Suture Kit

[muskeg]

I buy my MD stuff from Havel's the same company that makes the Piranta Knife ...

http://www.havels.com/sutures---suture-needles.html

[EagleRiverDee]

...You know.....you seem really nice....(REALLY nice)...-but;- I think I did just fine.... with taking an educated foresight and gamble; with having an unattended home birth in Seward, August 2nd 2005.....ONLY: WHAT WAS I THINKING????..-SHEEP SEASON????!--

I am nice.

And if you want to try hair for stitches, go for it. It just didn't seem like the right material to me, but clearly you know more about it.

[EagleRiverDee]

I clean the wound with colloidial silver and close it with super glue. It works every time and every where.I have never seen ill effects and the super glue holds just long enough to let the skin heal . There have even been products that were called liquid bandaid that work quite the same.
It is quicker safer and easier than any other method. the super glue is easily gotten and a fresh container is always in my pack. the colloidial silver is easy to make , or you can get it from a health food store. internally or externally it is the most effective anti biotic I have ever used .every thing heals faster. As a mechanic you get cut all the time so I have had lots of practice with every thing else on the market. but when a friend of mine introduced me to the silver I was more than convinced.

Most superglues have a shelf life and a sensitivity to temperature extremes. Do you know on the medical grade superglues what their limitations are? I'm curious.

[aksheephuntress]

Most superglues have a shelf life and a sensitivity to temperature extremes. Do you know on the medical grade superglues what their limitations are? I'm curious.

....you're not a bowhunter, are you...........

??

[EagleRiverDee]

....you're not a bowhunter, are you...........

??

Eh...no...did I miss something? I thought this was a general discussion on safety and survival gear? Was there something wrong with the way I asked my question?

[brav01]

As a person trained in the use of sutures, there are many factors to consider about suturing.
Sutures and a needle are nearly useless without a set of forceps to hold the needle with. The needle becomes very slick when covered with blood and holding it with the bare hands becomes nearly impossable .
The next is flesh is very pliable and it is hard to push a needle through skin without a set of thumb forceps to grasp it with and help with the alignment of the tissue. A pair of 3x2 rat tooth thumb forceps (thumbies) will suffice for this job.
Most sutures are put in a interrupted pattern; one stitch tie and cut. So to do the cutting you need a pair of scissors. This is where a pair of Olsen Hagers forceps comes in, it has both scissors and needle forceps on one instrument.
Suture knot tension is a major priority as if the knot is too tight the tissue will swell and the sutures will physically hurt.The knot tension also has to allow for swelling of the area due to trauma.
You NEVER suture a wound closed that has not been cleaned unless you want an infection. Puncture wounds are the worst about infections if closed without flushing with anti septics.
There are many types of suture material, cat gut and silk have been around for years but may not be the best choices because they are a wicking type of material and may allow moisture and other particles to wick through the suture cuts into the wound. ETHICON is a better choice it is more expensive though.
Choose several different size and radius for your needles and get them pre strung with the suture crimped on the needle. I prefer a cutting needle as it is faster and offers less resistence in field use, It slides through the holes easier. The more O's the suture material has in it's description the finer material it will be. OOOO is finer than OO.
Surgical staplers are much faster and easier to operate. They come in a sterile package and really you should use a pair of thumbies to hold the tissue in alingment while your stapleing. They come in different quantities and the max most people should carry is a 25 staple gun. Carry 2 or more guns if you think you'll have a lot of problems. Because when they are opened they are designed as a single use item and everything unused is supposed to be discarded as surgical Haz-mat waste ( it's got blood in the jaws). Downside to staplers is they are about a buck a staple.

There is a medical grade of tissue adhesive, it come in a vial and is dispensed with a syringe onto the skin and the tissue held in apposition with a set of forceps until it sets in a few seconds.

This all hurts, so Lidacaine would be helpful.

This isn't everything about sutures you'll ever need to know just some info you might need to know. LUCK

[TMA]

A better option is a stapler. These are available to the general public through vet suppliers. A suture tray is actually a "prescription" item, plus they are bulky and require some training and practice to use correctly. And unless you're going to carry some lidocaine or similar to numb the wound, putting in sutures will be a torture that makes waterboarding look like great fun. And sewing on yourself would be very difficult, if not impossible, for most people.

A stapler is very compact and lightweight and has enough staples in it to close up some very sizable wounds. While it will still hurt, inserting staples is a fairly quick operation that will be done with in short order. You just line up the edges of the cleaned wound, press the tip of the stapler to the skin and squeeze the lever. You can do it to yourself if you need to.

You can use the stapler as a temporary solution to close a wound for an extended transport to a hospital to get it taken care of correctly. The hospital has the special staple remover and can quickly open the wound back up to do a good, sterile cleaning and then close it up correctly with sutures.

Staplers are also very cheap. You can find them online for about $10-20 each. The vets use the exact same thing that the doc at the hospital uses.

I agree wholeheartedly with Scott on this one. A stapler is quick and easy and you have a much better chance of using it on yourself than sutures. If youve ever seen them, you'll be sold. There is an assortment on ebay for under $20.

[6XLeech]

...NEVER suture a wound closed that has not been cleaned unless you want an infection...

Brav01's statement makes sense. Why take an open, draining wound and turn it into a closed, festering abscess...which will need to be opened for drainage?

Like Vince, I've used super glue after soap & water on relatively clean, shallow wounds. My plan for more serious wounds:

1. Prevention
2. Control hemorrhage.
3. Clean to wound, minimize risk of infection
4. Find a source for antibiotics and maybe tetanus shot

Additional info:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-cuts/FA00042
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fir...wounds/FA00014

[hre814]

I would be hesitant to close some wounds in the wilderness. At home is a different story. If the wound is a huge gash, then suturing can help. If it is a simple laceration, I would clean it and dress the wound. If you have suture or stapler you can approximate the edges but still leave them open a bit to allow for drainage if an infection starts. Infection is your biggest concern.

I would not glue wounds in the wilderness when they haven't been cleaned well. You're sealing the wound off from oxygen and not allowing for adequate drainage should an infection start.

Unless the wound is on your face, I would just clean and dress the wound, unless really large. A scar will form, but that is minimal compared to an infection that starts up and could lead to a lot worse.

Any puncture wound should be left open, as they are normally deeper than conventional lacerations and have a higher incidence of infection.

[Arleigh]

while I don't have the information to say all super glue is appropreate, I can say this .
a. It has never irritated my skin nor that of others I have introduced it to.
b.There is virtually no scar.
c. unlike suchures or staples,one is not creatinbg new wounds to the already traumatized area.
d.the application there of does not inflict great pain. ( a sting only)
e.it is cheaper.
f. available
g. simple
h. fast. and time is every thing
If the wound was very deep with profuce bleeding and it is likely that professional attention is going to be required, to me the better field fix is tape, prefeberabily athletic or medical grade. best you are going to do is slow the bleeding, and refir to standard first aid practices.
In the bush, if blood loss is significant, keep the blood soaked fabricks out of the wind, especially in bear or cat country. Which is why I recomend that women, during their cycle, should not venture into the wild with out making that considderation. Animals ,especially search and rescue dogs can track bodies even under snow and water. It should be no supprize that other preditors can do the same. The smell of blood is like a double yellow line with reflectors on the highway.

[sea_goin_dude]

Just an idea or two here. Almost any needle (sewing) set you buy has those curved upolstery needles that can be used in an emergency. Also if you dont have any of the butterfly stitches (bandages) you can use duct tape. It will hold very well and much better than adhesive tape. Just clean the wound and apply betadine or something similar. Pull/push the edges together as neatly as you can then cover with a steril gauze bandage, to keep the wound clean and permit some air to get to it. Also keeps the duct tape from touching the wound itself. You should already have duct tape in your emerg.. bag. Duct tape and wd-40,,,,,,,,,, if it needs to move and won't use the WD-40, If it is moving and in not supposed to, use the duct tape. ;-)

[AKBEE]

I agree with what Bravo1 and others have said about suturing and staplers. As an advanced nurse practitioner I also am trained to suture and I carry a stapler, a small variety of sutures, dermabond, betadine, and lidocaine with syringes and needles when I am out and about (in addition to tape and bandages). I have had to suture a buddy on a hunt once, as well as suture myself (not fun). Suturing in the field is much different than in a nice clean clinic or ER and I will caution that most bleeding can be controlled with proper pressure and a good dressing will go a long way- especially when covered with duct tape. Dermabond is a great product that flexes so it allows for closure over joints unlike super glue. Above all keep it clean before trying to close anything! Stay safe.
BEE

[sea_goin_dude]

Just an idea or two here. Almost any needle (sewing) set you buy has those curved upolstery needles that can be used in an emergency. Also if you dont have any of the butterfly stitches (bandages) you can use duct tape. It will hold very well and much better than adhesive tape. Just clean the wound and apply betadine or something similar. Pull/push the edges together as neatly as you can then cover with a steril gauze bandage, to keep the wound clean and permit some air to get to it. Also keeps the duct tape from touching the wound itself. You should already have duct tape in your emerg.. bag. Duct tape and wd-40,,,,,,,,,, if it needs to move and won't use the WD-40, If it is moving and in not supposed to, use the duct tape. ;-)

If using the duct tape to hold a cut together as I suggested, after covering the cut with a steril bandage put another bandage rolled up on top of the wound over the regular bandage, then put the duct tape on as before, just line the edges of the wound up as close possible and pull them together. the rolled up bandage will allow more air to get to the wound and help with the healing.

[sea_goin_dude]

Great place for suture kits and if you add hemostats or needle nose plyers you are set for emergencies.

http://www.ad-surgical.com/med-sutures-nylonAD.html