One of the most common things you are going to use out of a First Aid Kit is a plaster.
Now, there are different types of plaster available depending on what use you need for
it, and also different boxes. So what we have here is a selection of different types. These
ones here are a transparent one, so you just see the gauze pad and the rest of the actual
sticky part of the plaster is transparent. The ones in the middle here are waterproof
ones. We have fabric ones, and the blue ones are to be used in the catering side and these
can come with either a metal strip inside of them so it can be picked up on an X-Ray
for food processing or without the metal strip. And the reason they are blue is that they
show up very well if one did come off in the food processing area. Then we have specialist
plasters, and here we have got some junior plasters. These would be used with children
maybe in a nursery or in a school. The other thing with plasters is the types of boxes.
So in the middle here we have a selection and the most common thing you would have in
a First Aid Kit would be a selection of them. It might be a box like this, or it might be
multiple small packets of plasters. Now with the selection you have different types of
plaster, ones that go over the end of the finger, ones that go across the hand or the
knee. Other boxes that we have got here are individual types, so in this, these are all
the same size plaster. So if you were working in a factory and there is a common plaster
which is needed, you can buy a box just for that one plaster. Now the big problem with
plasters is that it is the most common thing taken out of a First Aid Kit, so if you just
have plasters in your main First Aid Kit and someone has cut themselves and they go to
the First Aid Kit to take a plaster out, there is then always that risk that they are going
to be putting that blood back into the First Aid Kit, which is then going to be an infection
risk. So having separate plaster dispensers is always a good idea. And you can have these
with the First Aid Kits or in areas where they are likely to be needed.
So what we are going to do now is have a look at this type of dispenser box. Now if you
have got loose plasters in a box, they are quite straightforward to use, but these ones
are very good because they are much easier to pull one plaster out. What you have on
these is a little indent here, and if you push that in, it will just tear the front
and then from there, you can just pull off the top, and you can just remove that, and
then the way it works is, you just pull one plaster out of the front, and as you pull
one out, they will just automatically come forward. Because in the back end here, there
is a 'Z' section and this is forcing the plasters to the front of the box. So it is nice and
easy just to take out a plaster and they are all kept nice and simple in the box. So we
are now going to look at the plaster itself. So with this brand here it's a simple area
where you can just hold the end and open it up. Now in the real world with this, you would
be wearing gloves, but obviously now I am just telling you about the plasters. Once
you have got the plaster, you can remove it from the packet. These are the catering ones,
so they are blue and you can just see through there the gauze pad. If you turn it over,
you will see the paper which protects it. Now the key thing with plasters is that it
is the one thing which is used commonly in a First Aid Kit so it is always worth having
good quality plasters. With these ones, they are very good because the glue is very good
and it stays on the actual plaster, it doesn't egress over onto the paper. And all you do
is pull that back and then you can lay that over the skin. And then you can pull that
back and that will just directly lay over the skin itself. So you can see the pad there.
Now with the blue at the top and the bottom, that will seal around very, very well. Now
the pads themselves are designed to absorb blood, but also to protect against any possible
infection. Now the other advantage with this particular brand is they are very very strong.
So you can literally just stretch them, and it would take a lot to actually break that.
So once you have put it on to the skin, it will stay there. And that is the other thing.
The worst thing with any plaster is if it keeps falling off. We want to make sure that
the wound stays clean and dry, and also there is no potential for risk of infection. So
if the plaster itself has got a good bit of stretch in it then that will work really really
well. Now the fabric versions and the waterproof versions will work in a very similar way,
but the most important thing is that they do stick well on to the skin, because often
when you put these onto the skin, the hand is often not completely dry and also you know
you do need to get good quality adhesion to the plaster.