Fit For Purpose?

~ beetleypete

On Sunday morning, I cut my left index finger, while using a very sharp knife to slice a loaf of fresh bread. Just a small cut, but it left a little flap of skin that kept bleeding.

Fortunately, we have a big box of plasters handy, in the kitchen drawer. Because we so rarely cut ourselves, they are quite old now, and as I applied some to the cut, I soon realised that the adhesive had degenerated. Julie managed to cover the cut using two plasters, then added an extra one to cover the edges that looked as if they might curl up.

Sure enough, as soon as I was in the bath later, the ‘Waterproof’ plasters slipped off immediately. With the small wound open again, two more were secured around it, before Ollie’s dog walk.

Preparing dinner later, I naturally washed my hands before touching the food. Off they came again. Two more applied before continuing.

I gave the plasters the benefit of the doubt. They were probably five years old or more. I would buy some new ones at the supermarket on Monday. When I looked at the selection available, I decided to pay the 40p more for ‘Waterproof fabric plasters’. By then, the cut had stopped bleeding, and the small flap was starting to close.

But when I opened the shed today, twisting the key reopened the cut. I had no worries about covering it. After all, I had a brand-new sealed box, purchased the day before. I applied one larger plaster to cover the wound and most of the top of my finger. Then before lunch, I washed my hands.

Off it slid.

The next time, I applied two medium-sized ones, to secure the edges. Then I had my bath, and they slid off immediately.

I am now on the sixth plaster since 9am this morning, and it is only 4:15pm.

What part of ‘waterproof’ do those manufacturers fail to understand, I wonder?

65 thoughts on “Fit For Purpose?”

  2. HI Pete, that is unlucky. I usually put one plaster over the top of the finger and one around the finger to hold it on. I’ve not had the plasters slide off but if they get wet, the absorbent part stays wet for ages so I usually change them anyway.

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  5. My last cut from a very sharp knife needed stitches to close it. I guess that special glue is also used, though not in my case. I hope that you heal quickly.

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    1. Just another sales gimmick that they know isn’t true, in my opinion. Next time, I will buy ‘non-waterproof’ plasters, and no doubt discover they are the same thing at a smaller price. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  14. Well, I clobbered a thumbnail at the nail bed more than 4 months ago. I cover the nail twice a day as the dead nail hasn’t completely come off, and the new nail is only 4mm high so far….then when I have a shower or when I wash up, I wear a glove. Only way to keep it dry. Quite a palaver and at least 6 more months to go. But so far it’s looking good, the new nail looks good, and it was touch and go as to whether it would grow again

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  15. I can’t believe you’ve got to the ripe old age of whatever you are, without finding out at an early stage of life that waterproof plasters are not waterproof!! You must have had a charmed life! I have consistently acquired cuts on my hands and fingers from about the age of 5 upwards, and never has there been a waterproof plaster that survived the bath/sink. Consequently I use fabric ones (as GP says)) which stick to you like glue and hurt to remove. They also leave a residue of white stickiness on your skin that takes aproximately 3 days to clear, but at least you’ve healed by then!

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    1. I once had plasters that could stand a hand-wash, if not a bath. They were flesh-coloured, plastic ones. I can’t seem to get those anymore, and the fabric ‘waterproof’ ones they sell now don’t last more than an hour before starting to curl up.
      Best wishes, Pete.
      (I found this in the Trash folder.)

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  16. Seems to be the way now Pete, items designed once to last have a very reduced life span (how else would they get us to buy more). Hope finger is well on the mend
    Cheers

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  19. I remember elastoplast which always seemed to stay stuck and did the job. Nowadays you have a hundred choices and plasters that require extra fingers to apply and leave all sorts of debris and they still come off. I have a split thumb (right hand of course) and have the same silly issue.

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  23. Ouch! We call them band-aids here and I had to use one this morning after I didn’t move my hand out of the way fast enough while playing with Benji. I forgot how sharp those claws are!! I used one band-aid then took it off when the bleeding stopped, knowing full well if it got wet it would come off anyway. Seems like they all do.

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    1. It’s outrageous that they are allowed to call them ‘waterprooof’, Susanne. Cat claws can open up human skin with the ease of a scalpel. I remember when I had a cat I was always getting cuts when playing with it.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  24. I’ve never had that problem – and don’t think now that I don’t wash my hands. 😁 But seriously: what I use are bandaids with a flexible fabric. They fit well and stay on even when having a shower.

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  25. (1) I had to look up “plaster” online. Apparently, that’s the word used in the U.K. for a Band-Aid, which is a brand, of course, but which is also used in a generic way, like Xerox, Google, Bubble Wrap, Jet Ski, Chapstick, etc.
    (2) When you talked about being plastered, I initially understood that you’d drunk way too much wine.
    (3) Saying those bandages are waterproof is false advertising. You need to see that your story is plastered all over the news.
    (4) Try another brand next time. One whose plasters are a cut above the rest.
    (5) I think i know what kind of kitchen knife you were using, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
    (6) Have you thought about applying Super Glue around the edges of the flap? (Just don’t use industrial strength glue designed to affix airplane wings.)
    (7) My neighbor, who’s Irish, said you could improve your luck by purchasing a four loaf cleaver.

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    1. The knife involved is a Japanese large knife that is ‘super-sharp’. Unfortunately, the fresh bread was
      very soft, the knife cut through it so quickly, I didn’t get my finger away in time.
      I like how you never miss any ‘glue’ reference to my old serial, ‘Home About Six’. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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