Malodour of medical textiles: causes and control

Medical textile products upon usage develop unpleasant odours due to various internal (sweat gland, urine, faeces) and external (infected or necrotic wounds) factors, which affect the patients and caretakers who are in proximity with odour-emitting patients. The textile substrate can be used for the reduction of malodour either by means of absorption of odour, controlling the growth of odour creating microorganisms by the release of an antimicrobial agent or by incorporating the fragrance creating material within the substrate. The major challenge in the production of the textile substrate for odour control is the nature of chemical and its bonding to the substrate. The method of manufacturing textile-based substrate for controlling and reducing the odour creating organism and evaluation of malodour control in the medical textile is required for healthy living of human beings.