by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Pressure dressing, pressure bandage, compression dressing, compression bandage, they’re all the same thing to me. They’re bandages that press down on—compress—a wound. Most of the time this is to stop a wound from bleeding. (If you’ve applied pressure for about 10 minutes and it’s still bleeding, it might be time for a pressure bandage.)

So what’s the big deal about using one?

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