if you are sat around in hospital in clean surroundings then I can see arguments for leaving wounds undressed. If you are in the real working world then if the wound is under clothing its going to get rubbed and contaminated and if its not under clothing and you are out working shopping etc, then it is open to contamination from airborn dirt, coughs, sneezes, licks and sniffs from passing dogs in my house lol and so on. You need the right dressing depending on the wound.
Its a while since I got my training but no one else has mentioned this. We were taught that deep cuts and punctures need to heal from the bottom up to prevent a sinus (pocket of infection) developing at the base of the wound. regardless of the flap, the top shouldn't skin over until the base healing gets up to the top (healing should "fill in" as it were) Come on nurses and medics, is this still true?