The Little Red String

Do you remember the little red string that was used to facilitate opening a Band-Aid wrapper? I looked it up and that string was introduced in 1940. They redesigned the wrapper in 1993. It took me a while to realize how much I miss that red string! The remembrance was brought on by a recent injury and that set me to wondering why I missed that string.

When I was about 8 I had great trouble learning to ride a bike without training wheels. Balance was my issue. (I have never been athletic.) Once I crashed at the end of my best friend's driveway. Her Dad kept a layer of cinders on the driveway apron to the road for better traction in winter.  When I  fell I landed on my knee, grinding cinders into it. The Doctor said either I could scrub the cinders out or he would have to.  I chose to do the task myself. I remember sitting in the tub with a fingernail brush working those cinders out. Then Mom would bandage the oozing wound. I thought the red string in the wrapper was cool. We went through a lot of Band-Aids with that injury.

A few weeks ago I was injured in our backyard. As I went up the hill to cut the very first daffodils of the year I used the stone steps to climb the hill. We had record breaking rainfall all of 2011 and unbeknownst to me the soil anchoring the stones had begun to erode. When I stepped down on a three-inch thick stone it flew up and cracked me in the shin. After icing my leg I kept the area bandaged and clean. After a few days skin began to grow over the wound. I was delighted. Several days later I discovered a nasty infection under the skin.

I have been washing the wound with peroxide, then treating with iodine, and bandaging with antibiotic twice a day. It is healing properly now. This time I advanced to gauze bandages and tape wondering if the cover on the Band-Aid had made things worse. And I remembered the little red string.

What was it about that string? We hear a lot these days about deep breathing for relaxation and health, focusing prayer and centering prayer, all manner of simple things we can do to help us remain calm and collected. I think that little red string became a focal point for me to take a deep breath and concentrate. When I was old enough to bandage things myself, I had to stay calm enough to pull the red string down the side of the wrapper in order to remove the Band-Aid. Then I learned I had to be careful not to touch the gauze area. Then applying ointment to the pad I had to place it over my cut or wound. Without even realizing it I was focusing not on the pain or the injury, but the process of bandaging with courage and ultimately the process of healing.

The red string is certainly a thing of the past. Johnson & Johnson did not even have a photo I could use for this blog. Calmly taking care of ourselves is something that has become more and more important as the years march on. Bob and I are trying to lose weight and exercise more. We are also taking our preventative medicine ideas more seriously than in years past. The calm self-care might have started with a Band-Aid red string, but it now continues with the goal of living longer and finishing stronger than generations past.

Take good care of yourself!
Molly D.