en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhesive_bandage
1 correction found
Transdermal patches are adhesive bandages with the function to distribute medication through the skin, rather than protecting a wound.
Transdermal patches are not classified as adhesive bandages. They are drug-delivery patches (transdermal delivery systems), whereas adhesive bandages are wound-covering devices used on minor cuts and lacerations.
Full reasoning
Authoritative FDA sources define medical adhesive tape and adhesive bandages as wound-care devices: strips of fabric or plastic with adhesive that are used to cover and protect wounds or hold together the skin edges of a wound and are applied to minor cuts and lacerations. By contrast, the FDA describes transdermal products as transdermal delivery systems (TDS), also known as patches, that deliver drugs through the skin into systemic circulation and are regulated as complex drug-device combination products.
So while a transdermal patch is adhesive and sticks to the skin, calling it an adhesive bandage is inaccurate. In FDA terminology, these are different product types with different intended uses: wound protection/closure vs. medication delivery through the skin.
2 sources
- FDA Product Classification — Medical adhesive tape and adhesive bandage
Definition: 'A device intended for medical purposes that consists of a strip of fabric material or plastic, coated on one side with an adhesive ... The device is used to cover and protect wounds ... [and] is applied to minor cuts and lacerations.'
- FDA — FYs 2013–2017 GDUFA Science and Research Report: Transdermal Drug Products
'Transdermal products are most frequently developed as transdermal delivery systems (TDS), also known as patches.' 'TDS are complex drug-device combination products.'