Wednesday, August 12, 2009

bandages are bad for you

Tony Dickinson, his wife and a friend were recently hiking in the Yorkshire Dales (England) when Tony accidentally fell and bruised his knee. Since he was bleeding and had no bandages of his own, he thought he was fortunate to find a Red Cross team working nearby.

The Red Cross team was there to provide care for "walkers" who were participating in a nearby Red Cross charity event.

Mr. Dickinson went to the medical team and asked for a Band-Aid and a bit of antiseptic. One of the workers refused him. The other worker said that he could not, unless he (the worker) first removed his Red Cross uniform.

Mr. Dickinson recalled, "I asked them for a plaster (an adhesive bandage) and some antiseptic to put on it, but they said they couldn't on health and safety grounds."

It seems that some people have an allergic reaction to the adhesive in a bandage or to a standard antiseptic cream. That means that it could be unsafe to give a bleeding man a Band-aid. That is why the Red Cross team didn't give Tony a bandage-- it was for his own good.

In defense of the Red Cross, Richard Hankins said that some Red Cross volunteers were not clear about their bandage policy.

http://snipr.com/pp8y3 [www_telegraph_co_uk]

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