“ Ripping off the Band - Aid ” is a well - wornidiom . When you want to break bad tidings , it ’s unspoiled to just do it quickly ; the same goes for anything prompt any kind of physical or emotional pain sensation .
But does rive off a literal bandage quickly really provide benefit ? According to one study , yes .
In researchpublishedinThe Medical Journal of Australia , 65 student at James Cook University in Queensland were recruited to essay which approach is less painful : removing bandages slowly or chop-chop . Participants used one of two methods and then assess their uncomfortableness on an 11 - point bother scale . ( It does n’t go to 11 ; rather , someone can report 0 for no pain at all . )
Those who yanked the bandage off reported an average 0.92 pain score . Those who peeled lento over a two - second duration were deemed masochists who tallied an average score of 1.58 .
Conclusion : It ’s better to just rive it off .
Researchers try out the dressings on three different sites : the hand , musculus deltoideus ( shoulder ) , and ankle and also assessed the internet site for dead body hair . While the body part did n’t matter , those with lower physical structure hair counts tended to report less significant uncomfortableness . So did multitude who reported a preconception that slow removal would be more painful than speedy doffing of the bandage .
The paper could n’t account for other variables , like skin fondness as the resolution of a wound or varying adhesive intensity bet on the type of bandage used . ( The study used Band - assistance brand bandages . ) Ideally , a glue that sticks to pelt but offers less resistivity upon remotion would be ideal , and some researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women ’s Hospital in Bostonannouncedin 2022 they were moving toward that goal . For now , it ’s probably better to just rip it off .
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A version of this article was in the beginning published in 2023 and has been updated for 2024 .
