bandage n : a piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body [syn: patch]

1 wrap around with something so as to cover or enclose [syn: bind]

2 dress by covering or binding; "The nurse bandaged a sprained ankle"; "bandage an incision"

see Bandage

English

Etymology

bande, band or strip

Noun

1. A strip of gauze or similar material used to protect or support a wound or injury.
   • 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     ...he was deadly pale, and the blood-stained bandage round his head told that he had recently been wounded, and still more recently dressed.

2. A strip of cloth bound round the head and eyes as a blindfold.
   • 1844: Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo/Chapter_75

   ...the president informed him that one of the conditions of his introduction was that he should be eternally ignorant of the place of meeting, and that he would allow his eyes to be bandaged, swearing that he would not endeavor to take off the bandage.

Derived terms

• adhesive bandage
• compression bandage
• gauze bandage
• triangular bandage

Related terms

• dressing
• splint

Translations

Verb

1. To apply a bandage to something.
   • 1879: Samuel Clemens (as Mark Twain), A Tramp Abroad, http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=surround&offset=644473384&tag=Twain,+Mark,+1835-1910:+A+Tramp+Abroad,+1879&query=+bandaging&id=TwaTram

     ...they ate...whilst they chatted, disputed and laughed. The door to the surgeon's room stood open, meantime, but the cutting, sewing, splicing, and bandaging going on in there in plain view did not seem to disturb anyone's appetite.

Translations

• Albanian: fashim
• Finnish: sitoa
• Polish: bandażować

A bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to the body. Bandages are available in a wide range of types, from generic cloth strips, to specialised shaped bandages designed for a specific limb or part of the body, although bandages can often be improvised as the situation demands, using clothing, blankets or other material.

In common speech, the word "bandage" is often used to mean a dressing, which is used directly on a wound, whereas a bandage is technically only used to support a dressing, and not directly on a wound.

Types of bandage

Gauze bandage

The most common type of bandage is the gauze bandage, a simple woven strip of material which can come in any number of widths and lengths. A gauze bandage can be used for almost any bandage application, including holding a dressing in place.

Compression bandage

The term 'compression bandage' describes a wide variety of bandages with many different applications.

Short stretch compression bandages are applied to a limb (usually for treatment of lymphedema or venous ulcers). This type of bandage that is capable of shortening around the limb after application and is therefore not exerting ever-increasing pressure during inactivity. This dynamic is called resting pressure and is considered safe and comfortable for long-term treatment. Conversely, the stability of the bandage creates a very high resistance to stretch when pressure is applied through internal muscle contraction and joint movement. This force is called working pressure.

Long stretch compression bandages have long stretch properties, meaning their high compressive power can be easily adjusted. However, they also have a very high resting pressure and must be removed at night or if the patient is in a resting position.

Triangular bandage

A triangular bandage is a piece of cloth cut into a right-angled triangle. This is felt by many trainers to be the most versatile of the bandages available, as it can be used fully unrolled as a sling, folded as a normal bandage, or for specialist bandages such as on the head. Has various sizes.

Tube bandage

A tube bandage is applied using an applicator, and is woven in a continuous circle. It is used to hold dressings or splints on to limbs, or to provide support to sprains and strains, and it stops the bleed.

External links

• How to apply a bandage in a figure of 8 around an ankle. (YouTube)
• How to apply a bandage in circular style around a wrist. (YouTube)
• How to apply a compression bandage for lymphedema.

Ace bandage, Band-Aid, Mystik tape, Scotch tape, adhesive tape, application, band, bandaging, bathe, batten, bedazzle, belt, bend, benight, bind, bind up, binder, binding, blind, blind the eyes, blindfold, brace, bundle, care for, cast, cataplasm, cellophane tape, chain, cinch, cloth tape, compress, cotton, court plaster, cravat, cure, darken, daze, dazzle, deprive of sight, diagnose, dim, do up, doctor, dress, dressing, dust jacket, eclipse, elastic bandage, envelope, envelopment, epithem, excecate, fascia, fillet, flux, four-tailed bandage, friction tape, gauze, gift wrapping, gird, girdle, girt, girth, give care to, glare, gouge, heal, hoodwink, jacket, lace, lash, lath, leash, ligula, ligule, lint, list, make blind, masking tape, massage, minister to, nurse, obscure, operate on, physic, plank, plaster, plaster cast, plastic tape, pledget, poultice, purge, remedy, ribband, ribbon, roller, roller bandage, rope, rub, rubber bandage, shred, slat, sling, slip, snow-blind, spill, splice, spline, splint, sponge, strake, strap, strike blind, strip, strop, stupe, swaddle, swathe, taenia, tampon, tape, tape measure, tapeline, tent, ticker tape, tie, tie up, tourniquet, treat, triangular bandage, truss, wire, wrap, wrap up, wrapper, wrapping