Guns America - Prepping 101 - Learn to Suture - Wound Closure Course

[DMCakhunter]

https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/prepping-101-learn-suture-wound-closure-course-supplies

[Kbop]

cool find DMCakhunter 

does this cover debriding, topical antibiotics and drainage? 
if not, it should work for simple uninvolved lacerations. (shallow neat cuts not involving muscle or organ damage)  You wouldn't need the expensive absorbable sutures then.

(i'm not a doctor and i have never played one on TV.)
- for practice i would suggest using a pigs foot or other 'skin on' animal limb (cheap from your local butcher).  you can practice on different types of wounds actually made in tissue and with trauma you are likely to see.  The joints are especially hard.  Pads are nice but you should take off the training wheels fast with this skill - try an old mouse pad or even a mandarin orange (they call them halo's or clementines in my neck of the woods) for your practice. 

don't forget butterfly bandages (made from tape) and/or cyanoacrylate (linked below) AKA super glue for emergency wound closure.  can be done in a 'pinch'.  For your own safety keep a small bottle of acetone AKA finger nail polish remover, in your kit for minor glue spills.

this kit is still for sale;
$80 USD on EBAY.
$140 USD on Amazon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate
http://www.happypreppers.com/butterfly-bandage.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9R2etUOxXI

[Nemo]

Interesting.  A year or so ago I sliced the pad of my left index finger.   About 730 on the finger looking at it with tip pointed at your eye, nail at 12.  First pad by knuckle.  I figured a couple sutures and went to a local primary care place.  RN Pract agreed sutures, put in 4 and advised me that if it had involved the joint at all, even just skin over it, I would have gone to the outpatient surgery center.

SOP nowadays (per him) would have required ortho to fix it, even if no joint capsule involvement.  Just skin over it would need ortho evaluation and sewing.

Surprised me.  So remember, always cut away from you and try not to get cut over or involving a joint.  Bones or veggie matter, involve neither one.

Nemo

[Kbop]

here you go Nemo

[Nemo]

I have those.  For both hands.  Good to keep zombies from biting off fingers.  Helps with swords too.

Nemo

[thedigininja]

Back in my school days a friend's father, farm vet and ex trauma medic, thought that the first aid training we had was bs so he decided to give us some tuition himself.

For sutures we used chicken, rabbit and pork.  Although chicken is a terrible analogue for a human, the skin is a lot more delicate which forces you to take more care. At 13 l had to stitch myself up for the first time after a knife fight, 2 other occasions since.

I think the primary reason why you would be sent to a specialist is the fear of lawsuits.  In a shtf situation I would much rather have some limited range of movement in a joint because someone with a rudimentary understanding did the sutures than die from something stupid like an infected wound because I insisted on finding a specialist that doesn't exist.

[thedigininja]

Are those oyster shucking gloves, kbop?

[Kbop]

they are stainless steel carving gloves - often used in the meat packing industry.
I'm not terribly familiar with oyster shucking gloves.

[JohnyMac]

When my wife was working as a Garde Chef, she shucked many of a clam and oyster. She never used a glove she used a bar towel. Even with the towel she pierced her palm on several occasions. I am sure she would have appreciated that glove thing if it was available at the time. 

[thedigininja]

I would assume they're the same product, just packaged/promoted for different uses. They are brilliant! I've only had a chance to use them once while crab fishing (you tend to "liberate" a few mussels off of the rocks when you get a chance) and they weren't nearly as obstructive as I anticipated.

[Nemo]

They also work well as chain mail. 

Nemo