Superglue wound closure tutorial

nemoaz said:
There's a heck of a lot more involved in closing a wound than just irrigating it with saline.
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Umm not to be rude, but what is your medical training? Up until last year I was a certified first responder, I was payed to be at sporting events, and I was the head first responder at 4 of my last 5 jobs. Financial reasons have kept me from re-certifying this year, that and medical issues not related to gluing cuts :D

I just wanted to say that irrigating wound with saline is the best way to clean it, it is also when you asses what else is needed. It was not my job as a first responder to clean serious wounds, just apply pressure. Knowing what to do was how ever part of the training.
 
Then you should know that cleaning a wound involves more then irrigation.

neomaz was a military medic, ER Nurse, Paramedic....

I have almost a decade of emergency medical training working ERs, rural ambulance, and in the military. My wife is also an RN.

If you want to do this method, go ahead. As Ive said, I don't care what anyone does to themselves. Like all things medical, this can be debated to death. There are so many different schools of thought on every subject medical, that no clear answer or tx will ever be THE way to do things. Look at ACLS for example, or even the CPR guidelines for BLS providers....That stuff changes all the time. Medical info is soooo bandwagon its hilarious. Kinda like forums.

Im not saying this because of liability either. Its just got to be a case by case basis, and not a blanket tx for all lacs. I dont care what way anyone takes care of their own problems. HOWEVER, both sides of the coin need to be addressed. Thats just the responsable thing to do. You can find 100 articles saying to do it, or not to do it, or to do it when..., or how...., on the internet. However, Ill take my experiance, and years of training from licensed medical professionals, from reputable sources over what I read on the internet any day. The day I get taught this method will be the day I endorse it.

To say that Im only not reccomending out of fear of liability is just stupid. EVERYTHING I do on a day to day basis with pt care involves a risk of liability. Im sorry, supergluing a wound is in no way more liable then intubations, or pushing cardiac drugs, or moving spinal cord injured people etc etc etc.....
 
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ask a thousand ER docs or EMTS the same question and you will get a thousand different answers............
 
I wont glue someone elses wounds only my own and only if I did it with a knife I own, because I know where its been and what it has on it. What I do to my self has no liability what so ever. If I cut myself on a rust nail, rock or some other unknown thing I would only irrigate with the the saline solution I carry with me in syringes and use a non stick gauze to cover the wound and apply pressure till I could get to proper medical treatment. Which I would seek asap.
My medical background started in the military and I was on my way to being a medic, but I blew out my knee bad enough that I was taken out of the program and ended my military career:( I have been told on more then one occasion by both doctors and nurses that I should go to school to be an ER nurse or an EMT after they have seen my field work, yes I accompany the people I treat in the field to the hospital. I don't do it because its not the profession I enjoy and because of my age. At 45 by the time I finished all of the proper schooling I would be too old to start a new profession.

The day I get taught this method will be the day I endorse it.
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Oh I was taught by a medical professional how to glue, my riding partner and landlord was an ER nurse and he showed me the proper way to use it, hence my guide lines to for using it on myself.

Any how I am out of this argument, you have your beliefs on the subject and I have mine, but I think the one thing we can agree on is the the original post is not even close to the proper method of closing a wound.
 
Oh I was taught by a medical professional how to glue, my riding partner and landlord was an ER nurse and he showed me the proper way to use it, hence my guide lines to for using it on myself.
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Alright Almost-Medic Who Knows a Nurse, please point us to the textbook and page where we can find directions and instructions on how to do this.

I'm out too.
 
Those who disapprove of using superglue for cuts, have the option of not using superglue for cuts.

:)

i think this thread has bonded. I mean bombed. :)
 
I know very little on this subject, but for smallish cuts and slices and the occasional stab wound not to deep I use honey, and has always worked well for me and I'd prefer that to superglue and bonds very quick and in my case saved on stitches.

I do understand that very deep gashes you should not use honey for as it causes ulcerations, but to be honest if its that type of gash/puncture, I would compress or wrap it up and seek immediate medical attention and just let the blood was out the major sh*t and leave the rest to the medics.

I have thought of super glue in the past and had heard it was used in the Falklands war. Anyway I know its a bit of topic but honey tastes much better when tidying up the injury.

ATB
Paul
 
nemoaz said:
Alright Almost-Medic Who Knows a Nurse, please point us to the textbook and page where we can find directions and instructions on how to do this.

I'm out too.
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There were probably plenty of guys like you when we started using staples as well. No big deal. ;)
 
I've actually found that irrigating the wound with my own urine (must be your own!), then closing it with Elmer's glue, works much better. Hasn't killed me yet. Now where did I put that pack of smokes?
 
A couple of years ago, I had an E.R. doc glue up a pretty bad cut on my hand. He was showing another guy, and told him it was a perfect candidate for the treatment. I thought it needed stitches. It did. The glue didn't hold any time. By that time, I had made it to my family doc, and he had a N.P. clean and stitch the wound. It took nine stitches to close, and was down to the muscle on the side of my hand. Having the glue scrubbed and trimmed out of the cut was not a fun experience. The doctor and the nurse practitioner could not believe the other doc tried to glue it up. The N.P. told me he had used super glue on himself, but for small paper cuts and such. I don't know if my post pertains to the subject.
 
I first heard of using glue to close wounds in the early 50's when I was working with the Navy. The latest thing in the field was a glue that reacted to moisture, and was used to close minor wounds to delay blood loss until the patient could be admitted to a proper medical facility. After the Korean war, the formula later became known as Krazy Glue and was sold as a household quick fixit.

So using glue to close wounds is not new technology, nor is it medically untested. I have used Krazy Glue on my own wounds many times, but it has to be Krazy Glue, not some of the other no-name brands, from what I understand. I really don't know the differences, I am not a chemist, but actual "Krazy Glue" is the same formula as initially developed for field use around the end of the Korean War. From my own experience, it does not sting, has never left any infection, and ultimately is a very effective way of closing minor slits and cuts. I big gaping wound, however, well, that would be something entirely different.
 
For all the comments here against this practice, there still have been no reported cases of poisoning or other serious toxic reaction to using superglue on finger cuts or other minor lacerations. I'm gonna keep doing it, it has worked plenty good for me.
 
No medical training whatsoever here, but...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2187/was-super-glue-invented-to-seal-battle-wounds-in-vietnam
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000301/1383.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

Super Glue = Methyl cyanoacrylate. Dries quick and stiff. Not recommended for wound closure due to toxicity and heat generation concerns. Used anyway in home first aid with positive results.

Dermabond = 2-Octyl cyanoacrylate. $30 an application. Dries more flexible than Methyl cyanoacrylate. Used by docs as a wound sealant. Comes in a single use applicator. Crush the glass vial and it's contacts react with the applicator tip.

Nexcare / Bandaid Liquid Bandage. I couldn't find anything on the formulation of these products, but they seem to be a more flexible and less durable 2-Octyl cyanoacrylate formulation. I think that the Bandaid version is made by the same company that makes Dermabond.
 
Thanks mikeal. Lot of good info in this topic, but your links said much more than any post could communicate.

I will be using newskin from now on and possibly updating the med supply kit.
 
Good articles, thanks for the info! I can assure you, however, this stuff was initially considered for medical field use towards the end of the Korean War, since I myself got wind of it in and around 1953 and I no longer worked with the Navy after that. This was in Canada, mind you, so things may have been different. There is also the possibility its suggested use was never documented until later on, but honestly, I can tell you it was talked about before the Vietnam Conflict, that is for sure. Regardless, the bottom line is that there has obviously been a significant advancement in the formula since its conception, but the idea itself is certinaly not novel.
 
A while back I came across this surfing the forums. I saved it so future use. Well today I was playing with my new Kershaw Junkyard Dog 2 Ti Sg2 and I did something stupid. I was flipping the knife while talking and following somone else at the same time. Low and behold the time while the blade only opened half way. I went to close it and the tip cut and a 3/4" wide cut on my palm, below the middle finger. it was about 1/8" deep. I put pressure on it till it quit bleeding, then a butterfly bandage and some gauze. Then I remembered this this thread. I then used the technique outlined here to close the wound. Thanks alot for this thread. Some people complain about it burning, but it was nothing compared to the pain of running water over it. This is a whole lot better then the gauze and butterfly bandage.

Lessons learned:
Dont flip knives, walk, and talk at the same time
Sg2 steel is VERY sharp from the factory.
 
Did you piss on it? Cause urine is sterile, except when you have urinary tract infection. Or when you don't know how to do a clean catch (like basically everyone here). Rub some elephant dung in it? Burn it like Rambo? All great methods of cleaning and closing a wound. Staple it with a staple gun from Walmart?

I heard it here first.
 
nemoaz said:
Did you piss on it? Cause urine is sterile, except when you have urinary tract infection. Or when you don't know how to do a clean catch (like basically everyone here). Rub some elephant dung in it? Burn it like Rambo? All great methods of cleaning and closing a wound. Staple it with a staple gun from Walmart?

I heard it here first.
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You forgot that the needs to hang himself by his feet, arms dangling, to increase the blood. The blood will push all the nasty out. Tip of the day...don't try urinating on it until you're back on your feet or you'll blow pee bubbles from your nose...so I hear.
 
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