Choosing the correct dressing is often key to moving a wound along the healing trajectory, with its ability to deal with problems such as pain, excess exudate production and inflammation being crucial to the healing outcome. Infection is also a serious problem in many wounds and this article looks at the basics of wound infection as well as some of the main treatments, such as topical antimicrobials. However, clinicians are faced with a huge range of wound care products, many of which have antimicrobial properties. This article considers the use of one gelling fibrous silver dressing (Durafiber® Ag; Smith and Nephew), which is specifically designed to deal with many of the problems mentioned above, particularly excess exudate production and infection. The authors also presents the results of a small, prospective multicentre case series that was carried out to assess the efficacy of Durafiber Ag in a variety of wounds.