An ambulance pulls up on a dark country road on a rainy night. They’re attending to an injured driver who’d lost control and hit a bank. The wreckage is all over the road, but the driver is cleared from it. It’s still an emergency, and paramedics have to act fast.
While police secure the area, the paramedics secure the driver’s condition, out in the cold rain. Some of the medical devices they need are packaged in bags. The cold, wet conditions, and the paramedics’ gloved, adrenaline–fueled fingers, and the fight against time are all making any kind of packaging hard to deal with right now.
But this is the exact situation that tear open bags were made for.
These cleverly designed bags solve a common problem; the frustration of opening things. In a life-or-death situation, a frustrating bag is not even remotely ideal. Tear open bags remove this frustration, without compromising on security or strength. And in emergency situations, where every second counts, they can quite literally be the difference between life and death.
What are tear open bags?
A lot of food packaging bags have these easy-open features, and so do hardware and sundries bags – so you’re probably already familiar with them.
But in essence, a tear open bag is a polythene bag with a “pre-weakened” line – usually near the top. It’s designed to tear open cleanly and predictably, without shredding into bits or spilling its contents all over the place.
Easy opening can be achieved with notches in the sides, with tiny microperforations, and with precise manufacturing of weak spots.
One or more of these features creates a controlled weak spot – and when the user pulls, the tear follows the path of least resistance, opening the bag exactly where it’s supposed to open – no jagged edges, no accidental spillage, and no more gnawing at plastic bags!
These bags are typically made from polythene, but can be made from other materials. Polythene is exceptionally tearproof and leakproof while remaining flexible and easy to handle, so it’s the most common choice. Polythene is also available as sterile, medical grade packaging, which is absolutely essential for many medical applications.
Why tear open bags are essential for emergencies
In an emergency, fine motor skills often go out the window. Adrenaline is pumping, hands might be wet, slippery, or gloved, and the situation is usually stressful. The last thing anyone needs is a packaging failure.
Quick and clean opening
In emergencies, tear open bags give you speed. A simple, predictable pull is all it takes to access the contents. This is why you’ll find them used for all sorts of medical applications, from wound dressings and swabs to surgical instruments and disposable gloves.
In a first aid or survival kit, the person using the contents might be injured, in a hurry, or both. A bag that tears open in a fraction of a second, with one hand if necessary, is exactly what you need.
Sterility and protection
For medical supplies, sterility is a major concern. Tear open bags used in healthcare are manufactured to maintain a sterile barrier until the moment of opening. They often feature a tamper-evident seal, too. If the bag is opened or torn before it’s supposed to be, it’s immediately obvious, providing peace of mind about the product’s integrity.
Predictable opening and less mess
Unpredictable opening can be catastrophic in an emergency. A bag that tears at a weird angle can cause small, vital items to drop, making them unsuitable. A dressing could fall into a puddle, a pill could be lost down a drain, a medical device could get covered in dirt.
Tear open bags solve this by making sure the opening is always in the same place, and always the same size. With controlled opening, you can remove the contents in a controlled way. In an environment like a hospital, a road collision or on a battlefield, that predictability saves time, resources – and lives.
Upgrade your packaging to tear open bags
If you’re currently using standard polythene bags and you’ve had complaints about difficult opening, or if you simply want to offer a better customer experience (especially for products that might be used in critical situations), tear open bags are an easy win. They combine the durability and protection of polythene with the peace of mind of a secure, easy-open design.
Order your tear open bags, from NPF Packaging. Get in touch now – contact us or call 01773 820415 to start.