Adhesive bandage
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An adhesive bandage (called a sticking plaster or just plaster in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa; often called Band-aid generically in the United States,Canada, and Australia even though Band-aid is a trademarked brand name) is a small dressing used for injuries not serious enough to require a full-size bandage.
An adhesive bandage is usually covered by woven fabric, plastic, or latex rubber which has an adhesive. Adhesive tapes used for wound care often have an absorbent pad (often medicated with antiseptic). The plaster is applied such that the pad covers the wound (but does not stick to the wound), and the fabric or plastic sticks to the surrounding skin to hold the dressing in place and prevent dirt from entering the wound. Some newer plasters also contain woven strands of silver fibre, used to speed healing and minimise scarring.
Special plasters are also used by Food handlers. These are waterproof, have strong adhesive so they are less likely to fall off, and are usually bright blue in colour (so that it is obvious to the wearer if it has fallen off into some food). They are also detectable by special machines that are used in food manufacturing plants to ensure food is free from foreign objects before it is shipped to the public.
Sticking plasters are often called by their brand names such as Elastoplast or BAND-AID.
Other types of adhesive bandages include Kinesio and McConnell tape. These are not mediciate. Instead, these tapes are used to rehabilitation of muscles and joints. Kinesio taping can also be used to aid lymphatic flow and the treatment of Lymphedema.
[edit] Examples
- BAND-AID
- Curad
- Elastoplast
- Kinesio Tape — used by sports medicine and rehabilitation therapy
- McConnell Tape — used by sports medicine and rehabilitation therapy
- Micropore
- Vetrap — used in sports medicine and by veterinarians
