Cotton pad

Cotton pads are pads made of cotton which are used for medical or cosmetic purposes. For medical purposes, cotton pads are used to stop or prevent bleeding from minor punctures such as injections or venipuncture. They may be secured in place with tape. Cotton pads are also used in the application and the removal of makeup. Cotton pads are soft enough that they can be used to clean babies.Cotton balls have much of the same applications as cotton pads, and can be used interchangeably.

Despite their name, most modern cotton balls and pads are not made out of cotton at all but are instead made out of cheaper, bleached synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon. In the United States, these products are frequently prominently labeled as "cotton balls" because non-woven products (of which disposable wipes, diapers and tampons are other examples) are excluded from the Federal Trade Commission's stringent labeling requirements for textile products (15 U.S.C. § 70j).

The specific phobia of cotton balls has been reported, buts its prevalence is unknown.

Use of cotton for sanitary purposes likely dates back to its domestication. There is evidence that toilet paper, made in part of cotton and/or other plant fibers such as hemp, was used at least as early as 589 AD in China. Cotton balls have been used for applying gold leaf since at least as far back as 1801. An artists' manual from that year recommends using a "squirrel's tail, or cotton ball" to press the gold leaf into place. There is some evidence that they were being mass produced as far back as 1816, namely an advertisement taken out of the New York Evening Post by Palmer, Nichols & Co. for many different kinds of fabric and products made of cotton which lists "Cotton Balls" as an item for sale. In 1891 The Laredo Times ran a story about women who put cotton balls in their cheeks to make themselves appear less thin. An 1898 patent by Jerome B. Dillon for a new type of umbilical bandage used an "antiseptic, absorbent cotton pad" to carry out its function.

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