Super Glue for Cuts?

I am a balisong flipper and also work in kitchens regularly, so cuts are something Im pretty familiar with, and having to keep it clean as well.

Usually after the initial cut occurs, I reach for the Krazy Glue that I keep in my bag, if its severe. Usually I try to clean before I glue, but when the blood wont stop its definately better to at least stop the bleeding IMO.

After the glue sets, and the intial cut is closed for around thirty minutes, I wash my hands until the inital glue starts to loosen. After removing all the glue from the cut, and if its stopped bleeding, I'll wash the cut with a little alcohol (and grit my teeth) and apply that New Skin antiseptic glue to the wound.

When the New Skin hardens, it is waterproof and flexible. To finish the dressing, I will add Krazy Glue over the New Skin to form a "shell" over the flexible glue. Wrap with a waterproof bandage and it will hold all day.

Heals up really well, and I have yet to go to the ER for any stitches ever, or had an infection since developing this method. Just make sure that you clean your wound well as everyone says and always keep and eye on it.

Also if it goes numb from the initial cut, or you cant move the finger, GO TO THE ER!!!!:eek:
 
Bushman5 said:
I feel that for the layperson, the "good ol wash the wound, dry, dressing and medical tape it closed" is the way to go. Sutures are GREAT, but best left for certain circumstances and persons trained to put them in. For the general public, its not a big deal to clean and dress a wound daily if in the woods etc.
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It's a big deal if you have to keep changing the dressing, some of these guys think carrying a whistle and a signal mirror is a drag. :D I wouldn't bet money on them carrying enough stuff to dress a two inch laceration for four days!

I have been cut to the bone and I have also seen other people's cuts, to the bone. You're going to be hard pressed to stitch that yourself. You're going to be hard pressed to stitch someone else without a Rx-professional grade local as well.

The other WICK thread are work arounds to the problem.
 
Guille said:
It actually depends on the type of super glue and the ingredients used, for minor cuts and abrasions and even medium to large cuts Cyanoacrylate is the active ingredient to look for. have used this a lot in myself and my patients ( am a vet) and have not had any problems with it.
checked the Gorilla super glue and the active ingredient is
*Polymeric MDI is a mixture of 4,4’-Diphenylmethane-diisocyanate, isomers and homologues.
so i don't know how safe it is for human use. you can check out the safety info here:

http://www.gorillaglue.com/Portals/0/pdfs/msds/MSDS%20Stronger%20Faster%20English.pdf
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Arg. I'm talking about the GORILLA SUPER GLUE. Not the regular stuff.

MSDS for that: http://www.gorillaglue.com/Portals/0/pdfs/msds/MSDS Super Glue 1-08.pdf
 
Just around the time the Canadian forces were about to be deployed to Korea during the Korean War, we learned of a 'new' product that was to be tested in the field, and was meant to act as temporary stiches for wounds. It ended up being marketed later on as Krazy Glue (the actual name brand), but in the war it was meant as a quick fix up to prevent massive blood loss when a soldier was en route to a proper medical facility. Since then progress has been made on the same stuff, only improving it to make it an antiseptic and provide more flex. Conversely, cheaper versions were formulated that do not share the same properties as the original, and are therefore less adequate for closing cuts.

Brand name Krazy Glue is more than acceptable to permanently seal up small to medium cuts, I have been using it for decades, so have all my brothers and friends alike. I wouldn't want to drip it into a really bad wound and think all was well, however. The idea behind it was originally not to be a permanent fix, but was instead meant to buy a bleeder some time on his way to the hospital. With this in mind, it is safe on basic cuts, but shouldn't be used for major trauma unless there is a real danger of dying from blood loss ie: severe wound in the field and significant time before being able to receive proper treatment / medevac. Even at this it would need to be administered by a trained field medic.

But unless you worry about grenades landing in your lap during a normal hike in the bush, it is unlikely you will suffer more than your everyday scrapes and cuts, for which Krazy Glue is a great fixer-upper.
 
Don,

I don't think you are too off base with your thinking, just giving you some of my personal observations over the last 20 years or so.

My experience with steri strips (and I have used them successfully on myself and the kids at home) has always been that they don't stick well enough when you are doing work, hiking hard, chopping, etc. They are fine for flat surface medium size cuts on limbs or digits that are not going to be moved much, but try and use them in the web of a hand or knuckle area when it is wet and all bets are off. I am not suture crazy, and I agree you should clean the wound as much as possible. It is certainly a good idea to carry some steri strips in your first aid kit. Yes, I have stiched myself in the past, most noteably in the web between my thumb and forefinger of my right hand. A cut a little over one inch long and almost 1/2 inch deep. 5 ugly stitches was all I could bear, but they did do the job and I have very little scarring. That being said, I found out quickly: it hurt and I ain't no Rambo.

I have used Krazy glue on smaller cuts and so far, I haven't been poisoned to death, but again, if you are in a situation that you have a better (more medically acceptable) alternative, by all means, use it.

I'm not the type of guy who is going to sit in the ER waiting 2 hours for somebody whose name I can't pronounce to put some steri strips on me because it is too late to suture. I'm too lazy and too impatient. Give me some glue, duct tape, needle and thread, whatever. But heck, what do I know, I don't have a medical degree.
 
I've used NewSkin a lot - stings like hell but works really well. I figure Krazy Glue should be equally good.
 
On a slightly different note, super glue and the like are great for NON-open wounds, such as blisters and hotspots. Throughout HS and into college, I was a drummer on the drumline as well as playing drumset. After hours of practice, hotspots were almost inevitable. Many people used tape to cover them, but super glue sticks better to sweaty skin! As soon as a hotspot begins to develop, dab a little super glue, and voila! Instant callous, no more hotspot. :thumbup:
 
nemoaz said:
If you can't spell microbiology, you have no business closing wounds...

Sugar? Can't imagine a better thing to promote bacterial growth.
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That depends

A hypertonic solution of sugar and water will kill bacteria.

Have you ever considered why fruit, jellies, jams and other preserves are made with tons of sugar? Or why honey dosen't spoil on its own ?

It has the same purpose as salt in pickled preserves..
 
Sugar is an excellent antibacterial. I don't use it in my cuts, but do use it to preserve food :D

I've had stitches (4) put in me in the field on the fly and it's a bitch. i wouldn't want to do it to myself, and if it was so bad I Needed it in the sense that I was gonna be, like, dead without, it would likely be a bit much for me to handle.

I'm a very strong believer in iodine for anyone's kit, it's hard to beat for pure nastiness to infectious agents and gret for water purification.

I use iodine and superglue almost daily in the shop. i use it out on the wilds, too- but I cut myself a LOT more in the knife shop than I do out rambling. Most of the time the superglue is the only bandage applied, except on some of the larger cuts. For those I'll cut a small square of gauze for right over where the superglue goes and then use duct tape. I've got every brand and style of medical tape on the planet and nothing LASTS when you are working and moving around the way duct tape does. (Duct tape apparently also has some bizarre anti-viral property, and I have seen the wart cure work, but I don't understand nor rely on it)
 
j williams said:
Sugar also works well for wound cloting. I dont do that either, but I have seen it done many times.
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Kinda off topic but in a old chinese kungfu movie they put sugar all over this guy's cuts and tied him down and he died of ants eating his wounds :(
 
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