Bandaging Wounds

backlash said:

I have a bunch of sutures, but it would have to be a life or death situation before I used them. Working in a hospital had its benefits. Outdated supplies are not necessarily bad just not usable in a hospital. A lot of that stuff is not returnable to the supplier so it goes into the disposal bin.
I have clotting gauze and tourniquets in several kits, including my range bag and my boat.
As for prepping for the long term event I don't think I would actually survive long term. Too old and not mobile enough, also I will not abandon my family and they are not medically able to last a long time. Sad but realistic truth.
I have read that leaches are used still today to increase blood flow to limbs that have been severed and reattached. Especially fingers. Sometime the old ways were good.

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I know what you mean BackL. Just a couple minutes ago I mentioned this to hubby. We ain't near what we use to be and we won't be running too far if at all either.
I didn't know they still used leeches thats something ,huh?

Sewingcreations15 said:

@Weedygarden Betadine is what doctors recommend to have in our medical kits here. If you go online and look up first responder or survival first aid medical kit you can set up your medical kit from looking up their contents. I just put mine in a large plastic tool box with a plastic insert at the top but you can also use the cantilever tool boxes. Needless to say it is far cheaper to set your own kit up rather than buy one as you have said you can get most of your first aid items in clearance bins. Another cheap way to get first aid kit supplies is to look online and a lot of the medical supply companies that supply hospitals will sell to the public too or your local chemist will usually give you a good discount if you buy by the box too. I order things like wound dressing pads etc in boxes so we always have them here and I have backups once things are used in my medical kit.

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I have been thinking about this. I have long used hydrogen peroxide to disinfect wounds. It is fairly commonly found in our stores, along with rubbing alcohol. I have some in my first aid kit, and in each of my bathrooms. It is fairly inexpensive. I read recently about it having a limited shelf life, but not sure what that is.

VirginPrepper said:

Anyone prepping for a (long lasting) SHTF event. Should figure someone on their team could experience a gunshot wound, or gaping knife wound. You got a "Kit" for that......???

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I have a trauma kit that would work for gunshots and knife wounds as well as vehicle accidents and a plethora of other injuries. Your body can heal itself if you give it the time. That is the trick, to keep alive till the body fixes itself.

Penetrations of the arms and legs are survivable if you don't exsanguinate. Penetrations of the lung are survivable if you can occlude the penetration. Don't forget the exit hole. Heart, liver, and spleen will probably bleed out too quickly. Penetrations of the gut will probably die of infection without an operation.

People are a lot tougher than we think. Modern medicine is very helpful but not all wounds are necessarily fatal even without it. Some basic first aid will do much and a few antibiotics will help the body help itself. While there is life there is hope.

@Weedygarden I also use peroxide which is good for infected wounds with pus as it bubbles up and cleans the wound and rubbing alcohol does the trick too for cleaning. The problem with peroxide is it has a 1 year use by date on it so it can't be kept long term but does work after the use by date I have found.

Also I know that things like dressing pads etc that have a use by date will last longer than specified too and also antibiotics will keep for 5 years after the use by dates too but will loose potency over time (up the dosage people if that is the case), information given by a doctor friend who is also a prepper who shall remain nameless.

Yes @VirginPrepper I have sutures and injectable pain relief also I can administer in my kit. The kit we have will deal with pretty much everything and our doctor friend also looked over the kit and advised us on how to build it and what to have. I am also an ex nurse, DH field trained medical in the army (think sucking chest wounds), speaking on that keep cling wrap in your medical kits too.

As stated previously by @Caribou the body has a great ability to heal itself and with basic first aid most things can be dealt with. Keeping wounds clean and keeping antibiotics in a SHTF scenario will save your life.

One of things in my kit is "vet wrap", in some cases it's better than tape Also have a skin stapler and staple remover for the things that won't close with strips.

Hydrogen peroxide should never be used in deep wounds. It retards healing and destroys viable tissue. Clean deep wounds with saline or liquid soap and water and then flush with saline.
If an artery is severed you have two choices; you either block it or reattach it. If you are good enough to reattach an artery you should be a surgeon. If you have to block it try to only block the one artery that is damaged using a pressure point bandage rather than a tourniquet. The tourniquet will block all the arteries and necessitate amputation of the limb. That is better than bleeding out but if you can block just the one artery there are usually secondary arteries that will maintain blood flow beyond the damaged area. It is not always possible but you should consider if it is.
At least limited trauma kits should be a part of your disaster medical kit. I make my own using what is available as long as it is sterile and functional. I have always kept a selection of needles and nylon monofilament to serve dual purpose for stitches or sewing and fishing. I have also kept darning thread for stitches as it is easier to tie a holding knot. The drawback is that it is absorbent and may support bleeding or cause removal problems due to clotting on the thread.

Yes you are right on peroxide retarding healing too @SheepDog on deep wounds but peroxide is especially good on seafood wounds especially prawn stabbings (yes I worked in a seafood shop) so peroxide has it's purpose for shallow wounds or seafood injuries. I tend to use mainly saline for cleaning wounds and use betadine for deep wounds such as ulcers, boils and operated on cysts etc. Tourniquets can only be used for a limited time before it does some serious damage to the circulatory system but preferable to bleeding out until more professional help is available, such as shark bites etc.

With severe bleeding too elevating the body part above the heart will slow down bleeding as will applying pressure. With severed arteries treat like a sucking wound and elevate and put dressing pad on and a sheet of plastic over the area and pressure bandage over the top. We regularly did this in the butcher shop when people missed the meat and slipped and got a body part such as groin, arms etc.

Betadine and iodine can also be useful for swabbing around the outside of a would for making dressings stick better too.

I know I have told this before but I will again.
My brother is a dialysis patient. His fistula ruptured and he was squirting blood everywhere. The first time direct pressure stopped the blood but the second time direct pressure did not.
The EMT finally used a BP cuff pumped up as far as it would go and that stopped the bleeding.
He said he had done tours in Afghanistan and never seen someone bleed that much and live.
We now keep a manual BP cuff handy even tho we use an automatic machine to actually check our blood pressure.
The first time it happened the ER doc used glue to close the rupture. The second, and hopefully last time, they did surgery and replaced his fistula. This was the first time. The bathroom where it started was worse. I had to replace the wall.

Yikes, backlash! I had no idea what a fistula is, so I found it on Wikipedia.

A fistula is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow organs. Fistulas are usually caused by injury or surgery, but they can also result from an infection or inflammation.
Fistula - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula

Electrical tape works well without pulling up hairs.

His fistula was surgically made so they can use it to do his dialysis.
An AV fistula is a connection between an artery and a vein. For this procedure, an AV fistula is surgically created using an artery and a vein in your arm. (Your healthcare provider will let you know if another site is to be used.) When the artery and vein are joined, blood flow increases from the artery into the vein. As a result, the vein gets bigger over time. The enlarged vein provides easier access to the blood for a treatment for kidney failure (dialysis). This sheet explains the procedure and what to expect.
https://www.saintlukeskc.org/health-library/arteriovenous-av-fistula-dialysis

backlash said:

I know I have told this before but I will again.
My brother is a dialysis patient. His fistula ruptured and he was squirting blood everywhere. The first time direct pressure stopped the blood but the second time direct pressure did not.
The EMT finally used a BP cuff pumped up as far as it would go and that stopped the bleeding.
He said he had done tours in Afghanistan and never seen someone bleed that much and live.
We now keep a manual BP cuff handy even tho we use an automatic machine to actually check our blood pressure.
The first time it happened the ER doc used glue to close the rupture. The second, and hopefully last time, they did surgery and replaced his fistula. This was the first time. The bathroom where it started was worse. I had to replace the wall.View attachment 11182 View attachment 11181

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Holy cow! Looks like a tv murder scene.

@backlash yes it can create quite a mess but glad the doctors could stop the bleeding. Ruptured arteries and veins will have a similar effect and looks like a fountain. Definitely not a pretty scene.

In my search for better bandages, I found antibacerial ones. They are like any other bandaid, but clear. The antibacterial agent is benzalkonium chloride. The ones I found are Kroger brand. I put one on yesterday and they stick well. These are great. I will not throw out my not so good bandages, but really, finding superior products can make a difference. If I were on a 500 mile walk SHTF, these might help prevent an infection. I have some in my purse first aid kit now.

Just found the antibacterial ones here too @Weedygarden so we will have to give them a try too.

Sewingcreations15 said:

Just found the antibacterial ones here too @Weedygarden so we will have to give them a try too.

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I saw some at my local Safeway as well. They run about 10 cents a piece. I am going to make sure I have tape to help the not so good ones stay on if and when I were to run out of the better ones.