Friend cut his finger this evening with an exacto knife. Mr. Rilch looks in bathroom drawer: no band-aids. Looks under sink. No band-aids. Looks in his bag. First-aid kit is in truck.
“Rilchie? Are there any band-aids upstairs?”
“I think I have one in my purse,” I hazarded. Downstairs, I checked the zipper pocket, then the elastic pocket, and found two.
“Women always have band-aids in their purse,” commented Friend as I handed one to him.
It’s true, isn’t it? I don’t like letting small cuts stay exposed, no matter how minor they are. And in filing jobs, you’re always getting a paper cut. A strip from a kleenex, held in place with cellophane tape, will suffice, but I try to stay self-sufficient in band-aids.
Women of the Straight Dope! Do you have (a) band-aid(s) in your purse, and if so, what motivates you to keep stocked?
Yes! I walk a lot, and sometimes get an unexpected blister or rubbing. I seemed to have solved that problem with my new Danskos, but I keep one or so for just in case. When I travel overseas I carry about four to six.
Not female. But I do carry band-aids in my wallet. Don’t ask why.
A damp tissue wrapped around a finger holds itself in place and is a pretty good replacement if nothing else is handy. Doesn’t stop infections and the like, but it does make it feel better…
Everyday, there’s increasing evidence I am becoming my mother. I actually have a purse, and one that holds more than my wallet, cell phone, and keys. In it, I have Band-Aids, alcohol swabs, q-tips, hand sanitizer, Kleenex, Neosporin, extra pads, fingernail clippers, lip balm, and a little emergency sewing kit.
I don’t know why I do it. I never was the type to pack prepared for WWIII. Hell, I used to look for the teensiest wallets and purses, out of a desire to carry as little as possible.
I think it’s the times when I’ve needed the stuff and actually had it that make me do it. And it only gets worse from there: Oh, a safety pin! Put it in your purse, you might need it one day! You’ve never needed one before, but you never know what will happen tomorrow!
When I was six or so, I was with my dad and grandma at a park. I scraped up my knee, and was amazed when my grandma procured a band-aid from her purse. “How weird,” I thought. “Did she psychically know I was going to hurt my knee?” Now I think I know how it works. The older a woman gets, the more prone she becomes to carrying just-in-case things. Also, elderly people are often avid collectors of trial/travel sized products and free samples. My cousin Rosaline, five years grandma’s junior, had a mini toothbrush/toothpaste kit in her purse for years, and finally used it when her Greyhound journey was sidetracked during a blizzard.
My other thing is candies. Every time I see a bowl of candy that’s free to customers or clients, I snag one, maybe two if it’s an overload like the fishbowl of lollies the Bank of Americas in my community have. I do this in anticipation of the day I desperately need a sugar fix, or am in a waiting room or someplace where there’s a fretful child.
I got in the habit of carrying them when my kid was little. Now I try to keep a couple in there because I have a tendency to hurt myself. Like last month - I smashed my finger at work and our ancient pseudo-first-aid kid had none. So I’ve got 4 or 5 in the zipper compartment.
Oh, thank heaven I’m not the only one! I walk a fair bit, and in the summer, new shoes can be just the dickens on the heals. Not to mention blisters. I always find bandaids in my purse, shoulder bag, wherever. Weird thing is, though – I can’t ever remember putting them there in th’ first place.
I don’t carry a purse and I don’t carry bandaids. I do have a totebag that I carry occassionally, but it’s more like to have 3-4 books, a couple CDs, etc. Of course, the fact that I’m not a mother may have something to do with it. Also, I don’t mind cuts being exposed to the elements. My body is good at fighting infections. I always have cuts and scratches from the barn, the garden, the cats and dogs and I never have a problem. I do have bandaids in my desk and at home, in case of shaving nicks or blisters.
AudreyK, your purse sounds a lot like mine. I have a complete first aid kit, safety pins, barrettes and rubber bands (my daughter has long hair), Kleenex, a little pill box with aspirin, Tylenol, ibuprofen and Midol, hand sanitizer, premoistened towelettes, a brush, sewing kit, hand lotion, lip balm, a maxi pad, a mini pad and a tampon, extra pens, a small pad of paper, and a tea bag. Not to mention the usual stuff: wallet, checkbook, cigarettes, keys, palm pilot and cell phone.
My husband calls my purse “the portable Walgreen’s.”
I have several pair of shoes that sometimes tear up my feet, so I try to have a few in my purse.
When I was in college, I always had bandaids in my backpack. They came in very handy during an archaeology class when a visiting professor cut himself during a stone tool-making demonstration. I explained that, being a geology major, I got cut a lot in the field, so I was always prepared.
yup, i crry powerpuff girls bandaids in my purse. for just-in-case things, as wellas the fact that i pick on my fingers and putting a bandaid on the place of interest is a good way to not bleed. . .
Don’t have a purse, but my briefcase has them. I’ll also stash a small packet of them in my CD-carrying bag when I go out with that, especially if I’m wearing sandals and anticipate doing a lot of walking. Nothing worse than having sandal straps dig into your heel for some odd reason and making it hard for you to walk without pain.
Nope, never. I did put some in my backpack once and promptly forgot about them until one of my students asked me for a band-aid a year later. That’s probably the only one which will ever get used – I guess I’m just not a band-aid person.
