Cheap bandages and plasters?

Bungarm2001

Hi everyone

Don't know if this has been asked on here before, but has anyone any ideas about getting hold of less expensive dressings, you know like plasters, bandages, gauzes and that type of thing?

I recently (stupidly!) burnt my foot quite badly with boiling rice (don't ask!) and thought I'd try treating it myself. My OH went to the Tesco pharmacy to get a few bandagy-type bits and pieces and spent over a fiver on what turned out to be a few patches of Melonin and that porous sticky tape which was recommended to him by the pharmiscist.

I can't help this feeling that maybe I could have done better price wise. What would you all have done? Bit the bullet and stuck with the expensive stuff? Failing that, gone to the GP nurse and scrounged some freebies??!

Are medical dressings and the like just some of the things that are simply not worth risking getting cheap alternatives for??

Would very much appreciate everyone's input..thanks in advance!

squeaky

Hiya

I'll move your post across to our Health Board where I'm sure you'll get lots of help with this one.

Good luck

anguk

If the burn is bad you really should let a doctor or nurse have a look at it.

My OH often needs dressings (he's got a false leg and it sometimes rubs) and if I've ran out of the ones from the doctor I go to the pharmacy counter at Boots and buy them from there as you can buy as many or as few as you like. We normally get Mepore or Opsite and they range in price from about 20p to 80p each depending on the size, but they should have some melonin as it's quite a common dressing. They should stock all different dressings in the pharmacy and should sell you them.

Toothsmith

How do you mean 'quite badly'?

Burns (or scalds) are probably one of the worst injuries for infections and complications.

Whereas cuts and grazes have two sides to knit together again, burns affect tissue to depth, and healing is by secondary intention.

It scars much worse.

I really would get some professonal help with it before you need plastic surgery to reduce the scarring.

little_miss_messiah

My OH is a carpenter and forever injuring himself - he's a regular visitor to A&E for the bigger stuff

For vvv minor things though Home bargains do plasters and crepe bandages and support strapping/tubigrip stuff 1/2 the price of Boots.

Sounds like you need a doctor to look at it for burns tho

moneysaving_pharmacist

Any burn or scald larger than about a 50p coin needs to be seen by a doctor or a nurse. Some of the modern dressings are very good, but expensive and are available on prescription. Even the cheap stuff like jelonet doesn't work out that cheap because of the number of them that need to be used.

Bungarm2001

Thanks for all the advice guys...I took it and went to see our practice nurse and in her opinion I should have gone straight to A & E

.....anyway, she's put on some kind of jelly-like dressing that I'm to leave on until friday when I see the District Nurse. At least now I can shower without resorting to all kinds of plastic bag origami wrapped around the wound to stop it getting wet!!!

Thanks again guys!!

LillyJ

moneysaving_pharmacist wrote: »

Any burn or scald larger than about a 50p coin needs to be seen by a doctor or a nurse.

Especially on the hands, feet or perineum. (how many people burn their perineums I don't know, and how they do it is even more of a mystery!)