Abstract:
A wound treatment system including a housing having a first compartment and a second compartment, a bandage disposed within the first compartment, and a swab disposed within the second compartment. Further, the first compartment is openable independent of the second compartment, and the second compartment is openable independent of the first compartment. The wound treatment combination and bandages provides access to both disinfecting along with treating topically as well as covering wounds and scars at nearly sterile conditions to allow optimal healing and lowering the risk of infection and contamination and scars. The variable sizes envisioned allows for treatment of both small as well as larger surfaces.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/986,742, filed Nov. 9, 2007, entitled “Combination Bandage and Wound Treatment System,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present invention generally relates to wound care, and more particularly relates to bandages and wound treatment swabs and combination medication. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Typically, when injuries or disease related wounds occur, the wound should first be cleaned to prevent any infection from occurring at the wound cite. This is usually accomplished by applying an antiseptic, commonly alcohol or iodine. This entails pouring the antiseptic from a bottle and applying it to a swab, usually gauze or a cotton ball, which will be used to wipe the wound clean of dirt and germs. At this point it may be desirable to apply an antibiotic, a pain reducer, an antiviral medication, a scar treatment or the like. Once the wound has been treated, it is necessary to cover the wound site with a bandage in order to prevent external bacteria from infecting the wound and to provide a protected and sterile environment in which the wound may heal. 
     The current method of wound care would require a person to have with them, especially if that person is traveling, a bottle of antiseptic, a package of swabs, a package of bandages, as well as other desired treatment compositions such as those mentioned above. Thus, many people are discouraged from having available these wound care products, resulting in wounds that are not cared for properly. This improper wound care may lead to more serious health conditions, excessive scarring and pain and numerous trips to the doctor, all of which could have been avoided with timely care. Thus, what is needed is a bandage and wound treatment which can be provided together which would be relatively compact, light and easy to carry, but nevertheless provide all that is necessary to properly care for different types of wounds. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention generally relates to wound care, and more particularly relates to bandages and wound treatment swabs. 
     An embodiment of the present invention provides a wound treatment system. The wound treatment system includes a housing having a first compartment and a second compartment, a bandage disposed within the first compartment, and a swab disposed within the second compartment. Further, the first compartment is openable independent of the second compartment, and the second compartment is openable independent of the first compartment 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be more readily understood from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments presented below considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view showing a bandage and wound treatment swab combination according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view thereof; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view thereof along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side exploded view thereof 
         FIG. 5  is a side exploded view of a further embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of a bandage and wound treatment swab combination and dispenser; 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric view thereof; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view showing a bandage and wound treatment swab combination according to another further embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a side view thereof in another state; 
         FIG. 10  is a side view thereof in still another state; and 
         FIG. 11  is a side view showing a swab attached to a strip. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-4 , the combination bandage and wound treatment article  10  includes a bandage  40  provided together with and a wound treatment swab  42 . Both the bandage  40  and the swab  42  are each packaged within separate compartments of the combination bandage and wound treatment article  10 . 
     The bandage  40  is disposed between a first package strip  12  and the second package strip  18 . The perimeters of the first and second package strips  12  and  18  are bonded together. The strips can be bonded together with adhesive, by heat melting, by acoustic fusing, or other means. The center portions of the strips  12  and  18  are not bonded together, thus forming a pouch  20 . The pouch  20  provides a sealed compartment for the storage of the bandage  40 . Thus, disposing a bandage  40  between the strips  12  and  18  and then bonding the outer perimeters of the strips together seals the bandage  40  between the two strips  12  and  18 . This provides a sterile and protective storage compartment for the bandage  40 . Accordingly, the bandage  40  can be safely and cleanly stored between the strips  12  and  18  in the pouch  20  until the bandage is needed. 
     The bandage  40  can be various types of wound dressing, but is preferably an adhesive type bandage having an absorbent portion and adhesive surfaces for holding the bandage against the skin of a wounded user. The bandage  40  can be of various sizes and shapes and can be made of any appropriate material or its combination. Its size can vary from a few centimeters to as large as a dozen or more inches. Further, the bandage can be treated with various substances such as antibiotics, scar reducers, and other substances which can promote the healing of the wound. The bandage can be waterproof or breathable. The bandage can have a fabric strip. The absorbent portion can be a cotton pad or other suitable material, and may be designed so that is does not stick to the wound when the bandage is removed and may include a protective sheathing over the absorbent portion. The absorbent portion of the bandage may also assist with the treatment of wounds that involve envenomation of the user. The absorbent portion can be capable of absorbing at least a portion of the venom at or near the surface of the wound. The bandage (and/or wound treatment swab) can be treated with a topical absorbed anti-venom substance such that applying the bandage to the wound would result in administration of the anti-venom. The absorbent portion can also absorb contaminants. 
     Further, the bandage can be such that it holds the wound together, applying tension when applying the bandage will pull the skin surfaces surrounding an open wound together, which can act as a kind of adhesive skin closure such as those commonly available under the trade name Steri-Strip™ (material used instead of a suture that sticks tight to the surfaces of skin and is sometimes used to close lacerations). The bandage  40  may also be an adhesive strip, in which case the wound treatment swab  42  can be placed on the wound and the adhesive strip can be used to hold the swab  42  in place against the wound. This arrangement can have a broader application than a bandage and could have medical applications in treating facilities, operating rooms, etc. 
     The first and second strips  12  and  18  can be made of various materials. The strips  12  and  18  can be for example wax coated paper, plastic, foil or other suitable material. The strips are designed to provide protection for the bandage  40  and the help maintain the bandage  40  in a sterile condition. Further, if the bandage  40  is treated with a particular substance, such as an antibiotic, the strips will help maintain the integrity of the antibiotic substances and can help prevent it from drying out or evaporating or otherwise prevent loss of the substance. The bandage can contain dry, powder, or moist compositions and the compositions can be, for example, antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, burn treatment (e.g. cream), a wound healing stimulator (e.g. chemical, growth-healing factor stimulators), scar remover/reducer, wound shrinker, pain reliever, itch reliever, etc. 
     The wound treatment swab  42  is disposed between a third package strip  22  and a fourth package strip  28 . The perimeters of the third and fourth package strips  22  and  28  are bonded together. The strips can be bonded together with adhesive, by heat melting, by acoustic fusing, or other means. The center portions of the strips  22  and  28  are not bonded together, thus forming a pouch  30 . The pouch  30  provides a sealed compartment for the storage of the wound treatment swab  42 . Thus, disposing a wound treatment swab  42  between the strips  22  and  28  and then bonding the outer perimeters of the strips together seals the wound treatment swab  42  between the two strips  22  and  28 . This provides a sterile and protective storage compartment for the wound treatment swab  42 . Accordingly, the wound treatment swab  42  can be safely and cleanly stored between the strips  22  and  28  in the pouch  30  until the wound treatment swab is needed. 
     The wound treatment swab  42  can be various types of treatment swabs. The wound treatment swab can be an alcohol swab, an iodine solution swab, and antibacterial/antibiotic wipe or other swab, wipe, or towelette for treating and/or cleaning a wound and the surrounding area. The swab may be a gauze pad, ribbon, strip, roll, ball (e.g. cotton ball) for example. The wound treatment swab can be treated with a cream or composition for treating burns, can contain anti-allergens, anti-virals, antifungal, anti-inflammatory compositions, scar treatments, wound/scar hydrating solution, vitamins, or any other suitable material/compound or any combination thereof. The swab may have purified water for cleaning the wound, lidocaine for pain, and betadine for antiseptic/antibacterial treatment, for example. A wound cleanser solution may for example be an antibacterial like betadine. In addition, the treatment material may be an antibiotic, etc. to address the wound and may also include antiviral medication and a pain reducer (e.g. lidocaine/topical anestetic) which, for example with a user with a viral infection such as shingles, can provide a sterile (e.g. with the inclusion of the antibiotics) all in one treatment. 
     The third and fourth strips  22  and  28  can be made of various materials. The strips  22  and  28  can be for example plastic, foil, foil coated paper or other suitable material. The strips are designed for provide protection for the wound treatment swab  42  and the help maintain the wound treatment swab  42  in a sterile condition. Further, the strips will help maintain the integrity of the alcohol, iodine solution, antibacterial or other solutions of the swab and can help prevent the swabs from drying out and the wound treatment solutions from evaporating. 
     The second strip  18  and the fourth strip  28  are bonded together, as more clearly shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Thus, the combination bandage and wound treatment article  10  can provide both a bandage  40  and a wound treatment swab  42  in separate pouches  20  and  30 , respectively, in a single article  10 . Strips  18  and  28  act as a barrier to keep the bandage  40  and the treatment swab  42  separate from each other. Accordingly, when a wound needs to be treated and dressed, a-user can use the combination article  10  to provide all the materials necessary to treat and dress the wound in a single convenient article. Thus, a user will not have to find a separate wound treatment article, such as an alcohol swab in order to treat the wound, and a separate bandage to dress the wound. Both the swab and bandage are provided together in a single article  10 . 
     Further, by providing both the treatment swab and the bandage together, proper wound care techniques can be promoted. Many times a user that has experienced a wound may only seek a bandage to dress the wound and help stop bleeding. However, the user may use the bandage without properly cleaning or treating the wound. This may be because the user may not have wound treatment swabs (e.g. alcohol swabs) readily available either because they are not stored with the bandages, the user never purchased swabs and therefore are not available, or the additional steps of getting a treatment swab may be avoided by the user. 
     By providing a treatment swab together with a bandage, the wound treatment swab is always readily available when the user seeks to use a bandage. This increases the likelihood that a user will use the wound treatment swab before dressing the wound with the bandage. Thus, the article  10 , which provides a bandage  40  and a wound treatment swab  42  together, will help promote proper wound treatment. Further, the article  10  is designed to be a one-time use disposable article. Once the user uses the bandage/wound treatment swab, the article  10  can be discarded. This will additionally increase the likelihood that a user will use the wound treatment swab before dressing the wound with the bandage. If the user only used the bandage and not the wound treatment swab, the user will be faced with the prospect of discarding the article  10  containing an unused swab  42 . The user may feel uncomfortable and wish to avoid throwing away and “wasting” an unused swab  42 , and therefore the user may be inclined to use the swab so that it is not wasted. Alternately, the separate packaging of the bandage and swab allows the user to use one or the other without opening the pouch of the other. 
     The strips of the article  10  are bonded together such that the pouches can be opened easily and at separate times from each other. As shown in  FIG. 3 , end  16  of first strip  12  is completely bonded to second strip  18 . The opposite end of first strip  12  is not completely bonded to second strip  18 . The free end portion of the first strip  12  that is not bonded to the second strip  18  forms a tab  14  that is not bonded to the second strip  18 : The tab  14  can be used to peel first strip  12  away from second strip  18  to open pouch  20  and provide access to the bandage  40  stored therein. By gripping tab  14  and the proximate end of second strip  18 , fourth strip  28 , and end  26  of third strip  22  and pulling tab  14  in an opposite direction from the proximate end of second strip  18 , fourth strip  28 , and end  26  of third strip  22 , the first strip  12  can be peeled away from second strip  18  to open pouch  20 . 
     First strip  12  may be bonded with an adhesive that is strong enough to maintain first strip  12  bonded to second strip  18  during handling, but can be overcome by a user attempting to open pouch  20  by pulling away first strip  12 . In addition, first strip  12  can be shorter than second strip  18  so that the tab  14  and the proximate end of the second strip  18  can be more easily gripped to facilitate opening of the pouch  20 . 
     The third strip  22  is bonded to fourth strip  28  in a similar way as the first and second strips  12  and  18 , thus forming tab  26 . However, tab  26  is located on an end opposite tab  14 . Thus, by gripping and pulling the strips at one end of the article  10 , one pouch may first be opened, and then by gripping and pulling the strips at the opposite end of the article  10 , the second pouch may be opened. This arrangement facilitates separate opening of the pouches so that accidental opening of the pouches does not occur. Thus, a user can open pouch  30  containing wound treatment swab  42  to treat the wound first, while maintaining the bandage  40  sealed and protected in pouch  20  until it is ready to be used. After the wound has been treated with the treatment swab  42 , pouch  20  can be opened to gain access to the bandage  40  to dress the wound. Alternatively, the strips and the packaging can be arranged so that tab  14  and tab  26  are located at the same end of the package. 
     Alternatively, the strips can be attached such that the tabs are located along the sides of the package. Thus, the pouches can be opened from the side. 
     In addition, the wound treatment swab  42  can be attached to strip  22  or  28  (or  22  or  44  when an arrangement such as that shown in  FIG. 5  is provided) by, for example, adhesive. Thus, when strips  22  and  28  are pulled apart to open pouch  30 , the swab  42  remains attached to strip  22  or  28 . Therefore, the user can hold either strip  22  or the rest of the packing to which strip  28  may be attached, to treat (e.g. wipe, clean, disinfect) the wound with the surfaces of the swab  42  that are not attached to the strip with out directly contacting swab  42  and potentially contaminating the swab or soiling the hand of the user. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , for example, the swab  42  is attached to surface  29  of strip  28  and strip  22  has been removed to open pouch  30  and expose swab  42 . The swab  42  could also be attached to surface  45  of strip  44  when arrangement such as that shown in  FIG. 5  is provided. A gripping tab  50  is attached to strip  12 , which can assist in using swab  42  to treat a wound without touching swab  42 . The gripping tab  50  can be made out of the same material as strip  12  or can be any other suitable material. The gripping tab  50  can also be formed by creating a fold in the strip  12 . The gripping tab  50  includes a handle portion  52 , which can be initially kept in the folded down position as shown in  FIG. 8  with a releasable adhesive, by a fold, or any other suitable means. When the user wants to treat a wound with swab  42 , the handle  52  can be rotated into an extended position as shown in  FIG. 9 . Thus, the user can grip the handle portion  52  and use it to grip and move the article (e.g. in a direction indicated by the arrows) over the wound. Further, as shown in  FIG. 10 , a user can grip handle  52  and pull (e.g. in a direction indicated by the arrows) to open pouch  20  be separating strip  12  from strip  18  to gain access to the bandage  40 . Alternatively, when the swab is attached to surface  23  of strip  22 , a gripping tab  50  can be attached to the opposite surface of strip  22 . As another means of treating a wound without contacting the swab  42 , when the swab  42  is attached to strip  22 , strip  22  can be folder over as shown in  FIG. 11 . Then, the user can grip ends  25  and  27  of strip  22  and treat the wound with swab  42 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , article  10  includes two strips, strips  18  and  28 , which act as a barrier between the bandage  40  and the swab  42 . In this way, the bandage  40  can be packaged separately from swab  42 . Bandage  40  can be packaged between strips  12  and  18  at one location and swab  42  can be packaged between strips  22  and  28  at another location, and then strips  18  and  28  can be bonded together to form article  10 . However, a single barrier strip  44  may be used instead of strips  18  and  28 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . Thus, bandage  40  can be packaged between strip  12  and barrier strip  44 , which are bonded together, and swab  42  can be packaged between strip  22  and barrier strip  44 , which are also bonded together. 
     Individually packaged bandages and wound treatment swabs may be provided together as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . The bandages  140  and wound treatment swabs  142  are separately packaged in sterile and protective packaging. The separate packages are stored in a dispenser  110  in an alternating interleaved fashion. Thus, the bandages  141  and wound treatment swabs  142  are stacked in the dispenser  110  in the order of swab, bandage, swab, bandage and continues to repeat in that order. Thus, when the dispenser pack is freshly loaded, a swab is presented first for dispensing. When a user looking to treat the wound uses the dispenser, a swab is first readily available for dispensing for cleaning/treating the wound. After the swab has been removed from the dispenser, a bandage is next ready to be dispensed. Thus, after the wound has been treated, a bandage is ready to be dispensed so that the wound may be dressed. After the bandage has been removed from the dispenser, a swab is next ready to be dispensed which can be used for treating the next wound. The serial dispensing of alternating swabs and bandages can help in the fast and efficient care of wounds. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , one end  141  of the first package is releasably adhered to an end  143  of the next package to be dispensed. Thus, as the first package is removed through dispenser slot  111 , the next package is pulled through the dispenser slot  111  and presented for dispensing. The adhesive between the first and next package is strong enough to ensure that the next package is pulled through the slot and presented for dispensing, but easily releases from the first package so that it may be removed without fully removing the next package from the dispenser. 
     The individually packaged bandages  141  and wound treatment swabs  142 , may be replaced inside the dispenser  110  with combination packaged bandages and wound treatment swabs, such as the combination bandage and wound treatment article  10  described above. 
     The dispenser  110  is suitable for table top dispensing or may include a clip so that is can be worn on the belt of a user. Thus, the dispenser can be readily accessible to person responding to wound treatment in mobile situations. For example, the dispenser can be worn on the belt of a hiker. The dispenser may also include a cover to seal and protect its contents, which can also provide a waterproof seal. 
     In one embodiment, the wound treatment swab  42  is a gauze pad. The gauze pad can be folded or rolled so that it may be packaged in a small pouch area, and then unfolded to a larger size when removed from the package. The user can then cut off a piece of the unfolded gauze pad sheet to apply to a wound. The sheet could also be perforated so that pre-sized portions of the sheet can be separated. The sheet can be large enough so that several pieces can be cut to treat several wound sites. The gauze pad can be treated with various different compositions or any combination thereof for the treatment of various wounds or ailments. For example, the pad can be treated with an antiviral (e.g. aciclovir cream which may also be known under brand name Zorvirax™), pain reliever (e.g. lidocaine), and an antibiotic in combination to treat shingles. As another example, the pad can be treated with an antibiotic burn cream (e.g. Silver Sulfadiazine, which may also be known under brand name Silvadene) and a pain reliever (e.g. lidocaine) in combination to treat burns. As a further example which would be useful for treating abrasions, the pad can be treated with an antibiotic (or triple combination of antibiotics) and a pain reliever (e.g. lidocaine) in combination. As another further example which would be useful for treating rashes, the pad can be treated with an antibiotic (or triple combination of antibiotics), a steroid, and an antifungal composition in combination. Other compositions can be used also, such as human growth factor, wound healing factor, vitamins (for example vitamin E or other vitamins which would promote wound healing), topical scar treatments (e.g. Mederma®), and combinations thereof. Thus, the cut pieces of the pad can be applied to the wound. The treated gauze pad can be packaged alone, or can be provided in a combination package with a separate pouch containing an adhesive tape which can be used to hold the gauze pad in place over the wound. Further, the above described treatment compositions and other combinations can be packaged alone or in a combination package wherein a treatment composition in the form of a cream or liquid for example, is contained in one pouch and a dressing is contained in a separate pouch. Thus, the cream can be obtained by opening the first pouch, which can then be applied to the wound, and then dressing can be obtained from the second pouch and used to dress the wound. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.