How Do I Choose the Best Wrist Bandage?

A patient who has an injury of the wrist may need to choose a wrist bandage to help keep the injury secure while it is healing. The type of bandage needed depends a great deal on the nature of the injury. Tight compression bandages are used to immobilize the wrist joint. A wrist injury that causes pain whenever the arm is moved may be further immobilized with the use of a triangular bandage or sling. A gauze bandage may be used to protect a wound from exposure or to keep medication from rubbing off of a wound.

Wounds on the wrist may require a gauze wrist bandage. When choosing a gauze bandage, the patient should select a bandage that is large enough to completely cover the wound. These types of bandages may be sterile or non-sterile and a sterile gauze bandage should always be used on an injury that is open so that no germs from the bandage enter the body and lead to infection. Patients can also choose to use gauze wrist bandages that do not stick to the wound so that replacing bandages does not cause discomfort.

An internal injury, such as a sprain or strain, is often immobilized through the use of a compression wrist bandage. These bandages are also referred to as elastic bandages because they are made out of a stretchy material that allows them to be wrapped tightly around the wrist. A patient can choose between a wrist bandage that can be wrapped or one that comes pre-formed as a single tube-shaped bandage and can be slipped over the wrist. It is important to wrap the wrist tightly enough to prevent it from moving yet loosely enough that blood can still flow into the fingers, so many patients will choose bandages they can wrap themselves so that the tightness can be adjusted as needed. Patients can also choose whether they prefer to close the bandage with pins, clasps, velcro or by tying off the bandage.

Wrist injuries that cause pain whenever the arm is moved may require the additional use of a triangular wrist bandage. These bandages can be used as slings that keep the arm in a fixed position near the patient's chest. Choosing the best triangular wrist bandage is a matter of finding one that properly fits the patient's arm and holds it at the proper angle.