Bandages.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec.. 1887
Specification Accepted, 20th Jan., 1888
Bandages.
I, HENRY BENJAMIN APPLEBY of Mark Street Mill, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Cotton Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to materials or fabrics for surgical dressings or bandages.
Wounds or parts of the body under surgical treatment are ordinarily dressed by
covering or wrapping them with lint, cotton wool or similar soft material and this
lint, cotton wool or similar soft material is then covered by an impermeable material
such as gutta-percha or india rubber sheeting or oiled silk for the purpose of
preventing the evaporation of the liquids or preparations employed for impregnating
the lint, cotton wool or similar soft material. This necessitates that these several
substances or materials should be kept in stock in hospitals or carried in ambulances
or by surgeons or their assistants on battle fields. My improvements consist in
coating the back of the lint, cotton wool or similar soft material with an impermeable
substance, material or fabric which adheres to the said soft material. The lint or
other soft material thus coated or the combined material or fabric thus prepared will
then serve instead of the separate soft and impermeable materials hitherto used, so that
only this combined material or fabric need be used and kept in stock in hospitals and
carried in ambulances or by surgeons or their assistants on battle fields, besides which
the time for dressing wounds or parts under treatment is shortened, one material only
having to be applied instead of two.
In carrying my invention into practical effect, I cover the back of the lint, cotton
wool or other soft material, which is manufactured in the ordinary way, preferably
with india rubber. The india rubber may be put on in any suitable way ordinarily
used for coating textile fabrics or materials. In the case of lint I use by preference a
spreading machine as ordinarily employed for making waterproof tissues, and coat the
lint in the ordinary manner used for coating tissues with india rubber. In the case of
cotton wool and similar loose materials I coat the back with a solution of india rubber
by means of brushes, or by passing the material over a roller revolving in a trough
containing a solution of india rubber, a doctor knife being applied to the roller to

page_text: prevent the coated material from adhering to the same. The india rubber may be
prepared for vulcanisation and afterwards vulcanised in any suitable way ordinarily
used, for instance by powdering the same with sulphur and then steaming the fabric
in a vulcanising pan.
In some cases I use gutta percha for coating the back of the lint or other soft
material, which may be done in any suitable way ordinarily used for coating fabrics
with gutta percha, for instance in a similar manner as hereinbefore described for
coating said materials with india rubber.
Instead of india rubber or gutta percha, pliable impermeable tissues may be used
and cemented or attached to the lint, cotton wool or similar soft material. In the
case of lint this may be done by means of a cementing machine in the same way as
ordinarily used in the manufacture of multiple india rubber fabrics, and in the case of
cotton wool and similar loose fabrics by coating the pliable impermeable tissue with a
solution of india rubber and pressing the cotton wool and similar loose fabric upon it.
The combined material or fabric may be impregnated with carbolic acid or other
antiseptic fluids or medical preparations, thus making a most useful combined surgical
dressing.
In some cases the cotton wool or similar loose material with impermeable backing
may be covered with a cotton web pressed on to the face or other side, which prevents
the fibres from sticking in wounds and causing irritation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
Firstly. The combination of a soft and an impermeable material into one material or
fabric for surgical dressings or bandages, substantially as herein before described.
Secondly. The preparation or manufacture of a combined soft and impermeable
material or fabric for surgical dressings or bandages substantially as herein before
described.
Thirdly. Making surgical dressings or bandages of a combined soft and impermeable
material or fabric prepared substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 16th day of December 1887.
EMMOTT & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.