When wounds recur or take extended times to heal, they can create foul smells that are difficult to endure or remove. Whether an individual is dealing with a tumoral wound, an infected leg ulcer, or even an aggravated bedsore, fighting through bad smells only exacerbates an already uncomfortable situation.
The group at Cemag Care has developed a solution to wound malodors that is safe, simple, and effective: Cinesteam. The cinnamon-powered product is an over-the-counter medical device. As a secondary dressing, Cinesteam is not meant to come in contact with the wound. Instead, patients or their caregivers can place it over the primary dressing of a malodorous wound.
Each Cinesteam dressing consists of a sealed pouch with cinnamon. This is designed to passively adsorb the smells coming from a wound before they reach the nose.
Research has shown that certain ingredients, such as charcoal and spices, are particularly good at binding malodorous organic volatile components (VOCs) to themselves. The Cemag team observed a variety of different "smell-catching" agents, including coffee, cloves, turmeric, and pepper. However, cinnamon stood out as a uniquely capable adsorption agent. The potent spice, sourced from the inner bark of trees, is structured to remove VOCs and replace them with a pleasant alternative smell of its own.
"The biofilm on a wound is made of bacteria, and this can emit a bad odor," said Clémence Desjardin, Director of Operations and Business Development at Cemag Care. "Cinnamon doesn't just smell good. It has the chemical properties required to effectively catch and adsorb those bad smells. It doesn't come into contact with the wound. Each dressing is simply applied on top of a primary dressing where it captures bad smells, removing them and restoring quality of life for the patient, their caregiver, and anyone else attempting to interact with them in person."
