I'd actually probably give stitching myself up a shot. I thought I was going to have to last weekend when i almost took my finger off putting a convex edge on my Tram. It quit bleeding though it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I've taken EMT basic twice so I know a little more than your average citizen. I actually had a good friend of mine who's a surgeon give me a tutorial on stitches. I'd probably clean the wound as well as possible, sterilize all my instruments and keep the basic rules of stitching in mind. Even though its probably not something you'd need to know for around town I believe it would be an important thing to know in a survival situation. I would definetly learn the basics and keep a kit of the required instruments in my survival kit.
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Any of you survivalists ever stitch up your own wound?
- Thread starter JTR357
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I've done it a few times, but I learned how in the army.
fingers are too important to meddle much with and since you are asking if it is ok the answer would be NO.
Taping or gluing would be better. Befriending a nurse would be the best
Sverre
I agree..
If you saw them nurses around here, you'd find more ways to cut yourself so you can go get treated.:thumbup:
But seriously, I know a couple guys that it's happened to, and they never seek any medical attention, even broken fingers, they would just put masking tape around them to keep em straight...what bad case of inflated ego.
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*first off, it can turn out bad. ok now that's out of the way
There's a lot of "OMG YOU'RE GOING TO DIE" folks on here. I asked this question a while back, the only difference was that I had already done it.
Now, I have to wonder about all the people suggesting super glue. Seriously... have you ever really had a laceration or just some minor cuts? Super glue works great on small stuff, but if you're talking an inch or more, super glue does not work at all. A few quick stitches can also make the super glue work. Say one good stitch in the middle and glue the rest. Clearly I'm not professional, and I did EVERYTHING wrong when I did it. Put a three inch laceration on my palm with a straight razor. Same as you, did not want to go wait in line for hours for subpar medical attention at a retarded premium. I used alcohol and a lighter to sterilize a regular needle and some thread. Put 5 (i think) stitches in my palm, also less than sober at this point. It healed damn near completely in a few days. A major help was closing it so fast. Teh fact that I closed teh wound within minutes after it happened, it sealed back by the next morning. I was able to take the stitches out and NOW use super glue.
anyway, I was probably lucky. But I'd do it again.
There's a lot of "OMG YOU'RE GOING TO DIE" folks on here. I asked this question a while back, the only difference was that I had already done it.
Now, I have to wonder about all the people suggesting super glue. Seriously... have you ever really had a laceration or just some minor cuts? Super glue works great on small stuff, but if you're talking an inch or more, super glue does not work at all. A few quick stitches can also make the super glue work. Say one good stitch in the middle and glue the rest. Clearly I'm not professional, and I did EVERYTHING wrong when I did it. Put a three inch laceration on my palm with a straight razor. Same as you, did not want to go wait in line for hours for subpar medical attention at a retarded premium. I used alcohol and a lighter to sterilize a regular needle and some thread. Put 5 (i think) stitches in my palm, also less than sober at this point. It healed damn near completely in a few days. A major help was closing it so fast. Teh fact that I closed teh wound within minutes after it happened, it sealed back by the next morning. I was able to take the stitches out and NOW use super glue.
anyway, I was probably lucky. But I'd do it again.
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Thank God for Medicare! 
Doc
Doc
I agree..
If you saw them nurses around here, you'd find more ways to cut yourself so you can go get treated.:thumbup:
But seriously, I know a couple guys that it's happened to, and they never seek any medical attention, even broken fingers, they would just put masking tape around them to keep em straight...what bad case of inflated ego.
I respectfully disagree. Theres a big difference between inflated ego and not having medical insurance or being able to pay a ridiculous bill you'll no doubtedly get in the mail the next week. I'm 22 I have no health insurance and I'm sure as hell not going to see a doctor for anything non life threatening. I will most definetly fix my own fingers and minor injuries every single time. Ive taken EMT basic twice I have a pretty darn good idea of what im doing. Please don't mistake inflated ego for self reliance. Inflated ego is what gets us injured.
Low income knowledge and self reliance is what gets me healed 99% of the time.
JTR357
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That's exactly what I meant,when I said it's not just about the $$.Plus the staff are just plain rude & act like you're such an inconvenience to them for being there.
JTR357
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I respectfully disagree. Theres a big difference between inflated ego and not having medical insurance or being able to pay a ridiculous bill you'll no doubtedly get in the mail the next week. I'm 22 I have no health insurance and I'm sure as hell not going to see a doctor for anything non life threatening. I will most definetly fix my own fingers and minor injuries every single time. Ive taken EMT basic twice I have a pretty darn good idea of what im doing. Please don't mistake inflated ego for self reliance. Inflated ego is what gets us injured.
You hit the nail right on the head:thumbup:I couldn't agree more
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when I was a teenager I got a whack in the head when the old motor I was trying to start backfired and spat the crank handle back at me , it donged me in the forehead and left a big gash , mum took me into hospital , we waited and waited , the cleaning staff bitched about the amount of blood I was leaving on the floor but we simply had run out of stuff to mop it up with ... 5 hours later , a doctor arrived , and put in 8 stitches , and we went home , it got infected ( doc didnt clean the wound just stitched it shut ), but rather than go back , we dealt with it ourselves , even taking the stitches out at home
years later I had another big whack in the head , this time I had a bad concussion too , my bro took me to the hospital , ( I washed the wound this time myself , remembering the last time ) it was only a 4 hour wait this time , and the hospital provided pads to hold onto the wound to soak up the blood while we waited ,a major improvement in service , and much appreciated ... again the wound was stiched up without being cleaned ... but this time no infection .
not many weeks after that , my bro and I and a crew of others were working a remote site building sheds .. my bro jumped out of the crane and leant down to crowbar a colom across just a smidge ( no helmet ) the guy tightening the bolts at top of the colom just happened to heave on the bolt and the spanner jumped off the bolt , out of his hand and belted him in the back of the head seriously hard ... enough it left a dint about as deep as my finger is wide , my bro was bleeding from the ears and unconscious , we put im in back of the car figuring this was serious serious , drove the 600kms back to the nearest hospital , waited another 5 hours for a doc who arrived smelling strongly of booze , the doc took a look prescribed paracetamol , and sent us home ...
in the next few weeks , there was major vertigo , blindness and headaches of severe severity to deal with , the doc informed us it was malingering , nothing more ...
all credit to the rest of the staff at Geraldton Regional Hospital ( west aus ) tho , who realised that the guy had a break in his skull and probably pressure on his brain even if the doc didnt ...
I got no confidence in professional medical help , Id rather doctor myself , since in the long run , I had to do that anyway even when we had professional medical help .
years later I had another big whack in the head , this time I had a bad concussion too , my bro took me to the hospital , ( I washed the wound this time myself , remembering the last time ) it was only a 4 hour wait this time , and the hospital provided pads to hold onto the wound to soak up the blood while we waited ,a major improvement in service , and much appreciated ... again the wound was stiched up without being cleaned ... but this time no infection .
not many weeks after that , my bro and I and a crew of others were working a remote site building sheds .. my bro jumped out of the crane and leant down to crowbar a colom across just a smidge ( no helmet ) the guy tightening the bolts at top of the colom just happened to heave on the bolt and the spanner jumped off the bolt , out of his hand and belted him in the back of the head seriously hard ... enough it left a dint about as deep as my finger is wide , my bro was bleeding from the ears and unconscious , we put im in back of the car figuring this was serious serious , drove the 600kms back to the nearest hospital , waited another 5 hours for a doc who arrived smelling strongly of booze , the doc took a look prescribed paracetamol , and sent us home ...
in the next few weeks , there was major vertigo , blindness and headaches of severe severity to deal with , the doc informed us it was malingering , nothing more ...
all credit to the rest of the staff at Geraldton Regional Hospital ( west aus ) tho , who realised that the guy had a break in his skull and probably pressure on his brain even if the doc didnt ...
I got no confidence in professional medical help , Id rather doctor myself , since in the long run , I had to do that anyway even when we had professional medical help .
i have superglued some cuts when i was younger and didn't want my mom to find out (she might have taken my knives away!!!
)...mostly minor stuff but once or twice it was something a little bit bigger. i once split the first 1/4-1/2 inch of the front of my toe chopping wood in inadequate footware...i poured on the superglue (good thing i was in the habit of carrying it in my wallet) and wrapped on a bandaid and pretended like nothing happened. now i don't even have a scar.
so in short, my vote is superglue, then tape. your main goal is to keep the sides of the wound together for complete healing and minimal scarring.
of course, take everything i say with a grain of salt, i don't have a professional bone in my body.
)...mostly minor stuff but once or twice it was something a little bit bigger. i once split the first 1/4-1/2 inch of the front of my toe chopping wood in inadequate footware...i poured on the superglue (good thing i was in the habit of carrying it in my wallet) and wrapped on a bandaid and pretended like nothing happened. now i don't even have a scar.so in short, my vote is superglue, then tape. your main goal is to keep the sides of the wound together for complete healing and minimal scarring.
of course, take everything i say with a grain of salt, i don't have a professional bone in my body.
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It is really interesting--arguably, a sign of yet another step toward societal collapse--that more and more of us are faced with basic health care bills that are so ruinous that we so readily resort to fishing line and superglue under such circumstances.
Though part of me wants to tell the guy thinking of sewing himself up NOT to do it under any circumstances, I have to say that the prices are so high that one really has to weigh it. I figure that an ER trip is going to cost me about two days' productivity and $2000 U.S. That's about two weeks' wages, after tax. Not something I do lightly. It is often an agonizing decision to make. Which, I admit, is probably the idea--it's self-rationing of health care. And I'm going to stop just short of calling anyone a fool for opting against the emergency room--that kind of money is so high that, for some people, it really might be a good gamble to take. It's sick that I have to say it, but true. If the financial hit from going to the hospital is going to mean you lose your car, and thus your job, and thus your wife's and kids' insurance, maybe that one-inch cut can be bandaged, is kind of how the thinking might go with me. Though I appreciate the position of those on this forum who (with genuine wisdom and appreciation of the downside risks) advice against self-stitching, I am all full of sympathy for the poor b@stards (self sometimes included) who feel they pragmatically need to take such risks.
And one makes fatal mistakes. My best friend at work here was a 55-year-old father of two teens. He had some gastric problems--went in for evaluation and treatment of his chest/abdominal pain, was treated, and sent home. 10 days later he had some recurrence of the pains, and delayed going in, figuring it was more of the same gastric problems. He was wrong. It was a heart attack. He dropped dead at 55, minutes after having finally decided to go to the hospital. The downside of health care self-rationing. (The upside is that it can sometimes be even worse if your government or insurance company or doctor is doing the rationing--I am NOT advocating for this or that payment scheme--just venting about how hard the problem is all around.)
Suture self?
Though part of me wants to tell the guy thinking of sewing himself up NOT to do it under any circumstances, I have to say that the prices are so high that one really has to weigh it. I figure that an ER trip is going to cost me about two days' productivity and $2000 U.S. That's about two weeks' wages, after tax. Not something I do lightly. It is often an agonizing decision to make. Which, I admit, is probably the idea--it's self-rationing of health care. And I'm going to stop just short of calling anyone a fool for opting against the emergency room--that kind of money is so high that, for some people, it really might be a good gamble to take. It's sick that I have to say it, but true. If the financial hit from going to the hospital is going to mean you lose your car, and thus your job, and thus your wife's and kids' insurance, maybe that one-inch cut can be bandaged, is kind of how the thinking might go with me. Though I appreciate the position of those on this forum who (with genuine wisdom and appreciation of the downside risks) advice against self-stitching, I am all full of sympathy for the poor b@stards (self sometimes included) who feel they pragmatically need to take such risks.
And one makes fatal mistakes. My best friend at work here was a 55-year-old father of two teens. He had some gastric problems--went in for evaluation and treatment of his chest/abdominal pain, was treated, and sent home. 10 days later he had some recurrence of the pains, and delayed going in, figuring it was more of the same gastric problems. He was wrong. It was a heart attack. He dropped dead at 55, minutes after having finally decided to go to the hospital. The downside of health care self-rationing. (The upside is that it can sometimes be even worse if your government or insurance company or doctor is doing the rationing--I am NOT advocating for this or that payment scheme--just venting about how hard the problem is all around.)
Suture self?
It's risk vs. benefit - most wounds will close/heal w/ no sutures - even the really deep ones, even those that gape. Sutures will do a few things, only one is really necessary for "survival", IMO. Sutures can restore function, in the case of severed tendons/ligaments, etc..., where there would be functional loss if left to heal by secondary intention (medical speak for let it fill in w/ scar tissue, etc...). Otherwise sutures speed the healing process by "closing the distance" that your body has to bridge w/ new material. Sutures will also (typically) give a better cosmetic result (a better looking scar). However, a big nasty wound, if packed & kept clean, can be closed hours, and sometimes days after an incident (delayed primary closure).
I've closed thousands of wounds in the ED, and in the OR, and yes, even on myself (at home, where I had sterile saline to irrigate<although really clean tap water would suffice , here>, betadine to prep, lidocaine to anesthetize the area, sterile sutures in the proper size & type of material, and a sterile suture tray, and 10 years experience in managing wounds from simple to quite complex. I also knew that my tetanus was up to date, and a Rx pad if I needed an antibiotic.
All that said, what do I keep in my FAK - gauze, a few steri-strips, some benzoin, and that's about it. I do occasionally use new skin or superglue for superficial abrasions & cuts, that have not penetrated the dermis. But for the vast majority of things, it's a bandage, and either the ED, or tincture of time - I just let it heal. Case it point - I cut my finger a week ago - it could have probably used a couple of stitches. It's almost healed now, w/ nothing more than clean dressings and normal hygiene (it gets cleaned in the shower w/ my normal bath soap). Total cost - about $2 in bandaids & tape.
The potential complications of closing a contaminated wound are pretty serious - from a local skin infection, an abscess, systemic sepsis, loss of function, necrotizing fasciitis, etc.... Some are pretty minor in the big scheme of things, some can/would kill you in an austere environment.
I've closed thousands of wounds in the ED, and in the OR, and yes, even on myself (at home, where I had sterile saline to irrigate<although really clean tap water would suffice , here>, betadine to prep, lidocaine to anesthetize the area, sterile sutures in the proper size & type of material, and a sterile suture tray, and 10 years experience in managing wounds from simple to quite complex. I also knew that my tetanus was up to date, and a Rx pad if I needed an antibiotic.
All that said, what do I keep in my FAK - gauze, a few steri-strips, some benzoin, and that's about it. I do occasionally use new skin or superglue for superficial abrasions & cuts, that have not penetrated the dermis. But for the vast majority of things, it's a bandage, and either the ED, or tincture of time - I just let it heal. Case it point - I cut my finger a week ago - it could have probably used a couple of stitches. It's almost healed now, w/ nothing more than clean dressings and normal hygiene (it gets cleaned in the shower w/ my normal bath soap). Total cost - about $2 in bandaids & tape.
The potential complications of closing a contaminated wound are pretty serious - from a local skin infection, an abscess, systemic sepsis, loss of function, necrotizing fasciitis, etc.... Some are pretty minor in the big scheme of things, some can/would kill you in an austere environment.
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well they won't be teaching you how to stitch yourself I don't believe.
JTR357
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You're right about that.I called & checked.They don't.They basically teach you what's in all the books...apply pressure,keep wound clean,apply tourniquet(spelling?),seek medical attention,...etc
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It is really interesting--arguably, a sign of yet another step toward societal collapse--that more and more of us are faced with basic health care bills that are so ruinous that we so readily resort to fishing line and superglue under such circumstances.
Though part of me wants to tell the guy thinking of sewing himself up NOT to do it under any circumstances, I have to say that the prices are so high that one really has to weigh it. I figure that an ER trip is going to cost me about two days' productivity and $2000 U.S. That's about two weeks' wages, after tax. Not something I do lightly. It is often an agonizing decision to make. Which, I admit, is probably the idea--it's self-rationing of health care. And I'm going to stop just short of calling anyone a fool for opting against the emergency room--that kind of money is so high that, for some people, it really might be a good gamble to take. It's sick that I have to say it, but true. If the financial hit from going to the hospital is going to mean you lose your car, and thus your job, and thus your wife's and kids' insurance, maybe that one-inch cut can be bandaged, is kind of how the thinking might go with me. Though I appreciate the position of those on this forum who (with genuine wisdom and appreciation of the downside risks) advice against self-stitching, I am all full of sympathy for the poor b@stards (self sometimes included) who feel they pragmatically need to take such risks.
And one makes fatal mistakes. My best friend at work here was a 55-year-old father of two teens. He had some gastric problems--went in for evaluation and treatment of his chest/abdominal pain, was treated, and sent home. 10 days later he had some recurrence of the pains, and delayed going in, figuring it was more of the same gastric problems. He was wrong. It was a heart attack. He dropped dead at 55, minutes after having finally decided to go to the hospital. The downside of health care self-rationing. (The upside is that it can sometimes be even worse if your government or insurance company or doctor is doing the rationing--I am NOT advocating for this or that payment scheme--just venting about how hard the problem is all around.)
Suture self?
well, you clear 2g's in two weeks and you understand the financial strain. Imagine how the rest of us feel who don't make near that. Hell, it's not even that much about the money. It's the slack worthless retards they employ. I would either pay $5 a month forever or even less if I had to. They money isn't really a good excuse.
2 quick stories.
Once, while packing a box I hit my upper quad with a luckily new razor blade. Roughly a 2" clean gash into and through the dermis. It needed stitches. After some hours wait, the doctor asked "do I want stitches" to which I replied "well do I NEED them?". He says it's up to you. Needless to say, I said no. If you clearly don't want to, I don't want you doing it. I went home, got some southern comfort and duct tape. Never got infected.
The next time, I decided to go to the ER after a really hard workout. I was extremely tachycardia and really thought something was wrong. The doctor tried to blame creatine. I walked out because they were making my condition worse through frustration.
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Really, your steps should be like this.
Apply pressure bandage
still bleeding? elevate
then arterial pressure points. ie, arm gash stop the brachial artery with pressure but not a tourniquet.
very last resort is tourniquet. Only use that if it's life or death, because it's going to be life or limb. You will lose that limb, and contrary to popular belief and First Blood, you don't release a tourniquet.
anyway...
JTR357
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Thanks.I wasn't listing the steps in order.Just giving a quick description of what they teach you(what most already know
) & should've included elevation(very important!)I should've been more specific about the tourniquet.Thanks for the correction:thumbup:
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Thanks.I wasn't listing the steps in order.Just giving a quick description of what they teach you(what most already know
I should've been more specific about the tourniquet.Thanks for the correction:thumbup:
oh sorry, didn't mean to sound like a smartass. I just finished my EMT, so it's on the brain right now.
JTR357
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You weren't being a smartass
You were providing usefull information,which is always appreciated:thumbup:BTW,Congrats on the EMT course
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I have on a couple occasions with cuts on my hands. These were of a nature where they probably could have eventually healed on their own, but it was a practical matter, as someone said above, to restore functionality. I needed my hands, and they would be constantly covered in dirt and all manner of foulness from working with them. I wouldn't be able to simply take it easy & not use that hand for a week. And if it's being used, then it would constantly be getting pulled open, letting all that dirt in. A couple stitches were enough to keep it closed. 'Course this was in the days before I'd heard or thought of using super glue... I might have tried that first. It probably would have hurt a hell of a lot less. 
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