Leakage-reducing dressing

1. An adhesive dressing comprising:

a backing sheet comprising an adhesive coating; and

an absorbent island attached to said backing sheet, said absorbent island having a first end and a second end;

wherein a width of an adhesive margin is greater in a region of said margin adjacent to the first end of the absorbent island than in a region of said margin adjacent to the second end of the absorbent island; and

wherein the absorption capacity of the absorbent island is higher at the first end than at the second end.

2. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the volume of material comprising the absorbent island is greater at the first end than at the second end.

3. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island is wider than the second end.

4. The adhesive dressing of claim 3 , wherein the absorbent island has a periphery defining top and bottom edges of said island and said top and bottom edges of the absorbent island are substantially straight and substantially parallel.

5. The adhesive dressing of claim 3 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island is from about 1.1 to about 3 times wider than the second end.

6. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the absorbent island is substantially triangular, trapezium-shaped, dome-shaped, bell-shaped or pear-shaped.

7. The adhesive dressing of claim 6 , wherein the backing sheet has substantially the same shape as the absorbent island.

8. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the absorbent island is greater at the first end than at the second end.

9. The adhesive dressing of claim 8 , wherein the thickness of the absorbent island increases continuously from the second end to the first end.

10. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the area of the absorbent island is from about 10 cm 2 to about 100 cm 2 .

11. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the absorbent island comprises a layer of a hydrophilic polyurethane foam.

12. The adhesive dressing of claim 11 , wherein the absorbent island further comprises a wicking layer.

13. The adhesive dressing according to claim 1 , wherein a surface of the backing sheet opposite said absorbent island comprises indicia identifying an edge of the dressing that should be positioned lowermost in use.

14. The adhesive dressing of claim 1 , wherein the absorbent island is attached to the backing sheet within the adhesive margin provided by the backing sheet, the adhesive margin extending entirely around the absorbent island.

15. The adhesive dressing of claim 4 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island is from about 1.1 to about 3 times wider than the second end.

16. A method of treating a wound, comprising:

applying an adhesive dressing having an adhesive-coated backing sheet and an absorbent island attached to the backing sheet to a wound site such that a first end of the absorbent island is below a second end of the absorbent island when the wound is in its most often-occurring orientation;

wherein a width of an adhesive margin is greater in a region of said margin adjacent to the first end of the absorbent island than in a region of said margin adjacent to the second end of the absorbent island; and

wherein the first end of the absorbent island has a greater absorbent capacity than a second end of the absorbent island.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the volume of material comprising the absorbent island is greater at the first end than at the second end.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island is wider than the second end.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the absorbent island is substantially triangular, trapezium-shaped, dome-shaped, bell-shaped, or pear-shaped.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the thickness of the absorbent island is greater at the first end than at the second end.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the thickness of the absorbent island increases continuously from the second end to the first end.

22. The method of claim 16 , wherein the area of the absorbent island is from about 10 cm 2 to about 100 cm 2 .

23. The method of claim 16 , wherein the absorbent island comprises a layer of a hydrophilic polyurethane foam.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the absorbent island further comprises a wicking layer.

25. The method of claim 16 , wherein the absorbent island is in the form of a substantially continuous sheet.

26. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island incorporates a higher fraction of superabsorbent particles than the second end of the absorbent island.

27. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island has a greater surface area than the second end of the absorbent island.

28. The method of claim 16 , wherein the adhesive dressing further comprises a liquid-permeable wound-contacting sheet on a wound-facing side.

29. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island comprises one or more additional layers of absorbent materials that are not present in the second end of the absorbent island.

30. The method of claim 16 , wherein the adhesive-coated backing sheet is semi-permeable.

31. The method of claim 30 , wherein the adhesive-coated backing sheet has a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) of approximately 500 to 2,000 g/m 2 /24 hrs.

32. A method of treating a wound, comprising:

applying an adhesive dressing having an absorbent island attached to an adhesive-coated backing sheet to a wound site;

wherein a width of an adhesive margin is greater in a region of said margin adjacent to a first end of the absorbent island than in a region of said margin adjacent to a second end of the absorbent island; and

wherein the thickness of the absorbent island is greater at a first end than at a second end.

33. The method of claim 32 , wherein the thickness of the absorbent island increases continuously from the second end to the first end.

34. The method of claim 32 , wherein the absorbent island is substantially triangular, trapezium-shaped, dome-shaped, bell-shaped, or pear-shaped.

35. The method of claim 32 , wherein the absorbent island is in the form of a substantially continuous sheet.

36. The method of claim 35 , wherein the first end of the absorbent island incorporates a higher fraction of superabsorbent particles than the second end of the absorbent island.

37. An adhesive dressing comprising:

a backing sheet comprising an adhesive coating; and

an absorbent island attached to said backing sheet, said absorbent island having a first end and a second end;

wherein the first end of the absorbent island comprises one or more additional layers of absorbent materials that are not present in the second end of the absorbent island; and

wherein the absorption capacity of the absorbent island is higher at the first end than at the second end.

38. A method of treating a wound, comprising:

applying an adhesive dressing having an adhesive-coated backing sheet and an absorbent island attached to the backing sheet to a wound site such that a first end of the absorbent island is below a second end of the absorbent island when the wound is in its most often-occurring orientation;

wherein the first end of the absorbent island comprises one or more additional layers of absorbent materials that are not present in the second end of the absorbent island; and

wherein the first end of the absorbent island has a greater absorbent capacity than a second end of the absorbent island.

39. A method of treating a wound, comprising:

applying an adhesive dressing having an absorbent island attached to an adhesive-coated backing sheet to a wound site;

wherein a first end of the absorbent island comprises one or more additional layers of absorbent materials that are not present in a second end of the absorbent island; and

wherein the thickness of the absorbent island is greater at a first end than at a second end.