Inventor Katherine Klinger (see photo, left) created this because her own “no blood, no Band-Aid” rule just wasn’t working with her son. In fact, it seemed to make him carry on more. She realized he needed some symbol of soothing, even when a bandage wasn’t appropriate. At the time, she happened to work for the company that made Polartec fleece, so she whipped up a wrap from the scraps, her son felt better, and a product was born.
The (oopdoo), named for the emoticon used to send a virtual bandage, is strip of soft and colorful perforated fleece that looks a lot like an adhesive bandage—except it’s big enough for a child to wrap around an entire bruised arm, sprained leg, sore tummy, or bumped head. And it has a white pocket in the center of it (right where the non-stick pad would be) that can hold a hot pack or cold pack. Best of all you can machine wash and dry the (oopdoo), which is great, because you’ll be using it a lot. Whether there’s real pain, or just hurt feelings, this adorable and inexpensive item will become a much-loved mainstay of the family first aid kit.