I ordered from Amazon (I avoid third party sellers unless it's the manufacturer because of return policies), so I got very new fresh bandages that ... wow these suckers stick. I'll be honest, though-they still annoy me, I am used to using the waterproof CUSHIONED Nexcare bandages and LOVE those (the ones that are peachy skin toned). They're the same shape and like these hold their own pretty well but have some cushioning I have always appreciated for tender raw skin and they come off very easily when you actually make the effort, the biggest distinction and for my more delicate skin areas (like my legs which I have to inject weekly with both B12 intramuscularly and an RA med subcutaneously). The pandemic made those stop being manufactured, and they came back with a 20-count box that costs more than the 30-count did immediately before COVID... so I had to find, because there was something weird seeming about spending over $25 JUST on bandages for needle pricks, something that could cover the area, stay a couple of days of not messing with it (immunocompromised so I tend to leave it on so things like fibers and dyes from my pants don't irritate the skin I've jabbed)... I went for these because the regular Nexcare waterproof frankly don't tend to hold at the edges too well-ie even pulling pants up they'll roll up at the edge, not what a bandage should be doing, and using on hands that get washed 10+x a day is a no-go. These... wow. There's a REASON they warn you not to use it on delicate skin, holy moly. ABIDE BY THAT RECOMMENDATION! They WILL hurt skin that is fragile-that is a certainty. The level of adhesive here is fierce-not super glue but the heat from your body will sure make it close to super glue level stick. So my gripe is kind of also my praise... I usually don't mind assorted packs. This one's a bit odd, but servicable-some are fatter which is good for small scrapes. The material, though, is SO sticky you HAVE to be sure not a millimeter of the clear adhesive part gets on even barely scraped skin-don't get even close to it. Honestly, scrapes ARE better served with the waterproof ACTIVE ones, the cushioned ones, because scrapes hurt as they heal and these bandages have no cushion, no comfort features, just the thinnest possible layer of firmly attached clear skin, almost less material than if you use newskin [which is ACTUALLY like super glue you brush on like nail lacquer] on a small cut. As long as your cut/scrape/scabbed spot is small, they'll hold snugly, they work in hard spots like the base knuckle of your hand where the thumb side of my forefinger tends to get nicked/worn etc from gripping tools and what have you... and I LOVE the ones that are shaped as a long (though perhaps too long for my skinny fingers and way too big for kids' hands) narrow strip where it makes a round curve around the spot with padding... those finger ones are amazing. I wish they'd existed for all these decades of my life. The shape is perfect-instead of the hexagon, they're a perfect oval with a bulge-like putting a kinda fat round aspirin on top of an extra strength tylenol. I wish more of those could be bought alone so I could perfectly protect my fingers with something that goes all the way around but isn't wider than it needs to be when things like soap, vinegar, lemons, etc would rightly cause them excruciating pain. Maybe Nexcare reads these and can consider offering those since apart from my actual injections, my hands are 90% of what get hurt, my feet and knees taking the rest, usually me sleepily banging into something as I stumble to or from bed. I won't be using these anywhere very tender-so some of my injections, if I go to a more delicate spot, will be those rather costly but still preferred cushioned waterproof Nexcare Actives (I really miss my $2.30-2.99 or less box of 30 of those! $9/year for injection bandages vs $25 really does feel like an absurd markup-and the $2.99 was at locally owned pharmacies in Seattle=highest cost of living, $15 min. wage for years!). Oh, and while I do clean the area w/alcohol before I stab a needle into my skin, sure, if it's something like a hand cut, just stick w/soap and water... because you do NOT need to strip all the oil of your skin unless you're really REALLY greasy-skinned/put oil or waxy waterproof sunscreen etc before getting something nicked. Nice clean skin is plenty-these things, if new, are so sticky they don't even want to be taken off the waxy paper backing. Your skin will make this cling into every crevice, those teeny tiny fine lines on your skin we don't think about until they look ugly. Clean and dry is fine. You might make the skin really raw if you go overboard with alcohol to make sure it sticks super well... that plus THIS bandage... it can actually cause a skin injury, so be cautious. Also... don't RIP it off-be a bit gentle removing or you could end up with what looks similar to a bruise from the harsh effect of yanking something this sticky off. This is Tegaderm PLUS. It's stronger than what keeps IVs in arms.
