How to Use a Crepe Bandage

How to Use a Crepe Bandage
10 August 2022

How to Use a Crepe Bandage

What is a Crepe Bandage?

Bandage and wound dressings come in many shapes and sizes and have multiple uses. Crepe bandages are an essential item in any first aid kit and offer versatility, breathability and ease of use whether you’re at home or in hospital. 

Crepe bandages are NHS-approved bandages made from stretchy, sterile, woven cotton. They have a textured surface help to keep the bandage secure, while the length makes it easy to wrap around the desired body area and conform to body contours. The breathable cotton material is stretchy, so it can effectively compress a swollen area without cutting off vital blood circulation. 

Available in four different widths for a range of uses. Crepe bandages are washable and reusable so they offer great value and longevity.

What Are Crepe Bandages Used For?

  • Compression

Sports therapists, physios and medical professionals make the most of elastic crepe bandage uses to reduce swelling through moderate compression of knees, ankles and other musculoskeletal injuries. The elastic nature of the woven cotton means the bandage can be firmly stretched over and around a swollen area without cutting off blood flow to extended limbs. The breathability and stretchiness of the cotton allow for long-lasting comfort throughout the day. However, experts recommend against crepe bandage use at night to ensure that the compression bandage doesn’t affect blood circulation overnight. So, always remove a patient’s compression bandage before sleep. 

  • Injury Support

Crepe bandages can also be wrapped around injured joints to offer light support during rehabilitation or when returning to strenuous sporting activities such as running or boxing. This technique is also helpful in efforts to prevent common overuse injuries from happening in the first place.

  • First Aid Dressing Protection

Crepe bandages are a common item in an emergency first aid kit, commonly used to secure wound dressings in place and protect them. Crepe bandages’ unique texture allows them to be easily fixed into position and quickly adjusted or removed when required.  

  • Beauty Treatments

Crepe bandages are commonly used in aftercare following aesthetic procedures due to their effectiveness at compressing swollen tissue. Their durability and absorbency make them an excellent tool for popular beauty treatments that soak the skin or draw out toxins and impurities from pores, such as mud or clay wraps. 

crepe bandage wrapped around wrist

How To Use A Crepe Bandage

Knowing how to use a crepe bandage is essential if you want to make use of its many benefits. 

For adequate support and coverage, choosing the correct width of crepe bandage is critical—usually, the wider your choice, the better, relative to the area you’re wrapping. Using a narrow crepe bandage on a large area could lead you to wrap too many layers around the injury or dressing, decreasing breathability and mobility. 

How to put Crepe Bandage on Ankle Injuries:

  1. Wrap the bandage straight around the calf in a loop above the injured ankle to secure it.
  2. Wrap the bandage across the joint in a figure-of-eight pattern, ensuring that each time the bandage loops the ankle, it goes above or below the joint.
  3. Loop twice more around the calf and secure in place with microporous tape.

How to use Crepe Bandage for Wrist Injuries:

  1. Wrap the bandage around the forearm two or three times above the point of the injured wrist.
  2. Wrap the bandage around the wrist and base of the hand in a figure-of-eight pattern so that the bandage is covering the areas above and below the joint equally.
  3. Loop firmly around the lower forearm two or three more times and secure with microporous tape.

How to Prevent Knee Injuries with a Crepe Bandage:

  1. Extend the leg out straight and ensure the knee joint is aligned, not twisted to either side.
  2. Aim to secure the crepe bandage around the knee with enough tension to be secured in place and provide slight compression without restricting movement or blood flow.
  3. Begin with the crepe bandage below the knee at mid-calf height, leading from the outer side of the knee. Circle the bandage below the knee joint a few times to create an anchor.
  4. Once the anchor is secure, pull the bandage up diagonally toward the inner thigh without crossing the kneecap. Wrap the bandage once around the lower thigh above the kneecap.
  5. Continue to wrap diagonally behind the knee towards the outer lower leg and around the calf, then up towards the back of the lower thigh, creating a figure-of-eight pattern. 
  6. Once secure, check movement of the knee joint is not inhibited more than desired and secure the crepe bandage with microporous tape

How to use a Crepe Bandage to Cover a Dressing:

Choose a bandage wide enough to completely cover the dressing leaving an extra width of approximately 2.5cm on each side. Wrap the bandage around the outer edges of the wound dressing and pull it gently around the body area, wrapping the bandage over itself to keep the dressing in place and protect the wound. If your crepe bandage is not wide enough for the size of the dressing, carefully wrap the bandage over the dressing gently in overlapping layers.

Visit our
Interactive First Aid Guide

Demystify workplace first aid & find out exactly what your business needs.

Please enter your details into the form below along with any questions or comments and a member of our team will be happy to provide you with more information:

Related posts