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 your skin can heal off 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.

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 and make sure that debris or small objects are removed.

If the wound bleeds intensely, such as is sometimes the case with cuts in the face or on a finger, stop the bleeding by applying pressure with a sterile bandage (i.e. Elastoplast Gauze Compress or Soft Compress).

Depending on where your wound is located, choose a matching wound dressing. For example, minor wounds in the face can discretely be covered with small Elastoplast Invisible Protection strips. A larger scratched area, such as on the knee, will need a strong plaster such as from the Elastoplast Plastic or Fabric ranges.

Suffering from a blister? If it is still intact, decide if you want to leave it uncovered to let it heal on its own. But if it’s an area where it might get rubbed, such as on your hand or on the heel, you should definitely protect the blister from further friction as soon as possible with a Elastoplast SOS Blister Plaster. It will not only cushion the blister, but also prevent the blister roof from breaking so that it can be left to heal off on its own (also see: Instant Help Blisters in our Beauty and Care section). On broken blisters, you can also apply an SOS Blister Plaster as it will provide ideal healing conditions.

Usually, our plasters like Elastoplast Plastic or Fabric that are available in different strip sizes or as dressing length (which can be cut to the desired size) will 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 range. Wounds in the face and on visible body parts can discreetely be covered with Invisible Protection strips, which have the look and feel of a second skin and are 100 % transparent.

Very small cuts and scrapes can be covered by Plastic Spots, tiny round plasters.

Greater 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 a Elastoplast Fabric strip.

Hands and fingers are covered perfectly if you have Elastoplast Finger Strips or the Hand Pack at... well, hand.

Is your wound located in an area that is absolutely difficult to cover with a plaster strip? Then try Elastoplast Spray Plaster. It offers convenient one-hand application, even in awkward places, and provides a waterproof, transparent breathable and skin-friendly film for your wound.

When treating a minor burn at home, the first thing you should do is rinse the area with cool, running water for about ten minutes.
(Careful: Never use butter, grease, or powder on a burn.)

Then give your wound the ideal coverage: SOS Burn Plaster. Thanks to its hydrogel wound pad, it will cool and relieve pain, while also promoting faster healing and reducing the risk of blisters and scarring. Note that this only applies to first-degree and minor second degree burns! 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, the first measure is always to run cold water over the area for at least ten minutes.

Children often fall during sports or playtime, injuring themselves with a graze or a cut. There are child-friendly ways to treat these minor, yet painful injuries, so that misfortunes are quickly forgotten.

Check out the skin friendly Elastoplast Kids Plasters with fun motives to collect, such as Mickey & Friends, Winnie the Pooh & Princess. © Disney

For scrapes or wounds on knees and elbows: Using a Elastoplast Antibacterial  Sensitive XXL Plaster especially clever: Thanks to its Silver Technology it will provide antibacterial action (killing harmful germs, 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.

In order to give your family the best woundcare there is, you should stock up on plasters in different shapes and sizes and benefit from the range of selection offered in packs such as Hansaplast Elastoplast Hand Pack containing strips especially suited to fit fingertips, knuckles etc. (Also, see our downloadable list for the perfectly stocked Medicine Cabinet).

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 specialised plasters such as Elastoplast Fabric which provide durable protection for those body parts as well as allowing for greater mobility.
Another alternative: Using a liquid spray bandage such as Elastoplast Spray Plaster. The convenient and transparent wound protection provides instant action against bacteria. The sprayed-on film is flexible and can be applied even in awkward or hard-to-reach places, it is waterproof (shower-resistant!) and only needs to be applied once.

Scrapes or abrasions that cover a large area of skin should be covered up so that they can heal off better. Plasters and bandages that promote moist wound healing are ideal. Choose a bandage such as Fast Healing Plaster to speed up healing.

Or in case the wound is even bigger in size try one of our XXL plaster.

Best Healing Conditions
Forget about “being brave” and “not fussing too much” by letting a wound heal in dry 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 heal faster and prevent scabs and scarring. Find out more – and try Elastoplast Fast Healing plasters for the most advanced in wound healing technology.

Have you never been a great fan of wound dressing because you have sensitive skin? Then you might want to choose a plaster from the extra skin-friendly Elastoplast Sensitive range.

This range comes in different sizes and is also available as Elastoplast Antibacterial Sensitive with Silver Technology which has antiseptic qualities and reduces the risk of infection.

Always see your doctor if the wound is deep, bleeding or shows signs of infection like reddening, swelling or warmth. 
Also make sure to seek medical help if you are not able to clean the wound properly.
In case you have diabetes a 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.
 
Please note that none of the above given tips or recommendations substitute medical advice. Carefully read the instructions for use given in our products‘ packages. Important: consult a health professional in case of any uncertainity of treating your wound properly.
 
The information provided 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 a health problem, you should consult your doctor. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it, because of something you have read on this website.

For further information regarding Elastoplast products, please contact us via email on phc@beiersdorf.com. Carefully read the instructions for use given in our products‘ packages.