How to remove a bandage without pain… Or almost!

How to remove a bandage easily? For a wound, a sore, a small « bobo », the dressing is often essential. But how to successfully remove it?

Dad of 2 boys, I can confirm that injuries are common here! Here are some tips on how to remove a bandage without pain.

Tips for removing a bandage stuck to the skin:

1. Soak the dressing in warm water

The best and above all the simplest trick is to use lukewarm or hot water to remove the dressing from a wound, painlessly.

Whether for an adult or a child, soaking the part of the body where the dressing is located is sufficient to remove it easily and painlessly.

Here are the steps to remove the dressing from the skin:

1. Soak the body and the dressing in a hot bath.
2. Wait a few minutes and slowly peel off the dressing.
3. Let the water enter between the dressing and the wound and continue to take it off slowly.

If the wound is not completely healed do not use water to remove the dressing as you risk delaying its healing.

2. A little oil to loosen a bandage

Peeling off a bandage on your child’s skin is no fun! So why not use a little olive oil to peel it off more easily?

Super easy to do:

1. Soak a cotton swab or cotton ball in olive oil.
2. Gently rub the contour as well as the entire surface of the adhesive dressing.
3. Slowly remove the corner of the dressing and add oil as needed.

If you can, use sweet almond oil instead of olive oil. Sweet almond oil also helps regenerate the skin.

3. Peel off a bandage using an ice cube

Another trick that works quite well for loosening a bandage on the skin is to use an ice cube.

Here’s how to do this trick:

1. Gently rub the ice cube on the dressing and around it.
2. Slowly peel off the dressing and rub again if the pain returns.

The ice cube will also cool the skin and therefore make it much less sensitive.

4. A hair dryer to loosen a bandage

By being careful not to burn yourself (from the hot air), the hair dryer can be used to easily peel off an adhesive bandage.

1. From a safe distance with your skin blow hot air towards the dressing.
2. After a few seconds, begin to gently remove the dressing.

You can also start by applying a towel soaked in warm water to the bandage to soften the glue. It will be even faster and easier to remove the bandage.

Now that you have managed to remove the bandage painlessly, what should you do to remove the remaining traces of glue on the skin?

Although olive oil is effective in removing glue from a bandage, another product is even more so: alcohol.

Indeed, 70° alcohol or any other type of high concentration alcohol will be effective in cleaning the remaining adhesive glue of the dressing on the skin.

6. A few tips before putting on a bandage

To avoid suffering by removing a bandage that is well stuck to the skin, a few tips and actions can be taken to prevent it.

Here are some practical tips and tricks to do before putting on a bandage:

• Shave the hair around the wound before applying the dressing.
• Add a little petroleum jelly to the wound to prevent the dressing from sticking.
• Use a dressing large enough to protect the area well.

Before putting a dressing on a wound, it is important to rinse and disinfect the wound with soapy water and let the skin dry.