All you need to know about Medical Tapes & their Uses

Medical tapes are among the most important addition to a medical kit. With different medical tapes best suited for different conditions, they come in handy in a variety of situations. When making your own portable first aid kit, it’s best to choose a one-size-fits-all tape to save not just space but also weight. However, the right tape for a given situation is entirely dependent on the specific injury and professionally recommended treatment plan. If you’re caught between multiple choices of medical equipment online, read on to find out the top uses of different types of tape:

3M Medical Transpore Tape

The 3M Medical Transpore Tape is among the most popular choices for medical tape, known best for its efficiency, versatility, and overall reliability. Here are its top benefits:

  • Highly adhesive: Specifically fashioned for medical use, this tape is adhesive enough to stick to anything – making it the ideal fit for an emergency. It is best applied dry but can also be used on blood, hair and sweat
  • Water resistant: As a patient, carrying this tape is extremely easy as you can take a shower or even go swimming without needing to replace it
  • Easy to wear: Any type of medical tape that allows your skin to breathe and stay comfortable is an ideal match. The 3M Medical Transpore Tape is designed with a special grid-like pattern made with tiny holes to allow sweat and blood to pass through easily. The pores allow air to reach your skin and help it breathe
  • Easy to take off: Compared to other cloth tapes, the 3M Transpore is easy to tear and rips off your skin easily – in both horizontal and vertical directions.

3M Nexcare Waterproof Tape

3M Nexcare Waterproof Tape offers advantages of Transpore tape with the added benefit of water resistance.

  • Water resistance: For the medical tape to remain water resistant, it is important for it to be applied over dry skin. If the tape is wet when applying, it will not stick properly. However, it’ll regain its stickiness as the area dries up.
  • Strong adhesiveness: The tape is known to stick well to the skin and works well in preventing blisters and chafing.
  • Comfortable to wear: One of the primary advantages of using this tape is that it is highly comfortable and flexes with the natural movement of your body. It also doesn’t stick to your hair, which means that it is easy to rip off and does not leave any sticky residue behind.

3M Micropore Paper Tape

Best for daily bandage changes and taping sensitive skin, 3M Micropore Paper Tape has several specific advantages:

  • Gentle on skin: It doesn’t stick to the skin very strongly, so it doesn’t leave sticky residue and can be easily replaced on a daily basis if required
  • Affordable: The 3M Micropore Paper Tape is comparatively more affordable than other options, making it the perfect fit for regular use.
  • Comfortable: It is extremely adhesive and sticks well to the skin, simultaneously allowing aeration and keeping the patient comfortable. However, one must remember that the tape cannot handle moisture and does not hold well on irregular parts of the body such as toes and fingers.

3M Nexcare Durable Cloth Tape

The 3M Nexcare Durable Cloth Tape brings the best of all other models, making it an ideal match for most situations.

  • Sticks well on cloth: Most other tapes that don’t stick to hair also don’t stick on cloth because of which dressing may become an issue. The strong adhesiveness of this tape makes sure that it sticks well directly on your skin and holds the dressing together. This medical tape is extremely strong and can even secure a broken finger or splint.
  • Durability: Duct tape and Medical Transpore tape may not be the best fit in all situations as they leave behind sticky residue, which makes it difficult to tear off after a few days. On the other hand, the 3M Nexcare Durable Cloth Tape is better fit for injuries that require draping over a long period of time. Additionally, this tape is also affordably priced.
  • Comfort: Since cloth is permeable to air, the patient’s skin stays comfortable which paves way for better, long-term healing.

Today’s Internet age makes it extremely easy to study different types of tape, weigh out pros and cons and find out surgical tape price and availability. Head to a reliable online retailer such as Smart Medical Buyer and make an informed decision from the convenience of your desk.

Summary

The right tape of medical tape for a given situation is entirely dependent on the specific injury and professionally recommended treatment plan. Different models have their own advantages.