# Emergency Stitches



## Murrel-Maher (Oct 10, 2008)

I've heard that in an emergency situation where you might need stitches, you could use plain old Krazy Glue instead. Have you guys also heard of this method? Is it safe?


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## notagibbon (Oct 10, 2008)

Cyano was actually developed for that exact reason-to treat wounds. It has resurfaced as "New Skin". Works great, but I don't know about severe gashes and wounds. Butterfly bandages are good for smaller ones. Hell, a little gauze and duct tape would work in a pinch.


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## tucanbob (Oct 13, 2008)

As for the glue getting down in your wound I would say only do this if you need a temporary solution also there is usually not enough superglue to fill a large wound without possibly diluting some of the glue with blood to the point that the toxins in it enter the blood stream... You could use lots of cotton balls and something like duct tape could help pull the wound together, there is even bandage tape that is stickier and made of similarly strong material as duct tape. When in doubt about toxicity read the warning label


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## davidbyrne (Oct 13, 2008)

Get some dental floss and a needle


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## NappyRootz (Oct 13, 2008)

I wouldn't suggest it for really deep wounds.


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## Therese (Oct 21, 2008)

*Medical superglue*

We only use it in the ER for superficial stuff. If it's a dirty wound, you don't want to close it up anyway.


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## ke4sky (Oct 21, 2008)

*Tincture of Benzoin and Butterfly Strips!*

This is what we teach our CERTs on bleeding injuries:

Trauma is the leading cause of death for persons aged 1-44 and causes more deaths annually in the U.S. than all diseases combined. The average EMS response time from report of injury to EMS arrival on the scene is 6-8 minutes; average on-scene treatment time is 30-40 minutes, and average transport time to hospital is 8-10 minutes.

Death from trauma:

Phase 1 minutes, irrepairable damage to vital organs

Phase 2 hours,	crush injuries, rapid bleed-out from internal injuries,

Phase 3 days,	systematic organ failure from injury-caused infections

Bleeding injuries and Shock - the "Killers"

Rapid loss of perfusion: - Blanch test nail bed > 2 secs.

Head or spinal cord injury causes blood vessel dilation drops BP

Chest injuries

Major bleeds

Abdominal injuries

Handle GENTLY, elevate feet, keep warm, direct pressure, pressure point
Prevent secondary infection, irrigate only, apply dressing, bandage

The FDA approved Emergency Bandage is designed to staunch blood flow from traumatic hemorrhagic wounds in pre-hospital emergency situations. 
It consolidates primary dressing, pressure applicators, secondary dressing and (if necessary) tourniquet, into one unit and is designed to be easily and quickly applied by non-medical personnel for immediate, accelerated hemorrhage control. See the URL:

Emergency Bandage - First Care Products

*Do not attempt suturing an open wound unless you have been trained to do so and have actually practiced it*. Good suturing is an acquired skill which requires practice and not easily done "on the fly" without having learned. Military field units no longer hand suture, but apply an aerosol wound gel and use a surgical "stapler" to close large lacerations. (_I have been trained by my doctor how to use a medical stapler, have used used one on myself, and also have the scars to show for it_).

*There are few lacerations which cannot be closed adequately with butterfly strips, after liberal application of tincture of benzoin around the wound edges, so that the adhesive tape will "stick." * _Avoid use of benzoin near the eyes!_

*Infection is always a risk in any field environment. *So while you want to close gaping wounds, they must be able to drain and to be periodically irrigated and cleaned while they are healing.

*If severe bleeding is an issue a pressure bandage handles most.*
If you don't have the military issue wound compress in your CERT kit, carry sanitary napkins and duct tape you can improvise with.

Level III CERT personnel who have completed their training are issued military type wound compresses and Z-Medica First Response packets. These are a lifesaver.

Z-Medica which produces Quik-Clot sells only to trained medical personnel, because the material produces an exothermic reaction in the presence of moisture and some precautions are needed to prevent burns which could exaerbate the injury.

Online training for serving military personnel and first responders is available at the URL: Welcome to Z-Medica Web Site

For product purchasing information go to the URL:

QuikClot - ON SALE

Celox is a UK-produced competitor product which is also FDA-approved, does not cause an exothermic reation, has no known side effects or allergic reactions, and is in current use by UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. It can be purchased at military exchanges or Untitled Document without restriction. It requires no special training to use. Just pour it in, pack it, and apply pressure.

Celox


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## lisat (Oct 22, 2008)

*cuts with injury to vein or worse and artery*

If you get a deep cut and it hits a vein or artery and have no access to hospital or medical aid, how do you stop the flow? Will pressure eventually stop this or does the vein or artery have to be clamped or sewn shut?


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## Frank (Oct 23, 2008)

Therese, I would be interested in your response to to the last two posts on this thread.


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## TakDwn (Oct 30, 2008)

lisat said:


> If you get a deep cut and it hits a vein or artery and have no access to hospital or medical aid, how do you stop the flow? Will pressure eventually stop this or does the vein or artery have to be clamped or sewn shut?


The steps to stop an vein or artery from continuing to bleed are:
1. Direct, continuous pressure.
2. Elevate the extremity.
3. Increase the pressure held onto the bleeding site.
4. If not controlled, then tourniquet. ONLY as last resort.

An injury to a vein is under low pressure and shouldn't take but a few minutes to control. Whereas, an artery is under higher pressure and may take much longer and greater patients to control. Either way, the steps are still the same. I'll add that keeping the person or limb immobile will help control the area that is bleeding. The vein or artery does NOT have to be clamped or sewn shut.

The body is an incredible organism and will attempt to repair itself. The body will work to clot off the vessle that is bleeding, and reform the vessle wall that is cut/lacerated. This process begins immediately after an injury, but may take time before you're able to notice.


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## ke4sky (Oct 21, 2008)

*Quik Clot Advanced Clotting Sponge*



lisat said:


> If you get a deep cut and it hits a vein or artery and have no access to hospital or medical aid, how do you stop the flow? Will pressure eventually stop this or does the vein or artery have to be clamped or sewn shut?


QuikClot ACS™is used upon determination that conventional methods, such as direct pressure and compression bandage have been inadequate to stop bleeding. Fluid molecules are adsorbed by the QuikClot ACS™material. This causes rapid localized coagulation and the formation of a stable blood clot in a variety of wounds. This has been issued to every US Marine ground combatant and has proven a life-saving intervention.

Manual pressure for three minutes is best, then apply pressure dressing, remembering to keep the gauze between your hand and the QuikClot ACS™.

If situation does not allow for manual pressure, apply pressure dressing directly over the roll of gauze.

When transporting a casualty do not remove bandage or QuikClot ACS™.
If able to loosen tourniquet with no re-bleeding, do so and leave it around the patient's limb.

Medivac as soon as possible.
Make sure empty pack is attached to or sent with casualty.
Removal instructions are on the back of the QuikClot ACS™pack.


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## Molon Labe (Nov 6, 2008)

Please see this thread regarding Hemostatic Agents and Tourniquets. It's long, but pack with good evidence based medicine.

The brief overview for bleeding
Direct Pressure
If not controlled with Direct Pressure and the wound is an extremity then go to a Tourniquet. Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support guidelines no longer recommend pressure points or elevation as there is no evidence that these work and you may be wasting precious time. (Femoral Artery injury can bleed you out in as fast as 3 minutes)
If injury not amenable to a tourniquet such as a high femoral artery injury then go to a hemostatic agent.

The thread above goes into more detail with links to articles and studies.

Take Care


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## ke4sky (Oct 21, 2008)

*Thanks for the update.*

Good info is more recent that what I have. Thanks again!


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