WICK: Wound, Immediate Closure Kit

Don Rearic

Don Rearic

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
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Wound, Immediate Closure Kit - WICK

3M Steri-Strips, 2 Packs of 3 each, 1/4" X 3"

3M Steri-Strips, 1 Pack of 10 each, 1/4" X 4"

3M Steri-Strips, 1 Pack of 6 each, 1/2" X 4"

3M Tegaderm Patch, 2 Packs of 1 each, 2 3/8" X 2 3/4"

Dermabond Topical Skin Adhesive, 1 Tube, 0.5 ml

Kendall Vaseline Petrolatum Gauze, 2 Packs of 1 each, 3" X 9"

Fingertip Bandage, 2 Packs of 1 each, 1 3/4" X 2"

Elastic Strip "Band-Aid," 3 Packs of 1 each, 7/8" X 3"

Fabric Knuckle Bandage, 4 Packs of 1 each, 1 1/2" X 3"

Fabric Large Patch Bandage, 1 Pack of 1 each, 2" X 3"

Povidone-Iodine Prep Pad, 8 Packs of 1 each

Hydrocortisone Cream, 1 Packet, 1/32 Oz.

Triple Antibiotic Ointment, 2 Packets, 1/32 Oz.

Water-Jel Burn Jel, 2 Packets, 1/8 Oz.

ALOKSAK Bag, 4.5" X 7"









3M Steri-Strips work incredibly well. I just patched a ceramic tile cut on my Wife's finger last week and after just rinsing with water and scrubbing it with a Povidone Prep Pad and closing it with a Steri-Strip, it healed amazingly well. It was a real bleeder and after thoroughly rinsing in clean water, it simply would not stop bleeding. So, we scrubbed it with the Povidone and closed it immediately afterwards and put a dressing over it. It bled through immediately but she kept the dressing on for over 12 hours so it was not disturbed and had time to clot.

3M Tegaderm Dressings are also highly recommended. They provide an excellent barrier to contaminates and still breathe - they are incredibly more advanced for protecting wound sites compared to regular dressings.

If you want to downsize this already small kit, you could go with 2 3M Tegaderm Dressings, cut the Povidone-Iodine Prep Pads by half and go with the 3M Steri-Strips where you get 10 strips that are 1/4" X 4" each.

Assorted knuckle and fingertip bandages along with regular types of "Band-Aid" bandages can patch up a lot of stuff and keep it clean.

There are three basic reasons to suture a wound:

1. To stop bleeding.
2. To keep the wound from becoming larger by movement.
3. Cosmetic reasons, less scarring, etc.

This kit offers a real and very effective alternative to suturing yourself. It's also an intelligent alternative to the asinine suggestions of using any form of tape to close wounds which is begging for an infection that you do not need during a critical time. I don't want an infected cut in the best of times but when you have to be your own medic out in the woods, you definitely do not want to follow the advice of people too cheap or ignorant to spend about $10.00 on Steri-Strips, Povidone Prep Pads and some good bandages, etc.

The Water-Jel Burn Jel is included because anyone can get a nasty burn when handling various cooking cups, pots, utensils, etc. It works very well, kills pain quickly.

If you want to expand the kit, making it about 25% larger, you could include a small bottle of Systane, which is an eye-wash and lubricant, a small 5 Gram Tube of Lidocaine, three packs of Ethicon or other sutures with cutting needles, a tube of antibiotic eye ointment and perhaps a small tube of Oragel which is a benzocaine-based pain killer.
 
Thank you, thankyouverymuch... It's something EVERYONE in here should have their own version of. Look at the footprint of that ALOKSAK bag, it's nothing. They are tough bags but there are various different ways to create such a kit...the unblown (!) 2-liter bottles from CountyComm that they refer to as "Tube Vaults" are excellent because the major, important things in the kit will bend easily and not be compromised. The 3M Steris and Teg patches will take a bend that is not too extreme and so will the Povidone Prep Pads.

This stuff can be pared down as I said in the original post so even the folks who (rightly so) only carry Altoids or other small "tin" sized kits to make sure they always have their SKIT with them, can have excellent wound management capabilities in the field.

I would strongly recommend against using simple tape and calling everything "good" in your pocket first aid kit or your pocket SKIT/PSK, etc. Anyone that has ever used surgical tape to secure gauze knows that when you peel that tape away, everything on the planet has stuck to the edge of that adhesive, turning the skin gray to black with debris, etc. You don't want that sort of adhesive IN the wound. You want to take care of it professionally and this is just about the best way to do it short of having an ER Physician along for the ride.
 
Good post. Good wound care is a must. I agree with most of the items in your post except that I'm not too fond of the 3M bandages for the field. IMO, I find they work better in a place where you can really be sure of the cleanliness of the wound, put the 3M bandaide on and forget about it for a week. In the woods, cleaning the wound usually isn't quite as ideal and I like to remove my bandages, inspect and clean the wound daily. The 3M bandages, being very good are also very expensive to use them that way. For the field I like the eslasto-plast brand as a good compromise between value and something that works well. I also prefer the gauze on the bandaide to come all the way to the edge rather than have adhesive surounding the side edges. It just makes the bandaides a bit more flexible.

Love the 3M steristrips, they really do work well!
 
That is a really nice kit.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
I will probably add some soap or liquid povidone-iodine to wash out deeper cuts and puncture wounds.
 
KGD,

With the 3M Tegaderm Bandage, it is clear on the top, you look right in and you can inspect the wound and maintain the barrier. You must be thinking of an earlier dressing made by them. That's also why they are a bit more pricey but unless you are thinking about enduring the hike of a thousand cuts, you should be OK!

Sharp-E,

There are two, basic kinds of Batadine. One is a surgical wash, don't use that for washing out wounds, and the other is the penetrating germicide. I am not a Doctor but I don't think you should be exposing yourself to that much Povidone-Iodine under the names Trianodine (IIRC) or Batadine.

They have stick swabs with Povidone on them and I have some of them, and the little Prep Pads in the picture are PLENTY powerful and effective for very, very bad cuts. The most you would need is one of the four inch long swabs soaked in it but for flat storage in kits, etc., the prep pads cannot be beat.

Povidone is a very powerful germicidal/disinfecting agent. Pouring a lot more isn't going to do much and could cause you some harm, as per my understanding...
 
Don,
I have used a solution of povidone-iodine solution (Betadine) mixed with saline and sometimes some peroxide to irrigate a couple of hundred wounds in the ER.
It works great and does not cause any problems with healing.

Be aware that there is the rare person who is allergic to povidone-iodine solution.

I would guess that the degree of safety depends on the concentration of the solution that you are using.

I keep a squirt bottle of povidone-iodine solution in my kit to be used it irrigate wounds and help to remove the dirt and debris before applying a dressing.

All that being said, I would not use povidone-iodine irrigation on an abdominal or chest wound.
 
Thanks for the information! One Pharmacist told me that if you use too much of it you can damage tissue. I just don't want my tissue damaged! :D
 
heres mine, not identical to Don's but very similar. No i'm not unpacking it :) took a bit to get everything in there "just right"

DSCF5668.jpg


easily transferable to a shirt pocket if i'm in an area that does'nt allow packs or bags....
 
Probably the best way to get Dermabond is to get a few people here that want some and then do a small group buy from a seller on E-bay.

You can get 3M Steri-Strips and 3M Tegaderm Bandages from better pharmacies. They are a good solution to problems and they're not really cheap. A pack of Steri-Strips will cost you about $4.00 or so. Check the expiration dates...even though I just used some on my Wife that were about 4 years out of date...they worked fine and the package was still intact, so they were sterile - but the adhesive I think is what they put the expiration on. They were fine. I had to get some new ones anyway. :D
 
Don, great thread idea! This is the type of item that would make a GREAT Group Buy for those of us that are serious about our backcountry health. Anyone here able to do a spreadsheet on the cost per kit? I'd buy one setup like Don's in a heartbeat, paid in full sent as packed! I have my own kit with similiar items, I just like some of your's better Don. Been carrying and using Steri-strips longer than I can remember!
 
hhhmmm i like the idea of group buy for stuff like this.....much like Walmart we would have purchasing power = lower prices.......
 
So, when you guys look at a woods kit say, what are the main things you should be looking at?

I know I look at three things likewise while out.
Clean
Stop bleeding
And proper care of the wound

It was have to be a pretty serious injury for you not to be able to leave the environment, and a kit this size would help much in that case either, aside from cleaning and maybe stopping bleeding. I carry sanitation items, alcohol pads and such, gauss and medi tape, as well as a few large bandages for things like larger burns, or skinned up areas.
 
Let me get with my Wife on the 3M Tegaderm and Steri-Strips. She has already tried to get Dermabond but that was a washout and I tried a ParaMedic I know and it was a washout for him as well. That's the one thing we would probably have to get off of E-bay. I just have to get a price on the other stuff with her discount. 8-)

If Johnson & Johnson Bioclusive clear dressings are less expensive than Tegaderm, we might be able to go with that as well. Povidone-Iodine prep pads won't be much at all.

I reckon one of you gents could check www.aeromedix.com or some other site that sells ALOKSAKs and see what the cost on that would be, etc.

Add a few J & J gauze pads in the kit and you would have the basic wound closure kit without the Burn-Jel and a couple other things, but it would still be an excellent little pocket kit to deal with minor to medium severity lacerations and serious scuffs, scrapes and abrasions...
 
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