Physical Cohesive Bandage

Physical cohesive bandage is a good-quality cohesive bandage suitable for medical, sport or animal use. This versatile bandage can be used for wrapping soft tissue injuries, retention of dressings or ice packs, lightweight support strapping and much else besides.

• A soft, stretchy and flexible tape
• Sticks to itself, but will not adhere to skin, hair, clothing or other surfaces
• Comfortable to wear and easy to apply
• Tears by hand: no scissors required
• Manufactured without latex
• Approx stretched length of 4.5m per roll

Physical cohesive bandage is available in 3 widths - 2.5cm, 5cm and 7.5cm - and in a selection of colours.

How to Use

Cohesive bandage (often incorrectly called self-adhesive bandage) is a flexible, stretchy and lightweight strapping tape with a rubberized coating. Cohesive bandage is not adhesive - it sticks only to itself - and therefore is best used in situations that require tape to be wrapped all the way around a body part. It can be cut with scissors, but is also very easy to tear by hand: simply rip through it as if tearing a piece of paper.

When using cohesive bandage, wrap it onto the limb directly from the roll and apply a moderate amount of stretch to give the required level of compression and support. It is best practice to start wrapping from the extremity and work back towards the body. When you tear off the tape, press the loose end into the layer below it to ensure it grips. Any loose corners can be tucked under to stop them catching.

Although cohesive bandage is quite a light strapping tape, it can cause constriction if applied too tightly. Remove it if you notice it causing any pain, discolouration or swelling.

Cohesive bandage has many potential uses in first aid, particularly for strapping acute soft tissue injuries such as ankle sprains or wrist sprains. For specific techniques, please refer to our blog.