self stitching your wound

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Melonfish

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 8, 2009
2,460
1
Warrington, UK
Holy Crap batman! As someone that had it done under local anaesthesia I can vouch for how tough injecting yourself in each testicle must be. If you're thinking about it lads go general. That needle goes DEEP in each one, it doesn't just wing it!

Lol, there's a reason why a large percentage of people only get "half" a vasectomy.
first they stick a needle into your scrotum to numb the skin, then they stick a needle through that into your Vas Deferens just above the epididimis. after they've completed the procedure on one side (including cauterising the tissue) they proceed to the OTHER side and start over..

SWMBO had to go sit down cause SHE almost fainted... :lmao:

thats the second time i've had local, first time was toenail removals when i was younger, i remember the nurse doing it said they have to yearly inject themselves on "refresher" courses to understand the pain or something.

next time i have anything done that needs a local i'm having gas & air instead.
 
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JohnC

Full Member
Jun 28, 2005
2,624
82
62
Edinburgh
.....
thats the second time i've .....

I half read the post and thought "second vasectomy??" :eek: then read the rest.

Ive use steritrips on myself and others, but never sutures, though I've assisted a few times in hospital. I'd be very cautious about trying it on myself..
 

Wildpacker

Member
Feb 25, 2005
44
0
UK
Only thing I can add to this is that I once cut the fleshy part of my arm very deep and clean. I put three stitches in it using a normal sewing needle and thread. No big deal and it healed fine. Two biggest problems were pushing the needle through and tying the knots. I used a matchbox to help with the first and teeth the second. I wasn't able to push the needle through with just my fingers. I suppose I could have just put a dressing on it, but it would have opened up every time I changed it - and I don't usually carry that many dressings anyway. As it was all it needed was a plaster over it afterwards. I carry lots of them...
But in general I agree with the basic principle of not going beyond your ability/knowledge horizons.
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,422
614
Knowhere
The only reason I can see for stitching a wound is to stop it opening when you move about, if you tape it up firmly enough everything should hold together long enough to get it to an expert.
 

lannyman8

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 18, 2009
4,005
3
Dark side of the Moon
put 3 stiches in my thumb once after i sliced it open with a 12" chefs knife in the field kitchen. awsome did the job but as before its tough to get through the skin and tie. id have used gause or tape if we had any but shock our first aid kit had been ravaged from the last exercise.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
KOA from the US site is spot on (he should be, he's a Surgeon). IMHO that video should be removed from youtube as its advocating bad practise.
 
Hmmm, personally I hate needles, we have to do injection training as part of the mountain rescue cascare qualification, and our medical officer is very keen on us knowing how to inject IM, which means that this year I've had needles stuck in me 4 times more than I needed to.

Now, to sew yourself up would require cojones the size of melons and the tolerance to pain only seen in specialist S&M websites.

Not for me, and not for about 99% of people out there I'm sure

IMHO you're never that far away from an accident and emergency department in the UK, so follow the advice given of elevate the wound and apply pressure, then seek medical help. Let the experts deal with it, they've read books and practiced on oranges to do it, and wear white coats too.

The only bit of advice given to me about suturing is in scalp wounds, where you can lose a frightening amount of blood, as well as scaring the hell out of anyone who's had one. If the wound is clean then a suture can be put in to try to stop/control the bleeding. Interestingly some of the older books recommend using the patient's own hair to pull the edges of the wound together(wouldn't work on me as I'm a baldy bugger!)

Did I mention that I hate needles?
 

sandsnakes

Life Member
May 22, 2006
983
13
68
West London
I have done it with super glue for deep cuts, worked like a dream. Needle is going to be dodgy if you a right hander and you have cut your right hand!

As for the Vas, let me tell you the tale of mine when we are the moot and you have had a glass or two. To give you a taster the surgeons glasses fell off and he had been drinking!


Sandsnakes
 
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trewornan

Member
Sep 24, 2005
17
0
UK
As a yachtsman I'm aware of some of my friends who've had training to do simple suturing in an emergency. Now if you're doing trans-oceanic sailing and possibly weeks away from help I think that makes sense however I cannot imagine a situation in which a bushcrafter or hiker would need to do this. It's utterly ridiculous to even consider it when a hospital is available in relatively trivial traveling time.
 
3

320

Guest
...when a hospital is available in relatively trivial traveling time.

there lies the problem.

the closest hospital of any consequence is 90 miles (in any direction) away from my playground. smaller clinics and doctor's offices may or may not be open on a saturday or sunday. it's a mile to marginal cell phone coverage.

i was born a klutz. i've stopped arterial bleeding with pressure wraps on more than one occasion. both on me and the dogs (usually barbed wire). superficial, but deep, wounds that would have required stitches have been reduced to annoyances with super glue.

i think it's important to have an option for first aid. the distance to care isn't always the line on the map, the time and the ability to travel that line can be the daunting part.
 

wattsy

Native
Dec 10, 2009
1,111
3
Lincoln
i just clean it then pinch it together, superglue the top let it dry then let go. its always worked fine for me but it can leave sizeable scars
 
L

LordRose

Guest
I very much doubt I could stitch myself up, I cut a very small slice off the end of my finger at work about a year ago and that almost made me pass out. Think Id just wrap it up as tight as possible and hope that I dont get a blood clot if it was that serious.
 

Brown Bear

Forager
May 12, 2009
129
0
Cambridge
Adhesive sutres require a lot less skill (and pain) and will close a wound well until it can be properly stitched. I used some on my knee after a big MTB wreck miles from anywhere. I went to an A&E about 8 hiurs later and they didn't even need to stitch.
 

Arri

Tenderfoot
Jan 10, 2010
68
0
Bucks, UK
Adhesive sutres require a lot less skill (and pain) and will close a wound well until it can be properly stitched. I used some on my knee after a big MTB wreck miles from anywhere. I went to an A&E about 8 hiurs later and they didn't even need to stitch.

I try to keep an 8pack of Steri Strips with my FAK. I find them more reliable than Butterfly stitches. Micropore tape will also do the trick for small knife/axe cuts like the one from that Youtube video.

I also keep the following (for my small FAK) to help with cuts:

* Tea tree oil
* Aloe vera gel
* Savlon dry antiseptic (spray)
* Spray plaster (smells like superglue, acts like superglue but it ain't a toxic superglue then again I'm pretty sure it's not as strong although it's very elastic)

and I want to add Betadine if/when I find it in the UK...
 

wattsy

Native
Dec 10, 2009
1,111
3
Lincoln
I try to keep an 8pack of Steri Strips with my FAK. I find them more reliable than Butterfly stitches. Micropore tape will also do the trick for small knife/axe cuts like the one from that Youtube video.

I also keep the following (for my small FAK) to help with cuts:

* Tea tree oil
* Aloe vera gel
* Savlon dry antiseptic (spray)
* Spray plaster (smells like superglue, acts like superglue but it ain't a toxic superglue then again I'm pretty sure it's not as strong although it's very elastic)

and I want to add Betadine if/when I find it in the UK...

lol all that stuff you mentioned stings like a bitch. i was going to buy some of that spray plaster then i saw how much it was. it'd better grow fingers back for that much
 

Arri

Tenderfoot
Jan 10, 2010
68
0
Bucks, UK
lol all that stuff you mentioned stings like a bitch. i was going to buy some of that spray plaster then i saw how much it was. it'd better grow fingers back for that much

The only thing I find that stings like a female dog is surgical spirit but quite honestly I find that short sting of pain refreshing, a reminder that I'm still fine.

Aloe vera gel doesn't sting at all, neither does the tea tree oil tbh. Also betadine although povidone-iodine solution doesn't sting that much (if at all).
Either that or I'm used to them :p

6 quid for 30ml of sterile superglue might sound a bit steep but I have found it to be my personal favourite than mucking about with plasters, finding the right size, and trying to remove the packaging while bleeding. :)
 
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