Guides
Straight answers on cleaning, covering and caring for everyday wounds — written to be genuinely useful rather than to sell you something.
How to remove a splinter without making it worse
Pull along the angle it went in. Digging around at right angles is what turns a splinter into an infection.
Read the guide →Cut yourself in the kitchen? Do this first
Kitchen cuts are usually clean and straight, which makes them well suited to closure strips — within limits.
Read the guide →Cleaning a graze properly, including road rash
Grit left in a graze causes both infection and permanent marking. Getting it out is the whole job.
Read the guide →Paper cuts: why they hurt so much and what helps
A tiny wound with disproportionate pain. There is a reason for that, and a sensible way to deal with it.
Read the guide →Why your dressing keeps falling off
Six causes, in the order they are worth checking. Most are about the skin, not the adhesive.
Read the guide →Minor burns: the first twenty minutes matter most
Cool running water for twenty minutes does more for a burn than anything you can put on it afterwards.
Read the guide →How to treat a blister (and when to leave it alone)
An intact blister is a sterile dressing your body made. The default is to protect it, not pop it.
Read the guide →Zinc oxide tape: what it is and how to use it
Rigid, high-tack and hand-tearable. Made for holding things still, not for stretching with the body.
Read the guide →Wound closure strips vs stitches: what to know
Strips hold clean, shallow, straight-edged cuts together. They are not a substitute for a wound that needs suturing.
Read the guide →When to use a silicone foam dressing
Foam is for wounds that weep and skin that tears. For a dry graze it is an expensive way to do a simple job.
Read the guide →Signs a wound is infected — and what to do
Some redness is normal healing. These are the changes that mean stop treating it at home.
Read the guide →Gauze swabs vs adhesive dressings: what each is for
They are not alternatives. One cleans and absorbs, the other covers and stays put.
Read the guide →