Band-Aid
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- This article is about the adhesive bandage. For the musical ensemble "Band Aid", see Band Aid (band).
Band-Aid is the brand name for Johnson & Johnson's line of adhesive bandages and related products. However, much of the consuming public in the United States, India, Canada, Brazil and Australia uses the term band-aid generically, to refer to any such adhesive bandages (see genericized trademark).[1] Such bandages are better known in many parts of the world as an 'adhesive plaster', 'sticking plaster' or simply 'plaster'.
The phrase "Band-aid" has also entered usage as a term for any temporary fix. (e.g. "Band-aid solutions were used to fix the leak.")
History
The Band-Aid was invented in 1920 by Earle Dickson, an employee of Johnson & Johnson, for his wife Josephine, who frequently cut and burned herself while cooking.[2][3] The prototype product allowed his wife to dress her wounds without assistance. Dickson, a Highland Park, New Jersey, resident at the time, passed the idea on to his employer who then went on to produce and market the product as the Band-Aid. Dickson had a successful career at Johnson & Johnson eventually becoming a Vice President before his retirement in 1957.
The first bandages produced were hand-made and not very popular. By 1924, Johnson & Johnson introduced the first machine that produced sterilized Band-Aids. In World War II, millions of Band-Aid bandages were shipped overseas.
In 1951 the first decorative Band-Aids were introduced to the market. They continue to be a commercial success today with decorative themes such as Superman, Spiderman, Spongebob Squarepants, Smiley Faces, and Batman.
Johnson & Johnson makes a variety of different products under the Band-Aid brand. These include Band-Aid liquid bandages and Scar Healing bandages. Their newest products include Active Flex bandages, which come in a variety of shapes, forming a fluid-filled barrier to help wounds heal faster. They also include waterproof Tough Strips, which have a strong adhesive, allowing for longer wear. In addition to wound treatment bandages, the company produces Burn-Aid, a burn gel which is applied as a prepackaged bandage. In order to protect the name as a registered trademark, the product is always referred to as "Band-Aid Brand" and not just Band-Aid.
External links
- Band-Aid Brand Official Website
- Band-Aid Brand History
- Johnson & Johnson First Aid Website
- Inventor of the Week - Earle Dickson from the Lemuelson-MIT Program
- Page containing a large collection of Band-Aids from all over
References
- ^ For example, "band-aid" appears as a generic term in The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden; see excerpts published by USA Today.
- ^ BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages Beginnings
- ^ Instead, he took the gauze and placed it in the center of the tape and covered it with crinoline to keep it sterile and safe.