A sweet solution for accidental knife cuts....

M

MacTech

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Jan 7, 2006
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A couple days ago I was whittling some bark off a rock maple stick with my FG Manix, when I accidentally cut myself pretty good, a nice, deep 1/8" deep cut, deep enough that I could see the edges of the cut separate from each other, probably my deepest cut so far

thanks to the Scary Sharp blade, pain was minimal, in fact I wasn't even sure I cut myself at first, but once the red stuff started flowing I was sure i cut myself, I applied direct pressure to the wound and went upstairs to grab my first aid kit and dress the wound

as I was inspecting the cut, it looked deep enough to need a few stitches, but since I'm currently looking for a new job (laid off on 1/29/09) I have no insurance, a trip to the emergency room would be out, thankfully my first aid kit is stocked well

After the initial washing and cleaning, I applied some Band Aid Liquid Bandage (surgical Cyanoacrylate) to the wound to hold the edges closed, then covered with a band-aid for extra protection

the next day, I removed the band-aid, and inspected the cut, the edges were turning whitish and taking on a "serrated" look, it looked unsightly

I had been reading about how honey has been used to help cuts heal faster, so I figured I'd try it out, slathered some honey over the cut, and covered with a new band-aid....

I just looked at the cut today while changing the dressing, the extreme edges of the cut have sealed completely, and the edges of the cut look soft and healthy, there's only a tiny area of reddish irritation at the center of the cut, around the substantial scab, I'd say the cut has healed at least 30% so far in only two days, and there appears to be no sign of scarring, I'm sure I'm going to have a *small* scar from this, but the scarring looks to be minimal

so far, it looks like honey *does* work as a excellent wound dressing, better results than Neosporin!

....apparently, honey is inherently antibacterial, the glucose compounds in the honey can be directly assimilated by the immune/reconstruction cells, and honey contains about 0.1% Hydrogen Peroxide to kill nasties, enough to kill the baddies, but not enough to damage healthy tissue like the 3% HP used to kill infections

Honey has earned it's place in my first aid kit, not only is it a tasty foodstuff, it's great for healing those inevitable knife "oopsies"
 
Honey has been used as a wound dressing for thousands of years !! It does two things ,increases the flow of leucocytes therefore speeds healing , and has anti-bacterial effect. Another nice thing is that the wound will not have a scab so when you change dressing you don't open up the wound !
 
Interesting, i have heard of honey but never tried it. just dont use it in the woods or a bear just might come finish you off :D
 
pure, real, undiluted honey works as far as ive heard. I dont know so much about the majorly processed honey. Either way it is a good thing to know. Heal well.
 
Make sure you only use liquid bandage (dermabond) on a clean dry area that is not hairy. Never heard of using Honey (medical field for 20 years) but that doesn't mean it won't work. We put lot's of crazy stuff on wounds trying to make them heal. If you close a wound, do it soon. Don't walk around for 12 hours with an open wound and then close it up.
Good work on your laceration. If you don't mind a dog eared wound or a scar do it yourself. If the laceration is over a joint, don't close it yourself. Go to the ER.
 
No it's not over a hairy area, and the wound is closing quite well it was closed with the dermabond a few minutes after the injury, on day two when the band aid was removed, there was only a small amount of clotted blood outside the wound (due to the raggedy edges), here's the evidence, healing progress day 3, the left and right edges are 90% closed, the scab is really only over the centermost part of the cut

Manixbooboo.JPG
,
 
I have heard that one of the undesirable side effects of plain old superglue is thermal damage, apparently it can "burn" some sensitive tissues, the few times I've used standard off-the-shelf superglue it's worked fine, but this cut was too deep for conventional superglue use

I've found yet another great use for the ever-talented Spyderco Dodo PE, cutting off the band-aid, I use the heavy-duty fabric band-aids (the only ones that stay on for any appreciable amount of time, other band-aids just don't stick well, it's like my skin has a Teflon coating or something....)

I lay the swedge against the underside of my finger, slide the tip of the PE blade under the band-aid and in one smooth motion, slide the blade forward, cleanly cutting the band-aid in half, the two edges peel off with minimal disturbance to the healing cut
Booboo2.JPG
 
Honey is one of three natural antiseptics.

The other two are sulfur, and tea tree oil.
 
Roger999 said:
I believe liquid bandage and superglue are both Cyanoacrylate but liquid bandage is sterile.
Click to expand...

It may be, but I'm not sure. :confused:

I prefer super glue. It's cheap and works better imo.

FWIW, a cut that's too deep for super glue/glue of any sort is too deep for liquid bandage. Gonna need internal stitches if it was, and I hope it wasn't. Doesn't look too deep from the picture.
 
I hear the best thing to do for a small cut is to wash with a little saline or (if dirty) hydrogen peroxide. Then wear a bandage for the least amount of time possible sot that the cut may heal naturally. I don't believe things like neoprene are really needed and personally would NEVER glue my skin unless I had no other choice. For big cuts i would go straight to the E.R. but i suppose that's not an option for the OP.

Gee, American health care is wacky :3
 
using super glue with the shit that u can spray on it to dry instantly will definitely burn u... it creates a chem reaction which makes alot of heat
 
army4ever said:
using super glue with the shit that u can spray on it to dry instantly will definitely burn u... it creates a chem reaction which makes alot of heat
Click to expand...

What "shit" you spray on? I've only ever heard of cotton reacting with Cyanoacrylate and causing enough heat to burn you(had it happen to me :().
 
For small cuts, I usually clean and sanitize them with a bit of scotch, then let it air dry and heal. Hold the area up high to let it form a good clot.
 
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