New Skin Double Duty?

fatheadhill

fatheadhill

Joined
Mar 30, 2008
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Ya know the New Skin stuff you can put on cuts to seal 'em up? Well I was putting some on a cut on my thumb I had gotten from my new Boker Rampage when I caught a strong wiff of the stuff. Smelled pretty strong so I though "hmm, wonder if it burns?". Well it sure does!! Just one single drop of it burned really well for almost 30 seconds. It lights extremely easy with my bic lighter too(don't know if it would light with a spark or not). But it got me thinking that maybe this stuff would be a good addition to a survival kit as it could pull double duty as a good sealer for smaller cuts and also to aid in starting a fire. It doesn't take much of the stuff on a cut, so one vial of it would last quite a while. Anything that is this small and could possbly have two uses could easily find a place in a pack I would think.

Just passing on some possibly useful info. Let me know what ya'll think.
 
I just keep some superglue with me, it is the original "new skin" and much better IMO. New skin is like a superglue knock off that's been repackaged.
 
Not at all, or not that I've ever noticed. I first learned about superglue from a friend who barefoot water skis. Sometimes you get some pretty good cuts, tears, and skin flaps in your feet, so they use superglue to patch them up, so they can get back to skiing without making them worse. Plus, in a pinch you can use it to bond other stuff.
 
FWIW, I prefer using superglue vs. New Skin because the latter stings like heck when you put it on.

I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my kit. It's mostly ethanol, so it's flammable. It will light with the spark from a ferro rod.
 
New Skin was developed specifically for wound care, super glues are for non human sticking. yes, 'super glue' was invented for medical use, but not the kind you buy at the dollar stores. It stings because it's alcohol based....comes in single use packs in a box of a dozen too.
 
by "does it burn?". I meant does super glue burn(don't have any atm) as in fire burn, not "ouch" burn. If it doesn't, I'd rather carry new skin as an additional fire starting assistor.


Dave_Markowitz said:
FWIW, I prefer using superglue vs. New Skin because the latter stings like heck when you put it on.

I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my kit. It's mostly ethanol, so it's flammable. It will light with the spark from a ferro rod.
Click to expand...

never thought about hand sanitizer.., good idea, will have to add that!
 
stingray4540 said:
I just keep some superglue with me, it is the original "new skin" and much better IMO. New skin is like a superglue knock off that's been repackaged.
Click to expand...

Actually, the "sticky" in New Skin is Pyroxylin (collodian) which has been used to help bandages adhere... or to temporarily close cuts (e.g. boxing "corner men"). New Skin is nothing like superglue (a cyanoacrylate adhesive). NewSkin has an antiseptic component, too.

The argument regarding using plain old superglue rather than the medically approved (and quite expensive) Dermabond cyanoacrylate can go on and on. I'd love to hear actual data regarding whether or not it really matters which you use.

In all but the most minor cuts/abrasions, I'd bet the medical experts laround here would caution against "sealing" any cuts. Stop the bleeding; irrigate well to clean as well as possible; stop the bleeding again; then loosely oppose the edges of the wound (put the edges together); hold with steri-strips or butterflies...allowing for drainage; then protect with a bandage/bandaid. "Seal" a wound and you're asking for infection. But that's just what I've gathered from medical experts I've talked to. YMMV
 
While I keep Nu Skin (both liquid & spray) at home for small cuts & hangnails, it is too viscous for sealing deep or bad wounds. Because of this, there isn't room in my survival kit for it.

I'd rather use the weight & space for something better capable of dealing with a serious emergency like duct tape, which has multiple uses including sealing wounds. I roll it around a golf pencil -which is useful for notes, messages, graphite as lube and wood shavings as tinder.
 
I surffish, and in the fall and winter when it gets cold I've been using superglue to close the nasty line cuts on my fingers.
My partner told me about using it when he was in Viet Nam.
I use alcohol or peroxide to make sure the cut is clean and then glue it closed. It's the only way to keep the cuts closed and help healing.
 
Is it me, or have they changed the formulation of superglue? the only thing that I've had it successfully stick to recently is skin. One thing that I would check out before using superglue for first aid is whether or not the cyanide (the cyano in cyanoacrylate) is reactive. if it's stable, it's a-ok. If it's reactive, it's poisonous. but I guess being slightly poisoned is better than bleeding to death.
 
New Skin is awesome stuff. It stings because it's also an antiseptic. Kills germs and seals cuts that are impossible with band aids.

A small bottle will last forever and it's small and easy to toss in a first aid kit. If I can lather some on some pine needles or other tinder and have it light easier, all the better!
 
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