Who needs BandAids?

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geekIT

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Topic # 227422 6-Jan-2018 15:48

Small, annoying cuts on hands and fingers can make life difficult for anyone in the carpentry, plumbing and related trades, whether pro's or DIY-ers.

Woodworking and tool-using becomes awkward. Handling paint, putty, oil and turps is a problem, even with gloves. Even hand-washing can be a bind.

I'm an ancient chippy who's had this problem since I started building some 60 years ago, but it's got worse over the last 25 years as my skin's become thinner and more easily damaged.

Today I had a light-bulb moment. Gawd knows why I didn't think of it sooner.

Super Glue. Works perfectly for those cuts and splits that become more of a nuisance after sticking plaster is applied.

I'm not suggesting you patch up anything that really needs stitches, but for 5mm-15mm cuts on fingertips, for example, it's ideal.

I used plain old Gorilla Superglue, but if you're fussy, you can buy more expensive options, like veterinary or true surgical versions.

Good luck!

vexxxboy

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Reply # 1931357 6-Jan-2018 15:56

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they have been using super glue in hospitals for years , my sons head cut was super glued in the A&E when he was a kid.

davidcole

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Reply # 1931363 6-Jan-2018 16:34

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I think if you look at the origins of super glue it was Vietnam for patching up soldiers.

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geekIT

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Reply # 1931395 6-Jan-2018 16:56

davidcole: I think if you look at the origins of super glue it was Vietnam for patching up soldiers.

Actually, no. See here:

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

But it's super useful for patching up chippies

Rikkitic

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Reply # 1931400 6-Jan-2018 17:36

For quite awhile I had a missing front tooth. Until I was able to afford to have proper bridgework done, my dentist temporarily attached a prosthetic with some kind of adhesive, I think the stuff used in fillings. This worked okay but it tended to break loose when I forgot about it and bit down on something. This usually seemed to happen when I was overseas and dentists in other countries had no clue what to do with it. I finally hit on the idea of using superglue to fasten the prosthetic to the neighbouring teeth. It worked quite well for what it was and kept me going until I could finally have it done properly. I was careful not to inhale the fumes until they dissipated.

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gzt

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Reply # 1931414 6-Jan-2018 18:12

As the first para of the Wikipedia article says variants with less toxicity have been developed for medical use. For regular use obtaining one of those would be sensible.

gzt

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Reply # 1931415 6-Jan-2018 18:15

geekIT: I'm not suggesting you patch up anything that really needs stitches, but for 5mm-15mm cuts on fingertips, for example, it's ideal.

Bandaids work for me. But I'm curious ; )

How do you apply the stuff in practice?

geekIT

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Reply # 1931620 7-Jan-2018 08:59

gzt:
geekIT: I'm not suggesting you patch up anything that really needs stitches, but for 5mm-15mm cuts on fingertips, for example, it's ideal.

Bandaids work for me. But I'm curious ; )

How do you apply the stuff in practice?

Couple days ago I was ripping down some thin timber on my bench saw and I got a 'paper cut' from a sharp edge as it slid through my fingers.

The cut was about 6mm-7mm in length and about 1mm deep. Just deep enough to be annoying, and, on the end of my middle finger, hard to bandaid.

It didn't bleed a lot, so I filled it with Betadine (excellent antiseptic, like the old iodine) then mopped up the excess with tissue.

After it was completely dry (a minute or two) I held the cut open and squeezed in a tiny drop of Gorilla Superglue, then sort of pinched the cut together for about a minute.

That was it. I'm looking at the cut now as I type this (with that finger :-)) and it's completely closed, and healed.

Brilliant. A toolbox must-have for me now.

Afterthought: It doesn't take much of a knock for my thin skin to get a flap peeled back. This usually takes weeks to heal as I keep disturbing it by washing or applying fresh bandaids.

Next time it happens, I'll try gluing it down. Watch this space

pctek

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Reply # 1931807 7-Jan-2018 19:07

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That's silly.

bandaids are to stop the bleeding, or stop you dripping until it stops bleeding really.

Then your wound makes it's own superglue - a scab,

I have never had a bandaid longer than the bleeding stopping.

Batman

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Reply # 1931833 7-Jan-2018 20:10

I won't recommend letting super glue touch the stuff inside (beneath) your skin.

And if you must use it I'd make 100% sure it's not a dirty wound, otherwise you're sealing in the bugs.

MacGyver score? Umm 8/10 lol

gzt

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Reply # 1931847 7-Jan-2018 20:45

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Personally with that issue I'd look at trialing some gloves. There has to be something hi-tech around to do the job.

Technofreak

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Reply # 1931886 7-Jan-2018 22:09

pctek:

That's silly.

bandaids are to stop the bleeding, or stop you dripping until it stops bleeding really.

Then your wound makes it's own superglue - a scab,

I have never had a bandaid longer than the bleeding stopping.

The problem with that is the edges of the wound/cut on placs like finger tips etc keep catching on things. The cut need to be kept closed up.

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Reply # 1931901 8-Jan-2018 00:24

gzt:
geekIT: I'm not suggesting you patch up anything that really needs stitches, but for 5mm-15mm cuts on fingertips, for example, it's ideal.

Bandaids work for me. But I'm curious ; )

How do you apply the stuff in practice?

I've got something like this in my truck first aid kit. On my one you bend back the tip to break the seal, and squeeze it out in a ribbon of glue along the cut. I've never used in practice though.

http://www.liquiband.com/

Trevor Dennis
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geekIT

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Reply # 1931956 8-Jan-2018 09:34

Good call, Trevor.

To the other pessimistic posters, I'll just say this:

I now have a fully healed cut on my fingertip, with no rough edges, no infection and no discomfort.

Just a faint line to show where it was.

As I said in my original post, there are veterinary and surgical versions of cyanoacrylate (superglue) but for minor wounds, the regular gunk seems adequate.

Check out this page: https://morethanjustsurviving.com/super-glue-for-cuts/

But hey, it's up to you. I'm just saying it worked for me and I'll continue using it, when appropriate.

BTW: If you're younger than 77, your epidermis is probably in much better shape than mine

neb

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Reply # 1932221 8-Jan-2018 13:13

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geekIT:
After it was completely dry (a minute or two) I held the cut open and squeezed in a tiny drop of Gorilla Superglue, then sort of pinched the cut together for about a minute.

I wonder when we'll get to the point where people are talking about spraying fish with WD-40 before frying them, as a cooking aid...

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Reply # 1932228 8-Jan-2018 13:27

Haha i was told lettuce growers don't eat lettuce ... I wonder what they put on them ...