Cauterising wounds

[Dropship]

I'm sure we're all grateful to hollywood for showing us how to do it in 'The Revenant'-

1/2- pack gunpowder into the wound
3/4 - and ignite it

 

[Amish Heart]

Well, ok. There's better things you can use in this day and age.
How are you prepped for first aid?
Super glue is good to have in your first aid supplies. I have personally glued 2 fingertips back on and a front tooth veneer.

 

[Acdoctor]

I do sheet metal work all the time and have gotten cut pretty bad, it’s a miracle what you can do with super glue or just plain old duct tape. I have duct taped up may bad cuts over the years long enough to stop the bleeding. use what you got is my motto.

 

[Dropship]

In the fictional TV series 'Survivors 1975' (episode 'A Beginning'), Greg gashes a vein in his arm with a saw (below), they wrap it up at first which seems to help, but later a lady doctor asks for a "needle and thread" so presumably she sewed up or tied off the end of the vein to stop it hosepiping blood?
And how are severed veins/arteries treated if there's no needle and thread or anything else in a "miles from anywhere" situation, do they heal on their own or what?

Pick up the accident at 33:05-

 

[Kevin L]

I am not a physician . . . but just a paramedic, yet I've worked in the aftermath of a few disasters, and there are things to consider.

Everybody is always focused on sewing up a wound, yet this isn't always a good idea . . . especially under austere conditions.

If there are certian kinds of bacteria in the wound (which can be likely, under primative conditions) called "anerobes," then disfiguring, life-threatening conditions can result because air and oxygen can't get in the wound.

Gas gangrene, tetanus, and "wound botulism" are some examples, but there are many others.

Also, burns are extremely susceptible to infection . . . and I assume (but I may be wrong) that the risk of infection from a burn may often be much greater than the risk of infection from the original wound.

Please note that I am not making blanket statements about all wounds under all circumstances. The Vietcong guerillas often used sharpened punjii sticks in booby traps . . . which consisted of sharpened bamboo stakes that were generously treated with an equal-proportion mixture of blood, feces, and chopped-up raw shellfish (and/or chopped-up land snails in lieu of shellfish if shellfish were unavailable for some reason).

If I stepped on something like this and was stabbed with such a punjii stick--and medical was unavailable--I'd probably extensively cauterize the wound in a prompt manner.

There are videos on Youtube by doctors and nurses whom tackle the details of suturing.

Just remember--suturing and cautery can cause more problems than they solve. Research this subject carefully before moving forward.

 

[randolphrowzee]

Plain old electrical tape is my goto for closing wounds, but first you have to bite the bullet and clean the gash thoroughly with clean water and then alcohol. It'll hurt, but much better than lighting it on fire. The electrical tape will pull the wound's edges together, it won't leave a residue like duct tape and it'll seal the wound and stop it from bleeding. I wouldn't go out into the woods without it.

 

[Tactical Lever]

Leonardo DiCaprio is an idiot, and I'd say it to his face. He sure is good at preaching to Albertans about climate change, because he experienced a Chinook for the first time. There are records of extremely warm trends from 100 years ago due to the phenomenon.

I'm sure he has lots to say about the big trucks and SUV that are favored there due to their capabilities, and the responsible oil production as well. When he rents a 300 foot boat to watch a football game, it's just because he's so very important that his preachy opinions don't apply to him. As far as the monkeys that dance for our entertainment in hollyweird go, he's a pretty ok one.

I wouldn't mind watching a movie about the incredible story of Hugh Glass. Thanks to Leo, and the production team thinking that they could make the story better, they butchered a true tale. I saw snippets, but will likely never watch this version. They oughta be strung up by their sacks for ruining it, and slandering the real people that make up the story. Leo could have swayed it back to the real version, but they are so arrogant and dense, that they cannot comprehend doing a faithful recreation.

 

[Tactical Lever]

I am not a physician . . . but just a paramedic, yet I've worked in the aftermath of a few disasters, and there are things to consider.

Everybody is always focused on sewing up a wound, yet this isn't always a good idea . . . especially under austere conditions.

If there are certian kinds of bacteria in the wound (which can be likely, under primative conditions) called "anerobes," then disfiguring, life-threatening conditions can result because air and oxygen can't get in the wound.

Gas gangrene, tetanus, and "wound botulism" are some examples, but there are many others.

Also, burns are extremely susceptible to infection . . . and I assume (but I may be wrong) that the risk of infection from a burn may often be much greater than the risk of infection from the original wound.

Please note that I am not making blanket statements about all wounds under all circumstances. The Vietcong guerillas often used sharpened punjii sticks in booby traps . . . which consisted of sharpened bamboo stakes that were generously treated with an equal-proportion mixture of blood, feces, and chopped-up raw shellfish (and/or chopped-up land snails in lieu of shellfish if shellfish were unavailable for some reason).

If I stepped on something like this and was stabbed with such a punjii stick--and medical was unavailable--I'd probably extensively cauterize the wound in a prompt manner.

There are videos on Youtube by doctors and nurses whom tackle the details of suturing.

Just remember--suturing and cautery can cause more problems than they solve. Research this subject carefully before moving forward.

Cauterizing possibly has a place, but likely not as often and for the types of wounds people think.

Specifically, it's to stop bleeding. More of a nuisance bleed, than an emergency measure, I believe.

Wouldn't try to cauterize something dirty. Pretty easy to not go long enough to kill foreign bodies, but just kind of bake it in there to fester. A cauterized wound will be slow to heal and stitch back together due to the heat damage done and dead flesh with no blood flow. Very likely you would want to debride it after that, which kind of defeats the purpose, and is very traumatic.

The risk of infection from a burn is mainly due to the large surface areas commonly involved in a big one. Of course maybe a very deep one can cause issues with the dead tissue stuck there, unless it's removed.

Personally, I think that for the most part, infection risk from a small, stitchable wound is not a huge deal. Clean it well. Also believe in alcohol or peroxide, though many will say it kills tissue. In the event it did get badly infected, it may have to be opened up again to heal from the inside out. Frequent (sterile) irrigation, and dressing changes.

 

[Acdoctor]

Plain old electrical tape is my goto for closing wounds, but first you have to bite the bullet and clean the gash thoroughly with clean water and then alcohol. It'll hurt, but much better than lighting it on fire. The electrical tape will pull the wound's edges together, it won't leave a residue like duct tape and it'll seal the wound and stop it from bleeding. I wouldn't go out into the woods without it.

That works pretty good but it gets too tight in hot weather .

 

[Illini Warrior]

they did the gunpowder thing on Dual Survival for a minor cut - caught all kinds of shit over that kind of stupidity ....

 

[MOS0231]

Last week my one dog had an abscess that burst sometime during the day. We did not notice it till 2130 (9:30 pm for you non-military/med types).
By that time he had licked it til it was a open wound, 2 inches wide, about 4 inches long on his foreleg joint on the side.
No using super glue or . . . cauterising, the wound.
I dressed it using wet (neosporin +pain relief) to dry 4x4 pad, taped it, then wrapped the whole thing with a ace bandage to keep him from getting to the wound.
Change the dressing twice a day.

I am happy to report the wound is healing quite well.

 

[Dropship]

As regards stitching a wound, I'd probably faint if I had to have it done, so are there any modern alternatives to hold the edges of the wound together apart from stitching?
Why aren't things like this used instead nowadays?-

 

[KateMTx]

As regards stitching a wound, I'd probably faint if I had to have it done, so are there any modern alternatives to hold the edges of the wound together apart from stitching?
Why aren't things like this used instead nowadays?-

Those are often used on smaller wounds (I have put them on my siblings after they busted they busted their foreheads), but in some places and depending on the size and shape of the wound (especially larger ones) they may not work to close the wound very well and stitches or staples are a better option. Superglue is another option for closing small wounds like a small knife wound on a finger or a busted forehead. Also, I'm not a doctor or nurse and don't have more than basic first responder training so get advice from a medical professional before tending your wounds, or don't blame me if they get infected and you die.

 

[Dropship]

Superglue is another option for closing small wounds like a small knife wound on a finger or a busted forehead..

Sounds good, but won't the glue stay in the wound forever as a "foreign body" and perhaps cause complications later on after the wound has healed?

 

[KateMTx]

Sounds good, but won't the glue stay in the wound forever as a "foreign body" and perhaps cause complications later on after the wound has healed?

You don't put the superglue in the wound; it would not stick there and ouch! If I remember correctly (and someone with real medical knowledge please correct me) you put it just on the edges of the skin along the wound (without getting inside) and use that to close the wound quite neatly. As the skin heals and the old skin dies and flakes off (like all your skin eventually does) I guess the superglue falls off too.

 

[Kevin L]

One question about cauterizing wounds has come up . . . and I haven't been able to get an answer.

After SHTF, what about rabid animals that bite?

If medical services are unavailable, is promptly cautetizing a wound from an animal known to be rabid appropriate?

If someone develops symptoms of rabies after SHTF, the only course of action I can think of is euthanasia . . . which is always controversial and ethically suspect.

Does promptly cauterizing a bite prvent rabies?

 

[Dropship]

...Does promptly cauterizing a bite prvent rabies?

I'm not a medic but i'd say it's certainly worth a try considering rabies is nearly always fatal.
But how exactly would we cauterise it, would we hold it over a flame, or "brand" the wound with a hot iron or something?
And if the rabies virus has already entered the the bloodstream perhaps cauterising the site of the wound would have no effect anyway?
Below: This bloke in 'Survivors 1975' (episode 'Mad Dog') was bitten by a dog and starts showing rabies symptoms and knows he's a goner, pick it up at 18:20 where he asks for his rifle to commit suicide-

 

[DrHenley]

Immediate amputation maybe?

 

[Kevin L]

I'm not a medic but i'd say it's certainly worth a try considering rabies is nearly always fatal.
But how exactly would we cauterise it, would we hold it over a flame, or "brand" the wound with a hot iron or something?
And if the rabies virus has already entered the the bloodstream perhaps cauterising the site of the wound would have no effect anyway?
Below: This bloke in 'Survivors 1975' (episode 'Mad Dog') was bitten by a dog and starts showing rabies symptoms and knows he's a goner, pick it up at 18:20 where he asks for his rifle to commit suicide-

I do know that it's a misconception that rabies travels through the bloodstream.

In theory, someone could get a blood transfusion from someone with active rabies, and not get infected (still a horrible idea just on principle), as rabies progresses up the nerves to the central nervous system.

There are instances of people getting rabies from airbourne droplet infection by working in closed spaces with rabid animals, but such cases are exceedingly rare. This has happened with biologists working in bat-infested caves, and there are instances where infants have died from rabies because there were bats living in the ventilation system of a house . . . and the heating ducts opened into the nursery.

So I think cauterization is the way to go after SHTF, but I haven't the slightest idea how deep or how extensive the burning should be. Bites on the face are considered the most dangerous, as the brain is in close proximity . . . so how does one go about aggressively burning someone's face enough to prevent rabies, yet not disfigure the patient any more than necessary? What criteria or guidelines should be used?

These are the questions that I want answers for.

 

[radiogoon]

As regards stitching a wound, I'd probably faint if I had to have it done, so are there any modern alternatives to hold the edges of the wound together apart from stitching?
Why aren't things like this used instead nowadays?-

Unless you have Betadine to "paint" where the steri-strips will attach (it's quite sticky and helps them adhere. We would also use it to attach EKG leads to patients who were profusely sweating.) They don't stay on for more than 24 hours or so. Best with super glue (which is used in many surgical suites these days). Although the medical grade is sterile.