According to the Russian Pravda, why should bandages be made of gauze? Who invented the plaster bandage? How can the plaster be better attached to the affected area? Victor mikhailovich, an associate professor of history in St Petersburg, tells you some little-known secrets about bandages and plasters. Leather bandages now, bandages, which are common, have a very interesting history. Everything starts with a thong or wool coat wrapped around the wound to stop bleeding, and sometimes leaves of various plants are used to stop bleeding. It took a long time for fabrics to appear, and then people began to use cloth as clothing materials. The ancient Egyptian Pharmacopoeia has clearly described how to dress a wound. They bandaged the wound with clean unbleached linen, coated it with various herbs, and changed the bandage regularly. The time limit for changing bandages is different for each kind of wound. This method is very effective and the wound heals quickly. Copper bandages were different in ancient Rome. People there wore cotton-padded clothes and linen clothes, but at first they didn't use cloth to dress the wound. They mainly use thin strips made of various metals and alloys, which must contain copper. The ancient Romans believed that copper could stop bleeding. Only a few hundred years later, this traditional therapy was no longer popular, and people began to use cloth bandages and more red cloth. Cotton and linen bandages In medieval Europe, there were no regulations on the cloth used for dressing wounds, and military doctors did not have special bandages. When necessary, they used whatever cloth they caught. It was not until the18th century that European military doctors prepared dressing materials in advance, usually rolled clean linen. Every housewife who loves herself will also prepare a clean cloth to wrap up the small wounds she gets when cooking or doing housework. Coarse cloth was used at first. Later, it was found that fine cotton cloth was more suitable for dressing wounds and could quickly absorb blood stains. Cotton bandages have been used ever since. At that time, French soldiers often bandaged their wounds with fine linen. 18 has gauze at the end. It was originally used for bed curtains, and it was used in medicine a few years later. But it was still far from disinfection at that time, and it was often reused. Gauze bandages are cleaned and dried before use. Disinfecting bandage 1867 Dr. Liszt delivered a famous speech, criticizing the attitude of doctors towards patients at that time. It turned out that doctors at that time dressed casually during surgery, even did not wash their hands in advance during midwifery, and were unwilling to take off their muddy shoes under any circumstances. Dr. Liszt believes that the frequent occurrence of postoperative infection is related to the unclean treatment before and after operation, and suggests that doctors change shoes, put on sterile clothes and use clean sterile dressing materials. Inspired by this, John brothers began to produce sterile bandages. At first, chemical disinfection was not successful. Later, hot air (high temperature) was used to disinfect the gauze, which was found to kill harmful microorganisms. As a result, sterile bandages appeared for the first time in 1880, and the number of postoperative infections decreased rapidly. 10 years later, gauze disinfection began to adopt two procedures: hot air and high pressure steam, and then people began to use a large number of disinfection bandages. Honey plaster has a history of thousands of years. Any herbal ingredient that can be attached to a body wound at first can be regarded as a plaster. It is best to use honey cream, honey mixed with other ingredients such as herbal juice, paste into a medicine cake, and stick it on wounds, cracks or ulcers. This plaster has a good curative effect. Contains non-high-temperature soluble components, which soften after contact with the skin, so that the paste is closely attached to the affected area. 1845, Dr. Haller obtained the invention patent of adhesive plaster, which was made by sticking adhesive on gauze and mixing it with rosin, beeswax and gasoline. However, this plaster often causes skin allergy, and people begin to use zinc oxide boxes to reduce the corrosiveness of colloid and reduce the occurrence of inflammation. The same is true of talcum powder, which can also reduce the risk of allergic reaction by applying it to the skin before plastering. So many businesses began to sell plasters and talcum powder together. Later, an antibacterial plaster was invented. People have been looking for a disinfectant that can penetrate into gauze among plasters for a long time. To this end, green potions, iodine and alcohol were used. Finally, after many experiments, scientists finally found that the best packaging material for plaster was waxed paper at the beginning of last century. (black and white)