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New adhesive bandage offers twice the sticking power and pain free removal

18/08/2022

New adhesive bandage offers twice the sticking power and pain free removal

If you cut your finger, providing it's only a minor wound, one of the first things you'll reach for is an adhesive bandage. These simple yet effective medical dressings are found in most households around the world. But they have a couple of pitfalls: sometimes, they don't stick very well and oftentimes it hurts when they are removed.


Now, researchers from Pennsylvania are looking to change this by developing an adhesive bandage that sticks well to skin – even hairy areas – and causes little pain when it is removed. To solve the problem, the researchers turned to the main ingredient in school glue.


The problem with existing adhesive bandages is the ones that stick hard and fast are usually difficult to remove and can cause pain – especially if they are placed on sensitive skin. Other adhesive bandages are easier to remove but don't have the sticking power required to keep a wound closed, allowing to heal.


Outlining their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh University, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia say their new bandage has been developed using vinyl alcohol – a primary ingredient in the glue – and boric acid, a common and naturally occurring compound frequently used in antiseptics. The result is an adhesive bandage that can effectively hold wound closed, yet can be painlessly removed by soaking it in water for just 30 seconds.


*Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

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