Best Quality Bandaids?

[RoneKiln]

What company makes the best bandaids?

Bandaids are what I use most often.

Some google searches indicate Band-aid and Nexcare are the best, but I suspect that's mostly marketing on behalf of those two brands.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Curad makes some decent bandages. Whenever I get low on my supply of them, I just hit up the local Dollar Tree (though I guess with the recent .25 cent price increase they announced, it should be called Dollar Twenty Five Tree now).

I've got a lot of no name brand bandages too, but that's mostly because they came with some premade survival kits I bought years ago.

[Anianna]

I have extremely sensitive skin and typical bandaid adhesives tend to literally eat my skin away.  I have one very specific product that I can use and that's Bandaid brand Flexible Fabric bandaids. 

I really wish they would make the same exact product as a surgical tape because I have similar problems with the adhesives used for surgical tape and cannot find one that doesn't hurt me.  I will sometimes use the bandaids as if they were surgical tape, but I get really annoyed at how expensive and wasteful that is.  Just make some Flexible Fabric surgical tape, Bandaid!

[CG]

I use latex-free kid bandaids (only until the bleeding stops) or nonstick gauze with self adhering wrap.  Freakin' adhesives. Paper tape is the only type I can use, and it doesn't stick worth a hoot. 

[RoneKiln]

What prompted me to ask everyone is the wrappers on many of my older generic bandaids are disintegrating now. The bandaid still holds up decent (not great, but servicable). These have been kept indoors in fairly stable temperatures. I'm now expanding my first aid kits in several locations (some subject to temperature extremes) and I will be buying bandaids for them soon.

[Crosscut]

As far as "staying stuck" goes the two extremes I've found are Curad Skate series that I picked up from shopmedvet for a penny a piece, they fall off after a couple hours and don't even stick to themselves very well.  Band Aid brand Waterproof Tough Strips are the ones I EDC in my wallet, 2 days and showers later they're still tough to remove.  I'm not certain if I have any of those in my truck FAKs but can check, if so they've been through 0-90F temp extremes for a couple years and I'll field test one of them.

[woodsghost]

I call "stickyness" and "durable" and "breathable" a quality baindaid. So fabric baindaids have been the best products in any line in my experience. Band-Aid has consistently had the best of those.

[wolf_from_wv]

I use Nexcare, Curad, and Bandaid brands.  Some of the larger bandaids I have are Equate.

If you get the 100/$1 from the Dollar Tree, you'll probably need all of them for when they fall off.

[NapalmMan67]

I've always used Band-Aid or Curad.  I like the flexible fabric style for finger/knuckle joints.  I have some that are so old, the adhesive has dried to the point of not being sticky, so I use either a piece of water block or tough cloth tape to secure them.

I've also been know to just use a piece of gauze and electrical or duct tape to secure in place over a wound also.

FWIW- Neosporin is a favorite of mine too.

[CG]

I bought "Curad Burn Bandages" for a slight burn on my arm incurred on Thanksgiving.  "Long-lasting adhesive for up to 5 days of uninterrupted healing without replacing". 

Didn't last half an hour on my arm before starting to come off.  They did not account for how much I move.  HOWEVER - covered with the self-adhesive wrap during the day and left with just the bandage at night, it's now on its second day.

[Anianna]

What prompted me to ask everyone is the wrappers on many of my older generic bandaids are disintegrating now. The bandaid still holds up decent (not great, but servicable). These have been kept indoors in fairly stable temperatures. I'm now expanding my first aid kits in several locations (some subject to temperature extremes) and I will be buying bandaids for them soon.

In my experience, generic bandaids degrade over time regardless of how you care for them.  It's one of the reasons I stopped ordering kits and build my own.  The quality just isn't there in a lot of FAKs.  I think the bandaids with a plastic feel will always degrade faster while the fabric ones seem to hold up better. 

The fabric ones are also superior under washing, imo.  While the plasticy bandaids tend to come away with multiple washings, the flexible fabric ones stay in place.  At most, they begin to fray around the edges, which may not look great, but it remains functional.

[CG]

I bought "Curad Burn Bandages" for a slight burn on my arm incurred on Thanksgiving.  "Long-lasting adhesive for up to 5 days of uninterrupted healing without replacing". 

Didn't last half an hour on my arm before starting to come off.  They did not account for how much I move.  HOWEVER - covered with the self-adhesive wrap during the day and left with just the bandage at night, it's now on its second day.

Update: Lasted 2 days, being uncovered at night.  For me, that's a very long time - I end up pulling off a lot of them within hours because they're either falling off enough or annoying me enough.  I pulled it off this morning before my shower because the bottom was fairly well off.  Burn seems to be healing up nicely.  Recovered with a new one after my shower.  Even more impressive - no red marks where the adhesive was.  Apparently my skin does not highly object to these ones.

[SCBrian]

...Band Aid brand Waterproof Tough Strips are the ones I EDC in my wallet, 2 days and showers later they're still tough to remove. ...

A lot of those with the darker brown cloth type fabric can be removed easily with some rubbing alcohol.  It inactivates/deactivates/destroys/stops the adhesive...  just dab some on it and let it soak for a short while... 

[Crosscut]

...Band Aid brand Waterproof Tough Strips are the ones I EDC in my wallet, 2 days and showers later they're still tough to remove. ...

A lot of those with the darker brown cloth type fabric can be removed easily with some rubbing alcohol.  It inactivates/deactivates/destroys/stops the adhesive...  just dab some on it and let it soak for a short while...

Thanks, I reopened a 2 day old slice on my finger trying to get one of these off once.   

Haven't checked my truck kits yet, got sidetracked troubleshooting a home power issue but it's on the todo list.

[echo83]

I go with the cloth Band-Aids. For me, plastic ones peel off way too fast, and aren't very flexible. I also have yet to find a brand where the paper sleeves don't eventually deteriorate.

It may seem totally over the top, but a little dab of super glue works wonders. I used to think putting super glue on a cut was like the old "tampon in a gunshot wound," trope, but a few years working in a kitchen made a believer out of me.

[CG]

4 days seems to be my limit for wearing bandages.  Now have red lines where the adhesive was.  But the burn is healing up nicely!

[Crosscut]

Mix of plastic and fabric bandaids in our vehicle FAKs, dollar store brands based on no manufacturer name on the outer wrapper.   Both varieties are still sticky after something like 5 years in the trucks and the wrappers aren't falling apart.   I did store them in ziploc bags just to keep them all together, so maybe the bag keeping moisture/humidity out helps stop the wrappers from deteriorating.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I go with the cloth Band-Aids. For me, plastic ones peel off way too fast, and aren't very flexible. I also have yet to find a brand where the paper sleeves don't eventually deteriorate.

It may seem totally over the top, but a little dab of super glue works wonders. I used to think putting super glue on a cut was like the old "tampon in a gunshot wound," trope, but a few years working in a kitchen made a believer out of me.

What about that Liquid Bandaid stuff (I think the brand is called New Skin) ?

[echo83]

I go with the cloth Band-Aids. For me, plastic ones peel off way too fast, and aren't very flexible. I also have yet to find a brand where the paper sleeves don't eventually deteriorate.

It may seem totally over the top, but a little dab of super glue works wonders. I used to think putting super glue on a cut was like the old "tampon in a gunshot wound," trope, but a few years working in a kitchen made a believer out of me.

What about that Liquid Bandaid stuff (I think the brand is called New Skin) ?

Good call! I had kind of forgotten about that stuff. Bottles of it also have a brush applicator, which makes it easier to use, I suppose. I've never used New Skin/Dermabond/Superglue on anything major, just on smaller, clean cuts.

[RoneKiln]

I go with the cloth Band-Aids. For me, plastic ones peel off way too fast, and aren't very flexible. I also have yet to find a brand where the paper sleeves don't eventually deteriorate.

It may seem totally over the top, but a little dab of super glue works wonders. I used to think putting super glue on a cut was like the old "tampon in a gunshot wound," trope, but a few years working in a kitchen made a believer out of me.

What about that Liquid Bandaid stuff (I think the brand is called New Skin) ?

I saw that in the store last weekend while buying bandaids and mentally blew it off. But now I'm thinking I should try it.

Thanks for bringing it up and making me rethink it.