Tuesday, May 11, 2010

How to Care for Wounds

What would you do if the medical system collapsed and you got hurt? You'd need to know how to treat wounds and avoid infections. The short form is:

  • Stop bleeding by direct pressure
  • Clean it with hydrogen peroxide, mild soap and water, or by pressure washing it with a syringe
  • Pack it with sterile gauze and bandage; don't suture
It's worth reading the rest, and the comments, if you want to be prepared for emergencies.

2 comments:

Lux Mentis said...

The more a wound bleeds, the less likely it is to infect.

Using cloth to cover a wound that needs a non-adherent dressing can be bad. Cloth fibers can get into the wound and be a source of contamination.

If you have a bad wound on an extremity and you can't get the blood flow staunched with direct pressure, keep the pressure on and immerse the foot in a bucket of cold or iced water. That will help the direct pressure and you may be able to get the wound to stop bleeding.

Saline solution is probably a good enough wound wash and antiseptic for many cases.

If you get somebody with a serious wound, hydration becomes key quickly as it helps stave off shock. It helps if you can apply intravenous fluids, that's one of the first thing paramedics will do in a lot of cases.

Superglue was designed for use on skin. You can glue shut wounds (I've done it while model building). However, hardware store superglue is not medical grade, so that's a bit of a risky plan unless you have the medical grade superglue.(Cyanoacrylate)

Elevate a bleeding limb while applying direct pressure and that will also help staunch blood flow.

There's my bits of wisdom.

Anonymous said...

...more importantly; what are you going to do if you don't happen to have your 'fully stocked' first aid kit with you when the shit hits the fan?

Make sure you got your ingenuity on you at all times, I'd think. And a really sharp knife, in case you have to suck poison out of something.

For Pete's sakes!