Emergency First Aid :O

B

Bill McWilliams

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
811
What does everyone do with minor cuts ?
Every once and awhile, I nick myself with one of the sharp blades I have.
These are usually small cuts that heal in a week or less. Band Aid material.
Unfortunately, sometimes I really lay myself open. The last time this happened, I had left my Sebenza open on the night stand by the alarm clock.
When it went off the next morning I cut my right hand. I keep a suture kit (USMC)in my backpack/motorcycle/tackle box for minor emergencies, so I sewed myself up. The cut required 3 stitches. Two would have probably been sufficient, but I was working with my retarded left hand.
Since that time, Super Glue has been suggested. I like the idea, particularly when my better hand is incapitated.
Has anyone used Super Glue ? Any special tricks to it ? Any other suggestions ?
Bill
 
I use super glue, and nothing special just glue it shut. Heck they are useing super glue or something like it in some hospitables

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-Greg Johnson

 
Yep...Super Glue is great stuff. Just minmize getting it in the open wound. I squeeze the wound together and smear a bit of SG on it, blow dry and away you go
 
Bill,

I keep steri-strips or butterflies in my kit. Apply a lot of pressure to try to stop the bleeding (didn't help much a few weeks ago when I hit three fingers with my Spydie Santou in the kitchen), then put those strips on and cover the whole mess with a dressing and tape.

Night table eh? See what sleeping with or around sharp objects can do to ya
smile.gif
???? Geez!!!

Regarding super glue...yeah I've heard that too. But the notion of squirting too much and gluing my fingers together doesn't sit well with me <hehehehe>. I have enough trouble holding the wound closed so I can put the butterfly on without having to worry about whether this bachelor's house has finger nail polish remover available to separate glued together digits!

I'm sure one of our medical types (Walt, Greg, etc.) will chime in with saner advice.



------------------
-=[Bob]=-

Always yield to temptation as it may never pass your way again!
God save us from those who want to save us from ourselves.
Forgive your enemies....but not before they're hanged!
Rascality has limits; stupidity has none.

I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!





 
I know that cyano-acetate(superglue) is used in medical procedures. I think the only thing is that you might want to keep a seperate tube for medical use, so you keep the contamination to a minimum. Personally I prefer butterflies or steri-strips, but that's only because I tend to cut myself on my dominant hand, and superglue is hard to use one handed, without gluing my arm to the chair to the window....
Aaron

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My Sheep has seven gall bladders, that makes me King of the Universe!
aaronm@cs.brandeis.edu
 
I've used the butterfly method in the past but if I had super glue handy I would use that. I read somewhere that super glue was originally invented to replace stitches in closing wounds. Is this true?

------------------

Ciao

MM
 
Super Glue! Geez.

I saw something on TV the other day about that. But, it's a medical super glue.
I'd be afraid to get the over the hardware counter super glue in my system. Have you guys tried this? Where the Doc? Wonder what he'd say?

Sewing Yoursef Up! Geez.

That must hurt! Even Rambo made faces when he sewed himself up.

Big Dave (aka Big Puss)

[This message has been edited by Big Dave (edited 31 January 1999).]
 
At the risk of inspiring Walt's ire:

Regular Super Glue (cyano acrylate) is the effectively the same as the medical super glue. Product liability prevents them from saying its suitable, that and they can get a potful more money.

If any of you have pets, many of the same meds are used as on humans, but they say "not for human use". Again product liability, but this time mostly price.
 
Big Dave,
I'm a puss too. But there is a period of numbness right after the cut and before the soreness sets in. It took less than 5 minutes to stitch myself up, but a great deal longer to clean up the mess.

DC,
I take dog medicine all the time
wink.gif

Bill
 
Being in the shop, I have cut myself a time or two.

Super glue works, but DO NOT get it in the cut, the cyano, in cyano acetate, is cyanide... This is why they did not use it for medical sutures, as it was developed...

Just wash and dry the wound and glue the surfaces of the skin around the cut together, not actually glue the wound.

I have used it many times because in the shop you cant keep you hands dry, or clean for that matter, so the super glue works wonders..

Alan Folts..
 
Personally when I get cut bad I usually just scream a steady line of curses as I begin to feel dizzy, And when I wake up later on, I have been fixed. or at least it seems like it works out that way. Last time I got stitched up, the doc said "well since this cut goes over you knuckle, it looks like there will be a scar...(trailing off) but from the looks of your hands, I really don't think that will matter much.."


I think I should invest in some super glue just in case. It sounds like a good addition to the med kit. I can't ever get those darn butterflies to stik worth a crap anyways.


bYek(the "b" is silent)
 
The last time I sliced my thumb on the end all that blood dripping was really inconvenient so I superglued it closed and continued with my work. The cut stayed closed until 2 days later when it needed a band-aid on it. It was too sore to glue again. Overall I think it took longer to heal all the way than if I had just used the traditional bandage with some neosporin (antibiotic cream) on it.

Maybe I should have first washed out the cut, put some of that cream on it and then tried to glue it closed. Too bad they can't put the antibiotic in the glue! If a cut is glued shut and it starts to get infected I think you will get a much longer healing process, because you can't effectively "change the dressing".

Anybody else have a superglued cut seem to take longer healing?

[This message has been edited by senpai (edited 31 January 1999).]
 
There was a long thread on this topic some time ago on another forum. When I was on business overseas at the Dominican Republic some years ago I was able to obtain "medical grade" cyano- acrylate in a syringe! I cannot find any here in the states. Most pharmacies and medical supply stores that I' ve tried gave me an odd look. They simply said to use the commonly available brand. I guess it does come down to product liability. Does anyone have a source?

L8r,
Nakano
 
Have someone take pictures next time one of you super glue guys does this procedure.

Bill, why don't you show us your handy work. Have you thought about Med. School?

I don't quite understand how you avoid getting the glue in your wound.

Do you grab a flap of skin on each side of the cut and then glue the flaps together.

Think I'll stick with the hospital.
 
Once again you guys have proven that I am a complete woosy!
Sewing!! Glueing!!
Rinse the wound with cold water.
Throw on a band-aid.
Pray you don't die.
Flush wound internally with 4 to 1 mixture of Budweiser & Southern Comfort.
Rinse, Repeat.
Doc
(You might have guessed, Doc is just my nickname)
 
I keep a small sewing kit in my first aid bag. It is a reall sewing kit, and has different kinds of thread so my sutures can match my outfit!

Haven't tried superglue, yet.

Waiting to hear from our resident medical experts, Walt Welch and Greg Mete. Gentlemen?

Clay (who is wincing remembering the sewing scene in "Unforgiven" -- ouch!)

------------------
Clay Fleischer
cdfleischer@yahoo.com

"10,000 Lemmings Can't Be Wrong!"
 
I posted a long-winded response to this in the other forums a long time ago.

Vet shops and Canada are the places to go for the "medical" grade stuff. It has only recently (last summer?) I think been blessed by the FDA in three different flavors for human use. I do volunteer EMT work and have gotten it from time to time. Good stuff, I've been using the consumer-grade stuff for some time.

The trick is to use it to bridge the cut shut, not to "fill in" the cut.

Works well as tends to scar less.

I'm sure Doc Walt will have a more educated response.


--Doug
 
Who needs Doc ?
DC has already responded with information that's likely more current than Doc Welchs'
wink.gif

I'm picking up some super glue! It will take alot less space than the USMC suture kit. Besides, I know my limitations. I'd never suture anyone else but myself, with product liability concerns and all.
Bill

 
DC; ire is one thing you never inspire in me. Fire, yes, but not ire.

Considering the treatments of lacerations (cuts) on the hand. This is potentially an extremely severe problem, and the bad ones sometimes look just like the simple, easy to fix ones. So, be careful.

I will take your word for the human super glue being cyano acrylate. It used to be methyl methacrylate. You don't need to worry about the cyanide in the cyano acrylate, as it is tightly bound in the molecule, and will not harm you. Remember, cyanocobalamine is vitamin B 12, not harmful at all.

Actually, suturing your would closed under non aseptic conditions is NOT a good idea. The problem is that if an infection sets in, the tightly held together would can't 'give', and the infection will spread out laterally from the wound. This is very bad.

When I dealt with woulds likely to become infected (neglected more than 24 hours, caused by dirty implement such as lawn mower, or the result of animal bite), I usually closed them with sticky tape, and put the person on antibiotics (Keflex, usually). Should an infection ensue, the wound would pop open and the pus would drain out. This is much preferred to spreading along the fascial planes.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of keeping your tetanus shot up to date. I saw a woman nearly die of tetanus. She stepped on a thumbtack in the carpet in her house, and was given a 'tetanus shot' (tetanus toxoid) promptly. The problem was that she had NOT had a primary series as a child, even though she thought she had, so the immune response was much less than it should have been.

You see, the tetanus toxoid stimulates the production of an antibody against the neurotoxin (the stuff that causes the contractions). The tetanus toxoid does NOT prevent infection from the tetanus bacteria. Had the woman's correct medical history been known, she would have received antibiotics, to prevent infection, and a shot of TIG (Tetanus Immune Globulin), which gives a temporary, passive immunity to the neurotoxin. The TIG has been harvested from humans who are given tetanus every six months for a few years. This gives you someone else's antibodies to fight the neurotoxin, while your body makes your own antibodies.

If you are in the field, and sustain a laceration which results in an obvious defect, either sensory (numbness) or motor (can't move it like you used to), don't panic. Clean it up, and tape it closed. You have a good two weeks during which an exploration can be performed, and the anatomical damage (nerve or tendon) can be repaired.

Hope this helps. Any medical questions you have, you can send to me by e-mail. I don't mind answering them. Walter Welch MD
 
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