Get Plastered!

I view my plaster collection in the same way as I view my jewellery - an essential accessory. If I'm going to be covered in pesky wounds, I want them to be as beautifully-adorned as possible. It's been a while since our last round-up of the most stylish plasters available to the accident-prone among us, and there have been a few delightful developments in the industry since then. Let's have a look. 

Present & Correct's crayon plasters (also pictured at the top of this post) are just £11 for a whopping 100 colourful bandages, all packaged up in a pleasingly-retro box. 

Sick of having to explain to people how you got your latest plaster-covered wound? "I mistook my pinky for the spring onion I was chopping" isn't quite as impressive as "Ninja fight!", is it? These Survival plasters, £7 from Urban Outfitters, will put paid to any pesky "What's happened to you now?" questions. 

I don't think anyone will have any reason to doubt your claims, do you?

These Super Mario Bros. Know Your Enemies plasters are just the thing to cover up your next Bullet Bill injury. They're £3.99.

I am 33 and I still LOVE Hello Kitty. I'm not ashamed. When she's peeping out of a super-cute Liberty print, it makes me feel like I am making a design statement, rather than just indulging my childish whims. These Wild & Wolf Hello Kitty Liberty plasters are £4.88. 

Wonder Woman has no need for plasters - she's got the Purple Ray to heal her wounds. She's generously donated her plasters to us (for the small fee of £3.99) so that we can channel a little of of her awesomeness while healing at our own boringly-slow pace. There are two different designs inside - red and blue, resplendent with logos and pictures of the wonder(ful) woman herself.

If anything's going to help you heal faster, it's plasters made from the magical powers of enchanted unicorns. You'd think such a rarity would be priceless, non? Actually, they're £4. 

I wasn't much into dress-up dollies when I was little, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the vintage-cuteness of these Dress-up Dolly plasters, £3.95 from Dotcomgiftshop. In what appears to be an Extremely Dangerous Health & Safety Scenario, I think that's a kitten sitting beside a birthday cake there on the left. He'll be needing more than a plaster after he's set alight by the candles. Tsk.

Sluttishly Practical: First Aid Kit

NB: Dr Ross not included

On the surface, I appear to be A Responsible Grown Up. I have a mortgage, children, an estate car and a sensible waterproof jacket. So far, so responsible right? Well there's a chink in my responsibility armour, one that might not seem obvious but once you think of it, it becomes glaring. I don't have a first aid kit which means I can never find plasters, painkillers or anything else remotely useful. True, this isn't the most exciting thing in the world but it will make life so much easier if you can soothe a blister caused by those new shoes that you had to buy even though you knew they'd hurt and can locate painkillers through the fug of a cocktail hangover.

First up, you need a box. The emergency red one above is from Flamingo Gifts and costs £15.99. It's compartmentalised for even greater efficiency.There's no way you'll miss it even with post-beer bleary eyes.

As well as sensible plasters, you'll need some fun ones too for when your scrape is minor enough to be left but you still want some tea and sympathy. These comic ones by Ouch! are perfect for that. They're on sale at Prezzybox at the moment for £2.96. Don't forget blister plasters too - Compeed have a mix pack for heels and toes. They're £5.95 at Boots.

What about lotions and potions? At any one point, I always have Calpol, chamomile lotion, Sudocrem, paracetamol and ibuprofen somewhere (normally hiding at the back of my top kitchen shelf). And safety pins for bandages I do not yet possess but that come in handy to for emergency clothing fixes.

Of course, you can be even more sensible and prepared and get yourself a proper kit. Like this efficient looking St John Ambulance one which comes with bandages and eye wash and all sorts of Useful Things. It's £9.54. And don't pass up the opportunity to do a first aid course if you have the chance. Apparently watching every episode of ER doesn't have the same effect.