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Post by Brendan Olszowy on May 2, 2008 13:12:51 GMT
I just wanted to give you all a heads up on a vital piece af equipment for fellow self harmers. My wife is a Vet in training, and she put me on to these little "suture strips", or "Steri Strips". They basically act like a stitch. You use them to sticky tape yourself back together. Anyway, I have had a few nasty cuts recently, about 4mm deep (well into the flesh) and about 15mm long (half way round my finger) These things just close it right up, and hold it tight. They're great. ;D I had a big flap cut off which could have required stitches, but with this I reassembled it really tidy and the scar is hardly noticable. As you can see 3M make them. Any pharmacy will have them. And they cost about $2fiddy -$3 per pack. But a few packs, keep them handy, and next time you cut yourself you'll be able to save some blood. Also get some Alcohol swabs or Iodine swabs while you're there. To use. 1. Wash your hands, or wherever else you cut yourself. 2. Preferable wipe with iodine or alcohol. 3. Cut the strips to a suitable length. The strips are about 3" long. If in waawaa shock have your favourite lady perform these steps 4. Stick strip down to one side of the cut, pull it across to close it tight, and stick down the other side. They can take some decent tension. 5. Once a packet is open it will no longer be sterile. You could use the remainders tomorrow if the wound is closed. But if it's still open you'll need to open a new packet each time to keep it sterile. Don't try to save left overs for future incidents, open a new pack each incident. I've had to stop sanding my sword due to having just sliced deep into my finger tip, so I thought I'd come in and write this. Hope it helps. Obviously they aren't a replacement for medical care in serious cases, but they can help ease the impact of the odd finger cut.
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Post by swordboy bringer of chaos on May 2, 2008 13:53:17 GMT
I learned to do my own stitches years ago cause I'm acident pron
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Post by ShooterMike on May 2, 2008 14:54:24 GMT
I hadn't thought about posting a thread like this, but bravo for bringing it up. Just this morning I got an email with a link to this: QuikClot Combat Gauze It looks like something some of us might need to have on hand. It's not supposed to burn like the original QuikClot. And I hope it doesn't do the kind of "melting-looking" damage to exposed tissue that has to be cut away during medical treatment.
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Post by swordboy bringer of chaos on May 2, 2008 15:11:46 GMT
super glue works in a pinch ...... but it stings like crap
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2008 1:25:41 GMT
Am I the only one who uses a lightweight cut-resistant glove anytime my hand is going to be near the sharp bit?
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Post by alvin on May 5, 2008 1:29:12 GMT
"Am I the only one who uses a lightweight cut-resistant glove anytime my hand is going to be near the sharp bit?"Probably.
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Post by YlliwCir on May 5, 2008 1:47:01 GMT
I never get cut.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2008 2:05:41 GMT
Probably. ;D I revel in my un-blood spattered carpet! I compensate for my unmanliness by not wearning a cup at the dojo! More seriously though, they're cheap, don't inhibit feeling any more than a thin cotton glove does, and will protect against those little slips when oiling/polishing. With the really lightweight ones, I wouldn't want to test it against anything with some force behind it (e.g. if you dropped the sword and instinctively grabbed it), but for those incidental cuts (which can nevertheless be quite nasty, given the level of sharpness we're dealing with) they're great.
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Post by salvatore on May 5, 2008 2:17:46 GMT
An excellent thread, +1.
And it is odd, 3M seems to make all the stuff needed to make a sword nut happy. My mother works at 3M, so I am quite lucky, ;D
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2008 1:37:41 GMT
Hi, Many excellent suggestions here, but I also just want to put a plug in for actually taking a first aid class. In the US, they are given by the ubiquitous Red Cross fairly regularly and cheaply. We all hope that we will not ever get hurt like Salvatore (hope you heal quickly), but accidents can happen and we can all learn from them. I guess I better go for a recertification class And thanks for reminding me to restock my first aid kits! DJ
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2008 11:06:24 GMT
Well, this isn't a cut but a burn. So heck, i'll tell how to first aid this. The story of these fingers (middle and ring) is... I accidently picked up an extremely hot brick lifted out of the coal filled wok by my left hand (which was wearing a glove) which was quickly forgotten and when i needed to move the brick, i used my right hand and then ppppppppppppppsssssssssssssstttttttttttt..... I jerked my hand and looked and my finger. A small bit of smoke rised for a second or two before it dissapeard. Treatment: My friends told me to not do this but it was a day or 2 later so what's done is done. I immediatly placed it into ice cold water for half an hour before placing toothpaste on the burn. Yes, toothpaste. Don't know why but instincts told me so. It's said to be an effective chinese remedy. After a day or so, i it formed a blister i cut it out to let the pus seep out. And yes, i lost my middle finger fingerprint in the process
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on May 15, 2008 1:27:11 GMT
I just did a bit of research on this, and everyone says the same for first aid for burns: They also say: *NOT to break blisters. *If running water is unavailable use cool wet cloths, and alternate them every 2 minutes. Keep it wet and cool. *Seek medical help on burns over an inch round.
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Post by Jeff K. ( Jak) on May 15, 2008 1:49:17 GMT
me niether...you cant hurt steel. ;D
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Post by Jeff K. ( Jak) on May 15, 2008 2:00:05 GMT
I just did a bit of research on this, and everyone says the same for first aid for burns: They also say: *NOT to break blisters. *If running water is unavailable use cool wet cloths, and alternate them every 2 minutes. Keep it wet and cool. *Seek medical help on burns over an inch round. I dripped burning plastic on the back of my hand adn did nothing about it. The burn blistered and eventually scarred. Which I have to this day. A few years later I dropped a red hot brass ash shovel on the back of my hand while soveling coals to the back of the wood stove. It intstantly seared a 2 inch round patch of skin off a little deeper than a 16th of an inch. (thats deep for skin). I ran it under the tap for a few minutes, then put a cloth soaked in room temperature water on it and left in on all night. next day I got some burn creme rom the doctor....kept it clean and you cant see any trace of a scar, even though it was a 3rd degree burn. So I would agree that this method is a pretty good one. Coupled with burn cremewith cortizone that is. Although it did rob me of a prety cool scar.....
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2008 11:25:50 GMT
About 2 weeks ago while polishing a sword I got a very deep cut on my finger, it was so bad that the blood was literally spurting from my finger (still some splattermarks on the wall) and I also cut into the tendon (I can't bend my finger fully yet). The problem was that I had absulutly nothing to stop the bleeding with! So all I did was wrap it with lots and lots of toilet paper, which stopped the bleeding eventually and the next day I just put some antiseptic cream on with a plaster. It's healed up pretty nicely, and I think in a while it should be back to norml without a scar
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2008 12:04:28 GMT
Amen to that brother
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2008 13:07:53 GMT
I heard honey can stop bleeding because of its thickness
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2008 13:23:38 GMT
Hehe, at least I can say my blade has tasted some blood
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on May 15, 2008 13:57:03 GMT
I also highly recommend Aloe Vera once the bleeding has stopped. It dries to create a second skin over the wound. It also heals it faster - and it's natural! It works really well.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2008 14:18:19 GMT
Repeat after me. Kevlar Glove! Kevlar Glove! Kevlar Glove! Kevlar Glove! ;D That's for the hand doing the polishing. For the other hand, I wrap the blade with a cloth (large) or an old shirt to hang on to. I have not been cut with a sword yet. Now I hope I did not just jinx my record by saying that Oh, and just to be sure. I keep a first aid kit in my sword maintenance box. I don't want to be running around the house looking for something to stop bleeding if it ever does happen.
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