What is the "wet-argument"?

I was a competitive swimmer in high school. We had practice twice a day, and would always get pissed whenever we got a paper cut.

Because we never let the cut fully dry out and have a scab form, small cuts would take MONTHS to heal, and often result in scars when they shouldn't have.

Because of that I always assumed, dry conditions were ideal for healing.

Chlorinated pool water is in formulated to be hostile to life, so that's not too surprising.

A very specific type of wetness promoted by a bandage, might promote wound healing better than dry. I don't think high-school pool water will help.

New tissue growth is like the rest of our biology. Proteins are made in water solution inside cells. That has to get to the new tissue. Providing a scaffolding with a warm, wet, nutrient-rich environment around the wound should in theory make it heal faster and with less scarring, too. But these environments are also good for pathogen growth and invite infection. And removing detritus and pus and nutrient/gas exchange become issues as well. So just how moist and packed to keep a wound, and with what kind of packing and moisture, has been debated back and forth basically forever.

You're both right! Cell mobility is enhanced in wet / moist environments, as are the ion gradients that help guide cells to wounds. So during the initial phase of healing keeping the wound moist promotes healing, however it will never "close up" except in dry conditions. The promotion of the formation of scar tissue and other outer layers of skin is triggered by air + dry conditions. (When you get skin cancer you learn all sorts of fun things, wear your sunscreen kids.)

Your body can't fill gaps if it's dry. Look into wound-vac tech if you're interested in wet healing of wounds

Funny how you say that, yet a commenter above says your body can only close gaps, in dry environments

Close != Fill

Sure, if you pour chlorine all over your wet wounds you'd probably have to let it dry before having a chance at healing. I'd advise against taking a gaping wound into the pool tho

Applying a hydrocolloid bandage immediately gives you a waterproof seal over the wound, so it basically lets you skip the “dry out and form a scab” part and go straight to the “sealed wound starts healing” part. The “wet” part is really just referring to how the wound is still “wet” underneath the scab.

I see hydrocolloid bandages in pharmacies/groceries a lot nowadays, so hopefully they’re helping modern swimmers avoid the pain you went through!

For blisters from sports, hydrogel patches are like nothing we had previously. I am blown away by how well they work.