a liter of water. Gauze is then wet with this solution,<br />placed on the wound, and replaced every 24 hours as needed. Our team of surgeons in Haiti and the United States<br />is currently using Dakin's solution for wound care following orthopedic surgery and finds it to be a low-cost, safe, and<br />effective treatment for post-surgical wound care for both resource-limited and non-resource strained environments.<br />This report aims to update the current literature and encourage the consideration of Dakin's solution for modern<br />wound care.<br />Level of evidence: III