stitching up a wound..... what would one need to know?

[psy-ops]

This thread is exactly why I keep coming to BF.

I embedded a gerber hunting knife right above my knee. No insurance, drunk and 25. After the "Oh SHIT" phase, I cleaned it and put 3 homemade butterfly bandages out of duct tape. It healed fine no problems.

I have a 1 1/2" scar about 2" above my knee. Many years later, I went to PT for a knee injury. She said, I was very lucky I didn't cut a tendon.

 

[misanthropist]

My wife and I are both doctors and we would not have done that in a survival situation or at home with alcohol and thread. You are very lucky so far!!

If the cut was deep it may have needed deep sutures (which should be absorbable and sterile). Cotton thread is a very bad choice of suture. You were at home and not in a survival situation. If the bleeding was under control you could have even gone in the morning to have it sutured.

Next time apply pressure and a clean bandage, go straight to the ER and promise never to do that again. Even in a SHTF scenario, closing a contaminated wound is a bad idea.

This weekend I am going camping with a few ER docs, nurses and Physician assistants. If any of us gets cut like that I can assure you we would not suture it in the field. Keep it clean and covered, pressure to stop the bleeding, and go directly to a hospital as soon as possible. Suturing a contaminated or dirty wound can be more dangerous than leaving it open, if it is not properly flushed out and closed in a sterile manner.

I am not advocating anyone do any of this stuff to themselves. Go to a doctor that does this kind of thing. Initially an ER doc and later a hand surgeon would be good.

I have seen doctors in SHTF situations who closed wounds they should not have. In New Orleans I saw many dirty wounds, well over a hundred. I had the supplies to suture most of them closed, but I only thought it was wise to close one of them with sutures while I was there. Sutures can trap bacteria and lead to a very big problem.

Don't play Rambo! In the real world even Rambo would have just tried to stop the bleeding and keep it bandaged until he could get to a medic.


If you are in a true SHTF scenario having the materials to fix things is not a bad idea, because you may run into someone who actually knows how to use them. The best things to have for the non-medical knife handlers would be something to clean the wound, such as sterile saline or water or possibly betadine solution if you are not allergic. Good sterile bandages and ACE bandages for compression would be essential. Antibiotic ointment is another thing to carry for small scrapes and cuts as well.

More than once I have had to do an amputation because someone tried to be Rambo and do bathroom surgery at home. Go to the propper doctor, PLEASE!

Well there you have it. In general I think closing up wounds is a bad idea in a non-sterile setting. At least if you leave it open, it will drain on its own and you can rely on secondary intention to fill in the hole...although that takes a long time in my experience, so if you can go to a doctor, it's worth the money to get patched up properly.