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The phrase 'Ripping off the Band-Aid' has become a familiar saying. When delivering difficult news, it’s often better to get it over with swiftly; the same logic applies to any situation causing physical or emotional discomfort.
But does quickly tearing off an actual bandage really offer any advantage? A study suggests that it does.
In research published in The Medical Journal of Australia, 65 students at James Cook University in Queensland participated in a study to determine which method causes less pain: removing a bandage slowly or swiftly. Participants chose between two techniques and rated their pain on an 11-point scale. (The scale doesn’t go to 11, so the lowest score, 0, signifies no pain at all.)
Those who swiftly removed the bandage reported an average pain score of 0.92. In contrast, those who peeled it off slowly over a two-second span were considered masochists, with an average score of 1.58.
Conclusion: It's best to just rip it off.
The researchers tested the bandages on three different areas: the hand, deltoid (shoulder), and ankle, and also considered the amount of body hair in each location. While the specific body part didn’t affect the results, participants with less body hair tended to report lower levels of pain. The same applied to those who believed that slow removal would hurt more than quickly removing the bandage.
The study did not account for other factors, such as skin sensitivity from a wound or variations in adhesive strength based on the type of bandage used. (The study specifically used Band-Aid brand bandages.) Ideally, a glue that adheres well but offers less resistance when being removed would be the perfect solution, and some researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston announced in 2022 that they were working toward this goal. For now, it’s probably better to just rip it off.
A version of this article was originally published in 2023 and has been updated for 2024.
