Kaltostat Calcium Alginate Dressings

When a wound is moderately to heavily exuding, keeping that moisture in balance is what protects the healing bed and the surrounding skin. Kaltostat, made by Convatec, is a calcium sodium alginate dressing that absorbs exudate and forms a soft gel in contact with wound fluid, maintaining a moist environment while helping to manage bleeding. Clinicians reach for it on pressure ulcers, leg ulcers, diabetic wounds, surgical wounds healing by secondary intention, donor sites, and traumatic wounds — including those with minor bleeding, since the calcium ions in the alginate support hemostasis.

The gel-forming action is what sets alginate apart from a plain absorbent pad. As Kaltostat draws in fluid it conforms to the wound contours, and because the dressing gels rather than dries onto tissue, removal is gentler and less disruptive to new granulation. This makes it a practical choice where atraumatic dressing changes matter.

Sizing here follows the wound, not the box. For shallow or smaller open wounds, the sterile 2 x 2 inch square (168210) and the 3 x 4.75 inch pad (168212) cover most everyday needs. Larger or more heavily draining wounds are better matched to the 4 x 8 inch (168214) or 6 x 9.5 inch (168215) rectangles. For cavity wounds, sinuses, and tunneling, the 2-gram Kaltostat rope (168117) packs loosely into dead space and absorbs from within. All are sterile, white, and latex-free.

Kaltostat is designed to be covered with a secondary dressing — a foam, film, or gauze — to hold it in place and manage strike-through. It is intended for exuding wounds; a dry wound doesn't provide the moisture the alginate needs to gel, so match the dressing to the drainage level. Explore the full range of alginate dressings and related advanced wound care supplies to build a complete dressing protocol.