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Please note that this information does not qualify you as an official first responder, Virtual College recommends that you dial 999 first in an emergency.

This material and any related assessments do not constitute qualifications or certifications for official first responders. All content provided is for general reference only.

Virtual College advocates calling emergency services before attempting any form of first aid.

Bandages are an important part of every first aid kit. They are one of the most useful items for any first responder, have many potential applications, and are very useful in dealing with most daily accidents and injuries.

However, dressings and bandages are only useful when used correctly, because many dressings and bandages are designed for a specific purpose, such as applying heavy dressings to wounds or supporting severed limbs. Using a bandage that is not suitable for this situation means that it will not be as effective as expected. Some bandages can only be used on certain parts of the body due to their irregular shapes, such as tubular bandages, while others are made of non-absorbent materials, which means they cannot be used on open wounds. This makes learning to recognize the different bandages in the first aid kit essential.

In this bandage guide, we will introduce you to the different types of bandages you may encounter and briefly outline the ways you might use them. This information contains part of our first aid certification and is available as an online course at Virtual College, which covers all aspects in more detail.

Our basic investigation course may be helpful for those who are interested in learning more about first aid. Click here to learn more about what it covers.

You may encounter three main types of bandages, and we have highlighted them in the table below. If you want to know more about each type of bandage, you can find a detailed description of each type of bandage below the table.

Roller bandages are the most common type of bandage. They are usually made of a single continuous strip of lightweight, breathable cotton gauze, and are mainly used to fix wound dressings.

Most first aid kits also have thicker crepe roller bandages, which are very suitable for supporting joints due to their elastic design. When used with pads or dressings, they can also be used to control light to moderate bleeding, which makes them very useful in emergency situations.

The roller bandage usually looks like a tightly wrapped cylinder of white cotton yarn. In most cases, the roller bandage is packed in a sterile plastic bag, which provides detailed information about the type of bandage, weave density, and degree of elasticity.

To use a roller bandage to secure the dressing to an open wound, first apply a suitable pad/dressing to the affected area. Then you need to take the bandage-with the rolled end up-and slowly wrap it around the mat. Start from the bottom and work upwards, adding a few centimeters at a time to maintain tightness and compression, otherwise you will not be able to apply the pressure needed to support the dressing.

Take care to ensure that each wrap overlaps at least the third one of the previous wrap to ensure that the pad/dressing is properly covered. When you reach the top of the dressing, add a few more turns, fix the bandage and cut it off.

If you use a roller bandage to put pressure on the limbs and/or support the joints, do the same, but make sure to have the patient bend/bend the arms a few times before use, and make sure you are still wrapped tightly to apply pressure.

Triangular bandages are one of the more versatile types of bandages you can usually find in first aid kits. They are essentially a single piece of thick cotton or calico, designed to make the following slings:

You can also use triangular bandages to make temporary tourniquets in emergency situations. If there is no bandage available, you can also wrap the bandage around a mat or dressing to apply pressure.

Triangular bandages will look for a larger square bag in your first aid kit, which contains a triangular cloth. Some triangle bandages are also equipped with safety pins to help construct the sling.

When using a triangular bandage to support or fix a limb, you first need to find out the most suitable type of sling for the injury.

For lower arm, elbow, and hand injuries, you will need to choose between an arm sling and an elevating sling, depending on whether you need to restrict blood flow to the affected body part. For lower body injuries, you need to use the bandage as a wide-folded version of the roller bandage; wrap it around the affected body part so that it is completely fixed.

Once you have determined what kind of sling you need, you can start building it. Since the construction of slings varies greatly, we recommend that you become familiar with this visual guide.

Tubular bandages may be the least useful of the three traditional bandages. These are thick gauze elastic tubes designed to be used on a single body part, determined by the width of the bandage itself. They provide pressure, can be used to fix/support knee and elbow joints, and in some cases, fix the dressing to the limb.

The tubular bandage looks like a long bandage in a first aid kit, or it may be like a roll of elastic round bandage that can be cut to fit the desired area.

To use a tube bandage, simply slide it up slowly until it covers any body part you want to treat. If you use a tubular bandage to support the joint, this is what you need to do, but if you use a tubular bandage to hold the dressing tightly on the limb, you need to cut the dressing in place first, ask the patient to fix it in place, and then fix the tube Slowly slide the bandage upwards until it covers the pad, taking care not to shift the dressing or contaminate the wound.

This guide is intended to supplement the scope of our health and safety courses. Click here to view our health and safety courses.

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