Alternative to stitches

[wnn]

.WARNING .use at your own risk.WhenSHTF.COM (Owner, Moderators, Administration ,Janitor etc..) nor Myself (author) ASSUME NO RESPOSIBILITY for anything that goes wrong.. this is for information purposes only....I'm not a doctor..

This is a little trick I picked up a few years back from a Veterinary emergency doctor my ex worked for in orlando..

When animals would come in with cuts needing stitches, if the area couldnt be stitched for what ever reason..they would use plain old KrazyGlue to seal the wound up. I seen the doc one nite doin this and asked WTH? & he explained that if stitches cant be placed due to location (Ie muzzles/bending areas) for fear of being torn out from movement ,theyd glue the wound closed after cleaning,& it was common practise in the show circuit since it didnt leave any visible scars,He also stated that some plastic surgeons (people docs not animal) have been known to use this method.without any problems.

all you do is once you have the bleeeding controlled (clotted) you lay a thin bead of glue directly in the wound(yeah it f'n burn) & press the skin sections together & your set to bandage if necessary..One thing he did tell me also USE KRAZY GLUE not some off the wall junk...

Unfortunatley(for me) about 2 weeks later I had a chance to test it out on myself (dog bite) I got nice nasty rip not punchers & low & behold it worked great...while not ment to replace stitches ,its just another alternative ...

[yugoshooter]

Don't they sell stuff now thats called liquid band aid?

[wnn]

Don't they sell stuff now thats called liquid band aid?
yeah they do but doesnt hold that well atleast not on me..

[onebigelf]

Super glue was not originally intended to fix your coffee cup! It was developed during the Vietnam War as an emergency field suture. Your vet is perfectly ok using it to suture cuts on pets. It's just using it as originally intended! I will tell you that it stings like a mother in a cut. Butterfly sutures would be better for wounds where the edges are not well approximated or where the wound is dirty. Allows the wound to heal from the bottom up and not trap debris in the wound. Leaves more or a scar, but lessens the risk of infection. With ANY suture, make sure the wound is CLEAN.

John

[Alredneck]

Yea they have stuff out there called Dermabond, they used it after my surgery when they put my guts back in the right places to close up the skin incisions ( 12 of em ). Good stuff never had a problem with it but still some scarring as expected but not very big ones, and I had to get one area drained from fluid build up but thats it. Stay away from IEDs they are not conducive to a healthy life style;)

[Gunfixr]

Yeah, it's what I use, unless I use electrical tape.

[knox45]

Yup. I too heard the emergency field closure story.

Just to lut you know, in case you get skin guled to something unintentionally, nail polish remover desolves crazy glue, and gets your fingers apart.

[Dero]

I've worked Emergency Medicine for nearly 8 years, ambulance response and ER technician for the USAF, and critical care a few more.

Whoever said Dermabond is dead on. We've used that stuff in the ER for years now. It's hella expensive but works OK if you have a smaller laceration that might get by without suturing.

Once a woman came into the ER who had mixed up her eye drops and crazy glue!! Both her eye lids were glued shut. After much consultation we were told to just send her home and let it resolve on it's own.

Take home message is to keep your crazy glue and eye drops separate.

Dero(s)

[BobS]

Commonly called cyanoacrylate glues....there are many:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

Note that there are several other tradenames other than Dermabond. Good stuff.

Best regards,

Bob

[Tracks_Coax]

Dermabond is good stuff. I have a bunch of it in my bags. We also have used crazy glue on hog hunting dogs for years. Also good stuff.

[buzzy]

Super Glue and Dermabond aren't the same thing.

Super/Krazy Glue has chemicals that will kill living tissue. It's not the ideal one to use. However, if I'm in a pinch, I'll use it. No problem.

Dermabond does not harm living tissue.

[mndless]

I think this stuff was originally created for surgical closures of organs that would not take stitches... such as the liver...

Will add a tube to the first aid kit!! :)