Health

Tegaderm

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Better bandage

Use this 3M material, called Tegaderm ($5 for 8), for applying dressing over a bleeding injury. It’s much better than adhesive tape or a big band-aid. Tegaderm is an air-permeable plastic film, as thin as cling film, but stronger and with an adhesive. I’ve found it adheres perfectly and because it is so thin it’s unnoticeable, especially on joints. You don’t even remember it’s on. Because of its thinness Tegaderm works really great under clothing. It’s breathable, too, and won’t come off in water. And since it is transparent, the dressing is not as visible, and you can see what’s going on underneath. It comes in sterile packaging about the size of a playing card, so you can apply it right over the injury, with the option to include some gauze underneath at first. I’ve cut smaller pieces for finger cuts, but I’ve found that waterproof bandaids work better for this.

-- KK 10/16/19

Excerpt


On the right a bicyclist has applied Tegaderm over his road-rash shown on left. The bandage is hardly visible.
Image via NY Velocity

(This is a Cool Tools Favorite from 2012 — editors)

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