Ach spit a bit of whiskey on the wound and drink the rest!
Disinfectant, analgesic and dance stimuli in one hit!
Disinfectant, analgesic and dance stimuli in one hit!
The importance of disinfectant
- Thread starter mrcharly
- Start date
Salt solution is great for killing things. My doctor told me that a 6% solution (60 grammes per litre) will kill almost anything.
Personally I wash cuts, grazes and other minor bleeding injuries with soap and water, and then bandage/stickingplaster them to keep them clean and functional if necessary. Things do seem to heal better if they're allowed to breathe more easily, but anything more than a very minor cut needs the cut surfaces to be held together for about five days to knit together properly.
When I'm out and about I always carry alcohol (meths or similar) for lighting stoves and fires and I'll use that to sterilize things if I have to. It doesn't matter if it evaporates, you can keep dripping a bit more on to keep it wet for a minute or two which is probably all the time needed to kill the bugs.
Some people are more likely to suffer from an infection than others. You need to get to know how good your body is at fighting off attack. I'm allergic to staph. aureus, that's why I like to have something handy like soap or alcohol to clean damaged bits of me. I know how to recognize the signs of an infection and can take appropriate action so I don't have to go to hospital.
Personally I wash cuts, grazes and other minor bleeding injuries with soap and water, and then bandage/stickingplaster them to keep them clean and functional if necessary. Things do seem to heal better if they're allowed to breathe more easily, but anything more than a very minor cut needs the cut surfaces to be held together for about five days to knit together properly.
When I'm out and about I always carry alcohol (meths or similar) for lighting stoves and fires and I'll use that to sterilize things if I have to. It doesn't matter if it evaporates, you can keep dripping a bit more on to keep it wet for a minute or two which is probably all the time needed to kill the bugs.
Some people are more likely to suffer from an infection than others. You need to get to know how good your body is at fighting off attack. I'm allergic to staph. aureus, that's why I like to have something handy like soap or alcohol to clean damaged bits of me. I know how to recognize the signs of an infection and can take appropriate action so I don't have to go to hospital.
A few years ago when we were on holiday in Canada i had a very bad cut on my hand that i had a plaster on , my wife's Canadian aunt told me to take the plaster off and
gave me some Calendula cream it healed the cut in 3 days . all i did was put cream on it every couple of hours or when it looked dry .
http://www.planetbotanic.ca/fact_sheets/Calendula.htm
I'm not saying that i am one for weird herbal remedies but it works for me !
Craig...............
gave me some Calendula cream it healed the cut in 3 days . all i did was put cream on it every couple of hours or when it looked dry .
http://www.planetbotanic.ca/fact_sheets/Calendula.htm
I'm not saying that i am one for weird herbal remedies but it works for me !
Craig...............
Like all the best answers....'it depends'.
Is blood loss an issue?
If the real issue is blood loss then that is the priority. As others have said infection will take a lot longer to kill you than blood loss so with severe bleeding the priority is to stop the bleed. If all you have is an oily wrag to apply the pressure the by all means do so. They can give you powerful antibiotics at hospital, but only if you get that far.
Can I keep the wound clean?
If you can keep the wound clean then clean it with antiseptic. Antispetics are not discriminatory and will not only remove bad bactieria but also the good bacteria that lives on your skin and is part of your immune system. Scrubbing a wound clean will present an open portal for infection to get in so if you can guarantee the wound can stay clean then clean it. If you can't guarantee the wound can stay clean (and bleeding is not an issue) then simple clean water will suffice until you can get home and properly treat it.
Worry about the big stuff not the little stuff.
Is blood loss an issue?
If the real issue is blood loss then that is the priority. As others have said infection will take a lot longer to kill you than blood loss so with severe bleeding the priority is to stop the bleed. If all you have is an oily wrag to apply the pressure the by all means do so. They can give you powerful antibiotics at hospital, but only if you get that far.
Can I keep the wound clean?
If you can keep the wound clean then clean it with antiseptic. Antispetics are not discriminatory and will not only remove bad bactieria but also the good bacteria that lives on your skin and is part of your immune system. Scrubbing a wound clean will present an open portal for infection to get in so if you can guarantee the wound can stay clean then clean it. If you can't guarantee the wound can stay clean (and bleeding is not an issue) then simple clean water will suffice until you can get home and properly treat it.
Worry about the big stuff not the little stuff.
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Possibly a stupid question, but do antiseptics damage healthy normal (not bacterial) cells? I know peroxide does, and that's one reason why it isn't used anymore.
I don't know about damaging healthy cells; Hydrogen Peroxide, as well as an antiseptic, disolves clotted blood so was often used on head wounds where the hair gets all matted into the wound but the oxidation that occurs can increase scaring and delay healing. There has also been a move away from Idoine for minor wounds (povidone-iodine is OK), again for the increased scaring and delayed healing time. Both practices have been replaced with clean, soapy water.
A recent report i read (can't find the link but will dig it out if anyone is interested) stated somewhere in the region of 40% of surface bacteria is removed with soapy water alone.
A recent report i read (can't find the link but will dig it out if anyone is interested) stated somewhere in the region of 40% of surface bacteria is removed with soapy water alone.
So - skip spittig whisky into the wound and just drink the lot!
Analgesia and no dancing or waste of good whisky...I knew I attended class 1st aid courses!
Bit of confusion over terminology.
Disinfectants are what you clean floors and trolleys with, eg, bleach. Too caustic to use on tissue.
Antiseptics are used to kill bacteria on living tissue.
Alcohol is good on intact skin but doesn't kill spore forming bacteria (tetanus/anthrax/C. diff) reliably.
Chlorhexidine is commonly used in hospitals on broken skin.
Cleaning a contaminated wound is often a lengthy business involving bright lights, scrubbing brushes and local anaesthetics. Generally we do not close penetrating or dirty wounds like animal bites.
Disinfectants are what you clean floors and trolleys with, eg, bleach. Too caustic to use on tissue.
Antiseptics are used to kill bacteria on living tissue.
Alcohol is good on intact skin but doesn't kill spore forming bacteria (tetanus/anthrax/C. diff) reliably.
Chlorhexidine is commonly used in hospitals on broken skin.
Cleaning a contaminated wound is often a lengthy business involving bright lights, scrubbing brushes and local anaesthetics. Generally we do not close penetrating or dirty wounds like animal bites.
You only have to google 'what should i use to clean my new piercing' to realise thats a big ol' can of worms!
Ive had a number of piercings over the years and a number of piercers, and everyone of them has told me to use something different, because 'such and such' kills the healthy skin cells and stops it from healing. Amongst this advice ive been told not to use mouth wash after i had my tongue pierced, and salt water will 'burn' my cartilage piercing. No idea if this is true. Currently using Savlon Antiseptic Wound Wash and it seems to be doing the job.
And let's not forget that after drinking all that whiskey you will be capable of producing a nice sterile solution to use as a wound wash 
Thanks all, particularly for pointing out the difference between disinfectant and antiseptic.
Genty, your website is very interesting and informative. I think this article, http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/marine-saltwater-infections/ is particularly relevant to my OP (as I was talking about working on a boat).
Genty, your website is very interesting and informative. I think this article, http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/marine-saltwater-infections/ is particularly relevant to my OP (as I was talking about working on a boat).
When I set off on a Lands End to JOG attempt I had to do it in new boots as my old faithfuls fell apart just before I set off.
I skinned the top of every toe and they went all pussy and stank.
I went to a little hospital near the coast path (Newquay?) where they sat me on a bed and attacked my feet with what seemed to be suede cleaning brushes and Jeyes Fluid.
Bright lights yes - anaesthetics - no...
I bent the rail along the top of the bed as I pulled on it.
The nice Nurse said my language showed conciderable variety and inventiveness....
Then they told me to walk in the sea every day until my feet felt better.
I saw raw sewerage in the sea and thought better of it and used surgical spirit instead.
Strangely enough I now have very hairy toes....
I skinned the top of every toe and they went all pussy and stank.
I went to a little hospital near the coast path (Newquay?) where they sat me on a bed and attacked my feet with what seemed to be suede cleaning brushes and Jeyes Fluid.
Bright lights yes - anaesthetics - no...
I bent the rail along the top of the bed as I pulled on it.
The nice Nurse said my language showed conciderable variety and inventiveness....
Then they told me to walk in the sea every day until my feet felt better.
I saw raw sewerage in the sea and thought better of it and used surgical spirit instead.
Strangely enough I now have very hairy toes....
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John ! i think you were meant to put it on your feet not drink it !
Craig......
If I DRINK cheap sirits then it is my TONGUE feels hairy......
Especially from Islay or at a push Jura!
Yup they sound about right , but keep the cheap stuff for your feet .
thats it i'm of out to the van to find that bottle of Talisker thats hiding in there somewhere .
Craig.............
Personally I wouldn't be too concerned about pus forming around splinters. That is that the body's way of ejecting a foreign body. Once the splinter has loosened and ben ejected with the pus the wound should heal normally with less mess than digging for the splinter with a possibly unsuitable/unclean implement.
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