WOUND DRESSING KNOW-HOW
Smarten up on treating the most frequent minor
injuries, and find the right wound dressing from
a selection of universal and high-tech solutions.
Do not play down a small wound: every small impairment of your skin deserves attention and the right treatment, so that it can heal perfectly. Fortunately, today’s wound dressings incorporate the latest medical technologies and come in different shapes, structures and sizes.
Let us guide you through some special solutions that you might not even know about – or did you know that today’s generation of Elastoplast plasters can even prevent scarring and scabs? Become the master of your small injury by finding out what is new and best – and get it right next time a small injury happens.
SCRATCHES AND CUTS
If you’ve suffered a cut or a scratch (see instant help cuts and grazes), the first thing to do is to clean and, if necessary, disinfect the wound. Make sure you remove any debris or small objects from it.
If the wound bleeds intensely, as is sometimes the case with cuts on the face or on a finger, stop the bleeding by applying pressure with a sterile bandage.
Depending on where your wound is located, choose a matching wound dressing. For example, minor wounds on the face can be discreetly covered with small Elastoplast Invisible Protection strips. A larger scratched area, such as on the knee, may need a strong plaster from the Elastoplast Plastic or Fabric ranges.
BLISTERS: RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO POP THEM
Suffering from a blister?
If the blister is still intact, decide if you want to leave it uncovered to let it heal on its own. But if it’s in an area where it might get rubbed – such as your hand or heel – you should definitely protect the blister from further friction as soon as possible with an Elastoplast SOS Blister Plaster.
This will not only cushion the blister, but also prevent the blister roof from breaking so that it can be left to heal on its own. On broken blisters, you can apply an SOS Blister Plaster as it will provide ideal healing conditions.
(See also: Instant Help Blisters in our Beauty and Care section.)
BODY PART LOGISTICS
Our plasters such as Elastoplast Plastic or Fabric, which are available in different strip sizes or as dressing length (that can be cut to the desired size) will usually offer the right coverage for your wound. But depending on where your wound is located, there are better choices, which will offer the ideal shape, size, material or adhesion tailored to your specific needs.
Find your ideal plaster in the Elastoplast plaster range. Very small cuts and scrapes can be covered by tiny round plasters. Larger patches of skin such as on knees, or mobile parts such as joints, which are exposed to a lot of movement and friction are ideally covered with an Elastoplast Fabric strip. Hands and fingers are covered perfectly if you have Elastoplast Finger Strips or the Aqua Protect Hand Pack Waterproof Plasters, which come in special shapes for fingers, knuckles, and fingertips.
DRESSING MINOR BURNS
When treating a minor burn at home, the first thing you should do is rinse the area with cold running water for about 10 minutes.
Take care: never use butter, grease or powder on a burn.
See our Burn Instant Help for more information on how to treat burns.
It’s a myth that butter will soothe burns – never use butter on burns! Instead, your first step is always to run cold water over the area for at least 10 minutes.
KIDS' CUTS AND ABRASIONS: MISFORTUNES WITHOUT TEARS
Children often fall during sports or play, injuring themselves with a graze or a cut. There are child-friendly ways to treat these minor yet painful injuries, so that they are quickly forgotten...
Check out our skin-friendly Elastoplast Kids Plasters with fun motifs such as Winnie the Pooh and Princess© Disney to collect.
For scrapes or wounds on knees and elbows, using an Elastoplast Antibacterial Sensitive Plaster is especially clever. Thanks to its Silver Technology, it will provide an antibacterial action – killing harmful germs and thus reducing the risk of infection for your child – while being large enough to cover up an entire knee.
Teenagers who hurt themselves while doing sports might prefer the durability of Elastoplast Fabric or our brand-new, limited-edition range of colourful plasters Don't Worry Be Happy.
To give your family the best wound care available, stock up on plasters in different shapes and sizes – benefit from the selection offered in packs such as Elastoplast Hand Pack, which contains strips especially suited to fingertips and knuckles, etc.
See also our downloadable list for the perfectly stocked Medicine Cabinet.
JOINT VENTURE: SCRAPED KNEES, ELBOWS OR KNUCKLES
Covering fingers, heels, knuckles and knees can be tricky as you move them a lot, but you‘ll want to keep them covered to keep dirt out.
Try our specialised plasters such as Elastoplast Fabric, which provide durable protection for those body parts as well as allowing for greater mobility. Or use the larger sized Elastoplast Elastic Knee & Elbow Extra Flexible Plaster, which is ideal for joints and moving parts of the body.
LARGE SCRAPES: COVERAGE XXL
Scrapes or abrasions that cover a large area of skin should be covered up so that they can heal better. Plasters and bandages that promote moist wound healing are ideal. Choose a product such as the Elastoplast Wound Healing Ointment, which promotes up to 2x faster healing* and helps reduce scarring. If the wound is particularly large, try one of our XXL plasters.
*compared to an untreated wound
Best Healing Conditions
Forget about 'being brave' or 'not fussing too much' by letting a wound heal in the open air – even if it’s just a scrape or a small cut. Research has shown that letting a wound heal under moist and covered up conditions will help it to heal faster and prevent scabs and scarring.
Try the Elastoplast Wound Healing Ointment for the most advanced wound healing technology.
SENSITIVE SKIN?
Have you never been a great fan of wound dressing because you have sensitive skin? Then you might want to choose a plaster from our extra skin-friendly Elastoplast Sensitive range.
This range offers different plaster sizes and is also available as Elastoplast Sensitive Antibacterial with Silver Technology, which has antiseptic qualities and reduces the risk of infection.
Always see your doctor if your wound is deep, bleeding or shows signs of infection such as reddening, swelling or warmth. Always seek medical help if you are not able to clean your wound properly.
If you have diabetes, proper wound care is of special importance. Always discuss any concerns you may have with your doctor and/or podiatrist, even for the care of minor wounds and skin cracks – especially on your feet.
None of the tips above are intended to replace professional medical advice. Please read the instructions for use in our product packaging with care, but consult a health professional at once if you are at all uncertain about how to treat your wound.
The information offered through this website should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. It is not a substitute for professional care or advice. If you have (or suspect you have) a health problem, you should always consult your doctor. Never disregard medical advice, or delay seeking it because of something you have read on our website.
For further information about Elastoplast products, please contact us at consumer.relations.uk@beiersdorf.com