I Replaced All My Kids’ Band-Aids With First-Aid Wrap
When one of my kids comes home with a cut or scrape, my initial thought lies less in how to properly treat the wound than with the dread of facing a protracted battle involving the removal of a bandage. Judge all you want, the psychological torment inflicted by a stubborn strip of adhesive on both child and parent is real. Thankfully, there is another path.
Adhesive bandages have cemented themselves as the only logical choice for patching small wounds. They’re small, convenient, and easy to use. But under the surface lurks a host of annoyances. Somehow, you never have the right size. If you have small kids, you’re stocking medicine cabinets with an array of awkward Band-Aid shapes only to be confronted with a Florida-shaped scrape that requires a patchwork solution. Then there’s the material: flexible fabric, Skin-Flex, Hydro Seal. What does it all mean? The ones that stay on are impossible to remove, the ones that peel easily don’t stay put, and so on.
For me and my family, relief has come with the discovery of self-adhering medical wrap. I first encountered this stuff when my kid came back from a doctor’s appointment with a neon-pink strip of meshlike material encircling her arm where she had received a shot. This type of wrap is flexible and comfy and clings to itself, not to skin. It comes in rolls and must be cut (or torn) to size and paired with gauze to cover a wound. No single brand of this stuff dominates the market. I have mainly used CVS’s store-brand version as well as Ever Ready from Amazon. 3M brands it as Coban wrap. Band-Aid calls it Tough Wrap. Amazon’s most popular version is the FriCare brand that comes in a variety of colors, which, of course, kids love.
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Traditional small bandages still take the crown in terms of speed. With adhesive wrap, especially when applied to smaller cuts, you have to cut it to size, then cut a piece of gauze before applying. It takes an extra 30 seconds of work. What you come away with is a bandage that stays put, doesn’t surrender to a light wetting, and doesn’t leave those annoying bits of backing paper in its wake. If you’re careful when removing the wrap, you can even reuse the same piece; be gentle, though, because once it starts sticking to itself, it can become a useless wad in no time.
This type of wrap also serves multiple functions. It’s great as a compression wrap or an alternative to athletic tape. Its grippiness lends it to a host of uses. Wrap it around household tools for grippier handling. Bundle cables together. The world is your self-adhering oyster. I’m just glad the days of peeling bandages off one millimeter at a time while leaning over a wailing child are a thing of the past.
A few things that will help with dressing cuts and scrapes
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Best anti-bacterial scar-prevention ointment.
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A transparent gel that can help reduce the appearance of scars.
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A sharp pair of scissors for cutting first-aid wrap to size (or for bang trims).
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