Before i got some of the smaller trauma bandages (israeli) i used to carry around a bunch of surgical pads and a self-adhesive ace stretch bandage. The nice thing about this setup is that either can be used by itself, the surgical pads are good dressings by themselves and the ace bandage can be used for sprains. But together they're basically the same thing as the trauma bandage.

Does anyone know if menstrual pads have any chemical treatment that would make it unsuitable for putting directly on a wound?