Plastic Aids for Occlusive Therapy

The use of surface steroid preparations combined with occlusive plastic dressings is now well known and widely used. As with other forms of therapy, prolonged experience reveals some difficulties and obstacles which further experience is able to overcome. It has been found to be difficult to apply these plastic dressings to certain parts of the body, and this difficulty is increased if the patient lives alone and must apply them himself. In addition there is the frequently seen disadvantage of rolling and loosening of plastic sheets which are applied over joints or over wide areas of the extremities. The lack of experience of patients carrying out treatment at home and of nurses carrying out treatment in the hospitals makes it necessary for the clinician to demonstrate or train each one individually. Finally, the application of plastic dressings to large areas of the body requires considerable time, up to two hours for each dressing, and is a motivation