An adhesive dressing is a wound dressing which is coated in adhesive. The adhesive allows the dressing to stick directly to the area where it is applied, eliminating the need to use bandaging tape or similar materials to attach the dressing. Many drug stores carry adhesive dressing in a range of sizes and styles for different applications. It is also available through medical supply stores and medical catalogs, along with accessories such as bandaging scissors which can be useful for cutting dressings into a desired size and shape.
Medical dressings serve several functions. They protect a wound, reducing the risk that infectious agents will enter and colonize the area. They also collect exudate, the material which seeps from the wound, which can be important from a sanitary and aesthetic perspective. Dressings can also be used to keep a mound moist and to promote healing. There are a number of styles of dressing available, along with bandages to attach them, and in the case of the adhesive dressing, both dressing and bandage are combined in a single unit for efficiency.
The dressing can be made from a variety of materials including cotton and various synthetic fibers. Areas of the dressing without adhesive may be treated so that they will not stick to the wound, as this is a common concern. The treatment makes the dressing slippery, and is usually permeable so that liquids which seep from the wound can pass through it and be absorbed by the dressing. When the bandage needs to be removed, the treated areas should easily peel off without tearing.
Adhesives usually border the dressing and leave the middle free, depending on the design. Sometimes an adhesive dressing is designed as a strip of material, with the ends being adhesive and acting like tabs to hold it down. In other cases, the adhesive treatment may border all edges of the dressing so that it can be firmly attached all the way around the wound.
In addition to adhesives, dressings can also be treated with other materials for specific wounds, such as antibiotics to prevent infection. One thing to be careful of when applying an adhesive dressing is the location of the adhesive areas; it is generally wise to avoid introducing adhesive directly into the wound or around its margins, not least because it will make the dressing painful to remove. Sometimes it may be necessary to trim a dressing or to use a slightly larger size to avoid this problem.