What's Better for Wounds: Scabs or Bandages?

When someone gets a little scrape, it's pretty common for them to cover it with a bandage while it heals. There are some people, though, who think it's best to leave the wound uncovered and let your body do its healing thing. Who's right? Science holds the answer!

Hosted by: Olivia Gordon

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[jamesmnguyen]

Plus, Bandaids stop me from accidentally breaking my scab and starting the healing process all over.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Instead of either of those, how about flex tape to fix wounds

[crazykaspmovies]

From the injuries I got chowing down on some delicious concrete after getting launched off my bike, I noticed that keeping the wounds moisturized and clean heals up much nicer than the ones I let scab over and heal on their own. Not exactly a comfortable process, but effective.

[simplethings]

There are only three phases of the healing process. They are 1 ouch, 2 anger and 3 revenge. For those doubters I will tell you this is especially true for inanimate objects.

[pay]

i, a responsible adult, still swear by my star wars bandages

[ToriL]

Some wounds don't heal when you have a bandage on, because sometimes the wound starts to heal into the gauze or bandage so everytime I change it it undoes all the healing tearing off the new bits.

[yunthi]

as a glassworker, and one that doesnt use gloves as often as i should, i have a tendency to get shallow cuts fairly frequently.

in my experience, silver coated bandages give by far the best results. (available in pharmacies at least in finland, havent seen them outside one)
silver being naturally anti bacterial, and since it doesnt dry out or get absorbed in your body, it remains there covering the wound keeping it clean of infections.

my work isnt the cleanest and grinding glass uses water as coolant so they get wet often as well. and none of that seems to have any negative effects, the cuts dont even go red at the edges and heal much cleaner and faster than with any peroxide or antiseptic/ scab.

trust me, i know what im talking about ^^ buy some silver coated bandages.

[raggedyanarchist]

"Well, bad news, Team Scabs!"
I need to work this phrase into my day-to-day interactions.

[wdwerker]

Being a woodworker I'm constantly dealing with small wounds. Regular bandages don't stick to sweaty skin well. The fabric ones do a little better. Then I add a layer of cloth tape to keep the fabric bandage in place. Funny no one has mentioned the antibacterial cream with pain relief. That stuff is great at cutting the initial sensitivity down to a tolerable level.

[CrankyPantss]

This is a timely video. I was just thinking about this question today. I had another small skin cancer removed from my nose yesterday. The doctor didn't put a bandage on it, just told me to skip the bandage and keep it moist with an ointment. It just kept bleeding, though, and I didn't want to mess up my pillow so I put a bandage and ointment on it overnight anyway. (For the record: even though I'm a retired, elderly woman, I used a Snoopy bandaid because wounds still always feel better with a Snoopy bandaid.)

[clintpmk]

I was always taught if the wound wants to dry out( like a scab) then u want to keep them moist and if the wound oozes and is really wet then let it breathe UNLESS u r out and about in the world, dont risk an infection.

[chelsey]

I wear them so that i dont keep pulling on a scrap or wound. Helps keep it small and me from feeling unnecessary pain

[ingemaas]

I had a wound on my arm which I kept covered with a bandage for a few weeks, the wound didn't heal, the scab just turned soft. When I removed the bandage my wound healed in about a week. I definitely think that bandages have their place, and that they should be used if the wound is fresh and prone to getting dirt into it but once the wound has already closed then from my own experience it is just better to leave it and clean it every now and then.

[sacr]

Being an Aviation Maintenance Engineer, I cut and bust my hands up quite often. Bandaids get in the way, they lose their sticky factor, they can't bend that well, they hold in dirt/dust and whatever else is collected while working.

I let it air dry and i'm on my way. Been working great for 15 years.. I trust the millions of years of evolution can handle a cut.

We can play "what if" all day. I'm not saying one is better than the other i'm just saying the practicality of bandaids in some environments is.. well, not there.

[tjjlab]

This video shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the benefits of the scab method over bandages.

Bandages help keep the wound soft, delicate and vulnerable. If I use a bandage I have to be careful with the wound for maybe even a day or two. If I leave it with just the scab, I can be fully active and virtually care free with the wound in literally an minute or two. A scab is literal armour.

Dirt on a softened bandages wound is a big problem, dirt on a crusty old scab is zero problem, the dirt isn’t going to mix with bodily fluids.

Plus picking scabs is just plain fun, pulling off sticky bandages is horrible.

[sirlordford]

From decades of experience, I can say my best results come from wearing a bandage when I'm awake and removing it while sleeping. This seems to be the best of both worlds. I always heal up faster than full on or full off.

[TheSkycania]

Idk if it’s just me but every time I use a band aid they never heal and only get larger from not drying out and skin falling off

[gordonlawrence]

I had hydrocolloid dressings for a full depth burn (down to the muscle) on my left leg. They were a pain in the neck but it healed three times faster than similar burns treated with traditional methods IE weeks not 6 months.

[wmdkitty]

The bandage keeps me from scratching the hell out of healing wounds and prolonging the process, so Team Bandage.

[laurdrawz]

Still gonna wear my scabs thanks, I sweat so much so where I usually get injured I can't even keep plasters stuck on.