Medical supplies

[Caster]

I've been storing non perishable medical supplies for years. You can never have enough!

WELL, I had a bit of an accident while moving my lathe yesterday and my benchtop lathe turned over on me while I was bolting it down to it's new bench. Well, the tool bit I had in it buried about an inch or better into my arm and about 2-3 inches long. It was deep enough I could see the fatty tissue coming out. Soaked my shirt and pants, even down to my underwear with blood. ALL OVER MY NEW SHOP FLOOR!!!!!!!!!!

I packed it off and got inside to my BOB. I cleaned it and stitched it up with a suture needle

The bleeding wasn't life threatening but it was annoying while trying to sew the hole shut. Got me thinking. I need to add some Quickclot® to my things. Now I can order the regular stuff online, but I want to know where one gets the presoaked Quickclot bandages like our troops have. Any ideas?

[Guest Bronker]

Pics or it didn't happen...

[Jasongar8]

QuikClot Combat Gauze

Check these guys out too.

Celox Home Page

These products are ment to be used only in a life threatening event. Quikclot can cause burns if not used right. And both are designed to be used as a last resort tool to stop bleeding.

[Caster]

Pics or it didn't happen...

This was before I closed it up, I had just pulled the compress off when the wife snapped the shot.

[Armed Aviator]

Aaaaaaahhhhh! Ouch!!!! Sorry to hear that you got hurt!

Proof once again, I have a weak stomach!

[Mike]

QuikClot Combat Gauze

Check these guys out too.

Celox Home Page

These products are ment to be used only in a life threatening event. Quikclot can cause burns if not used right. And both are designed to be used as a last resort tool to stop bleeding.

Not anymore. Both products deliver results without any exothermic reactions occurring. So no burns. In this case pressure should have stopped the bleeding without any need for hemostatic agents.

Caster, welcome to the sewing your own s**t up club.

Did you have lidocaine? Also it's hard to tell if it tore the shin or if it's more of a puncture wound. Watch it if it's the latter. Also hope you remembered to flush out the wound to make sure there wasn't any metal left behind.

Mike

Edited April 25, 2011 by Mike

[Caster]

Aaaaaaahhhhh! Proof once again, I have a weak stomach!

I find the idea of a weak stomached pilot a conundrum.

[Armed Aviator]

I find the idea of a weak stomached pilot a conundrum.

Weak stomach for blood and wounds only.

[Guest bkelm18]

I know Gander Mountain and Bass Pro sell Q-Clot bandages.

[Caster]

Caster, welcome to the sewing your own s**t up club.

Did you have lidocaine? Also it's hard to tell if it tore the shin or if it's more of a puncture wound. Watch it if it's the latter. Also hope you remembered to flush out the wound to make sure there wasn't any metal left behind.

Mike

Thanks, I've sewn myself several times. Always leaves a prominent scar [i'm not very good] but it doesn't cost a thousand dollars in the ER either [no insurance].

Lidocaine? No, but I will add some to the stores. I wet a washcloth and bite down on it, and flush with a 50% rubbing alcohol. Hurts but I swear later there isn't near as much soreness. I used a cotton swab [NOT A QTIP] one of those individually wrapped wooden stick type. Gently wiped the inside out while looking with a sure fire light. Then I boiled it well with H2O2 and pulled it closed with the stitches.

I don't why, but some people are absolutely amazed that someone will stitch themselves as opposed to having the system do it for you. It's not a tough guy or macho kinda thing. Some people are REALLY going to be in trouble some day. There will be countless numbers of people die from something as simple as this.

[Caster]

Weak stomach for blood and wounds only.

Okay, so you can take a negative G, but NOT type O negative

I know Gander Mountain and Bass Pro sell Q-Clot bandages.

THANKS! I'll call out to Oprymills and double check, then I will have to make a trip out there.

[LagerHead]

I find the idea of a weak stomached pilot a conundrum.

Weak stomach for blood and wounds only.

I knew a 160th pilot that would pass out whenever he got his shots. There was a guy on my team that was the same. It's funny what scares some people.

Thanks, I've sewn myself several times. Always leaves a prominent scar [i'm not very good] but it doesn't cost a thousand dollars in the ER either [no insurance].

Lidocaine? No, but I will add some to the stores. I wet a washcloth and bite down on it, and flush with a 50% rubbing alcohol. Hurts but I swear later there isn't near as much soreness. I used a cotton swab [NOT A QTIP] one of those individually wrapped wooden stick type. Gently wiped the inside out while looking with a sure fire light. Then I boiled it well with H2O2 and pulled it closed with the stitches.

I don't why, but some people are absolutely amazed that someone will stitch themselves as opposed to having the system do it for you. It's not a tough guy or macho kinda thing. Some people are REALLY going to be in trouble some day. There will be countless numbers of people die from something as simple as this.

Not me. I'm coming to live with you when TSHTF.

[Jasongar8]

Not anymore. Both products deliver results without any exothermic reactions occurring. So no burns.

The second gen. quikclot is still being sold. It contains Zeolite, which produces a exothermic reaction. It is pre-hydrated so it doesn't get as hot as the granular product, but still something to think about.

If you are going to by Quikclot make sure it is Kaolin based third gen. stuff.

[peejman]

Ouch. I like to think that, should the need arise, I could stitch myself up like that. Thankfully, I've never needed to. Given the option, I'll gladly defer to a professional. My biggest fear is not getting the wound clean enough. An infected wound can be far worse than the wound itself. Hope it heals up quickly.

My wife ended up with a staph infection resulting from an encounter with the business end of our dog (her fault, not the dog's). Her howling (again, my wife, not the dog) led me to not do as thorough a job cleaning it as I should have, so it got infected. I guess I'll have to be less caring next time.

[dats82]

In the future, you should not use H2O2 to "boil out" deep wounds. This causes even the healthy and still viable cells to lyse and will prolong your bleeding and healing time. It essentially can increase the necrotic margins of a wound. It is fine to be used with superficial wounds, but I would stay away from it with anything that will require stitches. The alcohol would do just fine.

[Caster]

In the future, you should not use H2O2 to "boil out" deep wounds. This causes even the healthy and still viable cells to lyse and will prolong your bleeding and healing time. It essentially can increase the necrotic margins of a wound. It is fine to be used with superficial wounds, but I would stay away from it with anything that will require stitches. The alcohol would do just fine.

Didn't know that one. What about after the stitches? I've been changing the bandage every 6 hours or so and using peroxide before patting dry with sterile gauze and re-bandaging with a little dab of generic Neosporin. Not to argue or contradict, because I certainly have no proper education the matter, but as of this morning it looks very good. No goo running out, no strange smell, it's only tender right at the wound itself, and the only pain I've had from it [other than bumping into stuff!] is a certain way I stretch out my arm that puts strain the stitches. (Yeah I know, don't stretch my arm that way:))

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Have read that when flushing drained abscesses, H2O2 can sometimes bubble remaining bacteria deeper into the flesh. So if there happened to be bacteria deep in a fresh wound, perhaps it could do the same thing? Dunno.

I'd just as soon pay an emergency room bill and have it done right if an emergency room is available, but for SHTF been collecting some items.

Didn't see any web stores selling suture kits last december, though had seen them previously at places like Cheaper Than Dirt. Am assuming that medical suppliers would require credentials to order such stuff, but never tried. Dunno.

Got a skin stapling kit. Ought to get a couple more sometime, because they are sterile packaged single use only. I suppose in a desperate enough long-term emergency you could use em more than once, but it is awfully difficult to properly sterilize items at home or in the field.

There is this OTC stuff Simply Saline Wound Wash Saline. Little pressurized cans of presumably sterile saline. It sprays out with pretty good force.

Been reading up on disinfectants and antibacterials for minor wounds, emergencies and SHTF. Dunno much. I don't mind paying for expert treatment if it is available. If the wrong random antibiotic-resistant bacteria takes hold in a minor wound, it takes a long time and a lot of money to clear and sometimes it kills you.

Do-it-yerself medicine is a last-resort. Thinking it might be desirable to clean wounds real good from the get-go rather than worry about finding antibiotics later on?

Full strength Chlorox is good for many purposes at various dilutions, from disinfecting surfaces to sterilizing drinking water.

Hibiclens (Chlorhexine Gluconate)-- Sposed to be a good anti-bacterial soap for cleaning hands or wounds.

Isopropyl Alcohol (I get the 91 percent stuff) good for disinfecting, treating boo-boos, even cleaning guns.

H202

Povidone Iodine

Benzalkonium Chloride-- Mercuroclear (with licocaine), Zephiran, Cepacol Mouthwash (cetlpyridinium chloride).

Campho-Phenique (comphorated phenol, or camphorated carbolic acid)-- Good ole redneck Campho-Phenique is sposed to be pretty good for certain stuff. At the very least, the smell will clear yer sinuses.

There are various antibacterial silver compounds but haven't found out enough to know if any would be worth keeping in stock. Silver Sulfadiazine Cream, Silver Nitrate. Health food stores peddle various colloidal silver but I wouldn't trust the advice as to purity or efficacy of that stuff, unless an actual expert would have advice.

Have several kinds of antibiotic and antifungal creams on the shelf.

Any good additions for the above SHTF list? Or should any of the above be deleted as doing more harm than good?

[Mike]

Didn't know that one. What about after the stitches? I've been changing the bandage every 6 hours or so and using peroxide before patting dry with sterile gauze and re-bandaging with a little dab of generic Neosporin. Not to argue or contradict, because I certainly have no proper education the matter, but as of this morning it looks very good. No goo running out, no strange smell, it's only tender right at the wound itself, and the only pain I've had from it [other than bumping into stuff!] is a certain way I stretch out my arm that puts strain the stitches. (Yeah I know, don't stretch my arm that way:))

Hydrogen peroxide will kill the healthy cells trying to rebuild the damage along with any bacteria present, delaying would closure. Stick with the alcohol.

Mike

[Caster]

Hydrogen peroxide will kill the healthy cells trying to rebuild the damage along with any bacteria present, delaying would closure. Stick with the alcohol.

Mike

Okay.

I like alcohol even though it hurts worse during use. I don't know why but if you clean a wound with alcohol and use it to clean when you rebandage, there's almost no soreness during the healing process. My grandfather got me started pouring alcohol on cuts when I was a wee lad. Peroxide gives a feel good effect cause you get to see the chemical reaction.

[dats82]

Okay.

I like alcohol even though it hurts worse during use. I don't know why but if you clean a wound with alcohol and use it to clean when you rebandage, there's almost no soreness during the healing process. My grandfather got me started pouring alcohol on cuts when I was a wee lad. Peroxide gives a feel good effect cause you get to see the chemical reaction.

The majority of the gratifying reaxn is actually killing the good cells. It would work great to clean the blood off your floor. Next time to have a drop of fresh blood, put a couple drops of H2O2 on it; I think it is kinda fun.

[Caster]

The majority of the gratifying reaxn is actually killing the good cells. It would work great to clean the blood off your floor. Next time to have a drop of fresh blood, put a couple drops of H2O2 on it; I think it is kinda fun.

Actually my father used to keep a spray bottle in his hunting pack for that very reason. You can start misting the ground and find very small traces of blood when tracking a animal you shot.

[Guest mikedwood]

Cool you could stitch it yourself. Sorry, but I'm dying to see pictures of the finished product!

[Shorty]

Hydrogen Peroxide is good for cleaning away blood, but I would use something else for real cleaning. I'd have more confidence in reducing infection using Providine Iodine. We used to prep surgical sites with Chlorhexidine Scrub and then coat with Providine Iodine before making the incision. Also used silver nitrate swaps for smaller cuts to stop the bleeding. If the wound isn't huge, super glue (surgical super glue) can be used to close the wound if you don't have the right equipment.

[dats82]

Actually my father used to keep a spray bottle in his hunting pack for that very reason. You can start misting the ground and find very small traces of blood when tracking a animal you shot.

That is a good idea. I'll have to try that.

[dlm37015]

i surevglad my girlfriend is an np