Bandages are similar in structure to gauze and are strip-shaped or triangular textiles used to cover wounds and wrap around the human body.
I. Requirements
The production of bandages mainly uses cotton yarn as raw material. The process is the same as that of gauze, which also involves desizing, degreasing and bleaching the fabric blank. Unlike gauze, the fineness of the warp yarn is lower than that of the weft yarn, and the density of the weft yarn is lower than that of the warp yarn.
The common features of bandages are their breathability, moisture absorption, and heat preservation properties. They can prevent slipping off, protect against external impacts and friction. When wrapped around the affected area, they should have good stability, appropriate tension, be heat-resistant, washable, and disinfected, be easy to use, and the cost should not be too high.
Ii. Manufacturing Process and Classification
There are common bandages, elastic bandages and orthopedic bandages.
Ordinary bandages are further classified into cut-edge bandages and firm-edge bandages.
(1) The cut-edge bandage is first made into wide fabric, bleached as a whole, then rolled into 10m or 4.5m fabric rolls, and cut into short sections with a slitting machine. This kind of bandage has no strong fabric edge, doesn't look good and is prone to peeling off the edge.
(2) The firm edge bandage is a narrow-width product. Generally, it can be woven by narrow-width looms, weft knitting machines, hook knitting machines and Raschel machines. The yarn needs to be degreased and bleached before weaving. Its advantage is the woven bandage
It has a good appearance, neat edges, no tangled threads and no loose threads. The disadvantages are low production efficiency and high cost.
2. The warp yarns of the elastic bandage are made of elastic fibers, and the weft yarns are made of cotton. Elastic fiber materials include rubber filaments, spandex (PU), polyester with elastic filament (PET), and new polyester-based elastic fibers (PBT). The elastic elongation of bandages varies depending on the materials used, generally reaching 50% to 60%. When using spandex, it can reach 200%.
Elastic bandages are divided into tubular bandages and mesh bandages, and they are attached to various parts of the human body due to their different elastic properties.
(1) Tubular bandages are used to bandage joints, legs and other areas that are difficult to fix.
(2) Mesh bandages are used to bandage areas such as the head, face, and breasts that are difficult to cover with conventional bandages.
3. Orthopedic bandages are important treatment materials in orthopedic therapy. The widely used plaster bandages are made by attaching plaster to the bandage and are used for fracture fixation. Due to their slow curing, heavy weight, fragility, poor air permeability, poor X-ray permeability, and inability to enter water after curing, they are gradually being replaced by polyurethane polymer bandages. It is made by impregnating the base fabric with polyurethane prepolymer and can cure and form upon contact with water. This type of bandage has high orthopedic strength, is lightweight, breathable, can pass X-rays, has good water resistance, can be washed with soap, and patients can enter water or take a shower during bandaging.