You’ve summoned an image of the perfect part and spent the last few hours locked in a design frenzy.
Or, maybe one of your engineer colleagues punched the send button on their keyboard before collapsing straight into a nap, leaving you to wonder which material they needed.
Whatever the case, if you’re on the hunt for wound dressing tape, this is where you need to be. Strouse has handled hundreds of jobs involving medical adhesives, so if you’re looking for firsthand advice, we’ve got the experience to help you pick one hassle-free.
This list of our picks for the best wound dressing tapes contains effective adhesives we’ve chosen due to their innovation. As you read through our ranking of the best wound dressing tapes, remember the broad application of different adhesive types so you can find the perfect adhesive to get started on your project ASAP.
Q: How do you know if a wound dressing tape works?
A: The best wound dressing tapes secure wound dressings to the body without harming the skin.
Wound dressings are a staple part of the healing process, but wound dressing tapes ensure their bandages can adhere to the injuries and surrounding skin.
The following tapes are ordered from adhesives that warrant highly specific applications to ones used in more general wound dressing situations. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of similar products to these (often offered by the same suppliers) that could be a great fit.
With these options, you can decide what you want and ultimately find a tape that meets all your expectations.
3M 4576 will attach to the skin for up to 21 days, and support various fixings or wearables.
This hyper-extended wear tape is a single sided acrylic nonwoven tape with a polyester spunlace carrier and an acrylic adhesive.
3M 4576 is often used for holding:
3M 4576 is comfortable, breathable, and biocompatible for use on intact skin, three essential traits for any long term skin adhesive material. Although this tape is known for its extended wear time, there is still an excellent balance between adhesion strength and conformability.
MED 5583H by Avery Dennison is a transparent polyurethane film with unique hydrocolloid capabilities promoting effective healing.
Avery Dennison designed this tape to support ostomy, the process of surgically creating a hole to expel bodily waste. The hydrocolloid or biodegradable and breathable MED 5583H adhesive encourages wound saturation for better skin healing conditions.
Other traits of Avery Dennison’s MED 5583H include its:
MED 5583H has wearable capabilities, but its primary function lies in ostomy and wound care, such as fixing wound dressings.
DM 4009 by DermaMed is a clear, single-coated polyurethane film with acrylic adhesive and medium adhesion strength.
Despite only having a medium adhesion strength, DM 4009 has a high MVTR, or Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate, which allows moisture to escape.
A high MVTR indicates certain dressings that better suit wet wounds or those at risk of maceration, such as:
Not all injuries benefit from a moist environment, and DermaMed DM 4009 is a solid example of a high MVTR tape applicable in a variety of different situations.
Mactac TM 8101 is a comfortable, moisture-rich wound dressing. The design encourages moisture vapor transmission for the sake of more effective healing.
This adhesive works for about 3-5 days of use, which is considered long term. In addition, TM 8101 has a soft feel, yet powerful adhesion capabilities.
Mactac TM 8101 is used for wound dressings, ostomy, fixation devices, and electrode/sensor construction. It’s a lightweight and non-woven tape, which is particularly useful in multi-layered wound care.
Avery Dennison’s MED 5707 is single coated, has a carrier, and is breathable like many other medical tapes. MED 5707 is a medical tape Strouse has often used for wound dressing and electromedical applications.
This tape is another spunlace nonwoven tape with an acrylic adhesive, has vapor transmission rate properties, is die-cuttable, and is heat sealable.
Heat sealing is a common way to block, preserve, or mold materials into the desired shape. The ease of process that accompanies heat sealing can significantly reduce labor time and save you money.
3M 1533 is a microporous tape made of rayon nonwoven fabric used for dressings made with fabric tape.
Other uses of 3M 1533 tape include:
3M medical tape 1533 doesn’t come with a liner and is easy to print on. It’s also effortless to process and has been tested against serious skin inflammation.
Visoderm thin films have many uses:
Mactac TM 5170 is a Visoderm thin film, designed to control the vapor transmission of bandages through breathability and moisture management.
DermaMed’s DM 4001 adhesive is remarkably similar to DM 4009, however, the 4001 has a greater steel adhesion and a two mil polyethylene carrier.
Medical grade DM 4009 lacks any carrier and has a different liner than DM 4001, which has a medical grade, pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive on one side, underneath a silicone-coated release liner.
MED 1827 is another polyurethane film with an acrylic adhesive, built to be on the side of comfort while decreasing the risk of bacterial infections.
Its adhesion is relatively low, yet the thin and flexible film can conform well to surfaces, while its transparency allows healthcare professionals to see the skin around the wound despite the adhesives.
Lastly, we have 3M’s Medical Tape 9874, which is prided on its acrylic adhesive, fluid resistance, and good processability.
These are a few of its many uses:
Unlike the other tapes you’ve seen on this list, 9874 is a double sided medical tape on a roll with a liner. This can lead to more variability in its uses and allows it to be used for more complicated shapes in dressing applications.
Finding wound dressing tape isn’t as simple as repeatedly pushing a TAPE NOW button. Still, you’ve learned enough that, hopefully, you’ll be comfortable taking these ideas and working to transform the adhesive into your ideal part.
So, you’ve found your tape soulmate.
We’ll be the first ones to admit it’s not always easy. You don’t want your project to fall victim to unnecessary layers or complex lines. Instead, you can navigate the product design and material selection phases like a pro.
Even with the suitable material, there’s no guarantee that the design functions precisely how you want it to. Sharp lines and layers add to your part’s complexity, which can increase the cost of your final product.
Converters can consolidate the layers of a piece and provide other critical advice that helps you save money. If you communicate with a converter early on, you can make any necessary changes that will ultimately optimize your drawing in order to decrease your labor time.
If you’re still unsure, Strouse manufactures samples to guarantee that your part is always exactly what you’re looking for. Test your design or explore more information on wound dressing tapes in our Learning Center today.
Originally published: December 2, 2022