Super glue

[mcoliver]

I managed to drive the web of my hand on my gun's beavertail while clearing a malf. So now I have a 5mm wound there that's seriously hampering my ability to fondle my gun.

Watched CSI that same night, they had something about super glue and sealing wounds. A few googles later, found out it could be true.

So any of you guys tried it? Is it the same superglue you can buy off at the grocery?

Thanks.

[Skywalker]

mcoliver,

I guess you're referring to that sort of liquid band-aid that's being sold here in Italy in the pharmacies along with classic band-aids.

I'm no doc, so don't take my words as sterling gold and verify this with a medician, but my impression was that this is some good stuff for excoriations and abrasions, where you might need a protective layer on the excoriated surface to prevent possible infections and to protect the exposed skin, but for cuts (I mean deep cuts) it might prove detrimental, because it will infiltrate between the two lips of the cut, preventing a normal good healing.

Any doctor forum member to chime in?

[Thomas Moore]

i'm with skywalker on this one. i seen it used at the nationals and it seemed to work pretty good but for really deep cuts i would be leary.

[rhino]

Super glue was orginally invented for medical use, but I'm not sure if what they use to repair tissues is exactly the same compound as what you get at the hardware store. I'm sure one of the many physicians among us can offer some advice.

[lynn jones]

i've tried every thing that has come down the pike. superglue burns and doesn't do that great of a job. the real stuff Dr's use would be better, i don't know. just stick with real bandaids. ouch! dammit look what you made me do!

lynn

[Skywalker]

mcoliver,

let me clarify my previous statements, because from reading later posts, especially Rhino's and Lynn's ones, I feel we might have a misunderstanding going on here.

I'm not sure what superglue is.

I assumed it's a liquid band-aid, as I said before, and this stuff is sold in pharmacies, not in hardware stores.

What I'm referring to is a product specifically sold for skin wounds.

Here in Italy it's marketed by Compeed, the same firm that manufactures synthetic skin band-aids for sealing and healing blisters.

[Yardbird]

Superglue is not the liquid-bandage stuff but I've used superglue for years to close splits in my fingertips in the wintertime when when I dry up like a prune. Usually woks great, sometimes needs multiple applications if I tear the split open again. I've never had a problem but I don't officially know if its healthy or not.

[DougCarden]

Per speaking with friends that are ER docs, Superglue will work just fine unless it is a cut that will"flex" alot, depending on where the cut is located. For what you described superglue will work just fine. It may take a couple of applications but it will just peel off later when you heal up. I have several tubes on my reloading bench and in my shooting bag as well. Doug

[geezer-lock]

The superglues are all cyanoacrylate compounds developed for different purposes. The most common brand name in ER’s now is probably Dermabond. These products were developed for folks like diabetics that have difficulty with open wounds that will not heal.

I got all this information from the ER Doc that glued my thumb together after a particularly nasty (bone deep) cut. The stuff works well for any clean cut in areas that don’t move around much. Won’t help a lot in a joint area. There are several formulations available over-the-counter now.

geezer

[D.carden]

Recently my dog had his "jewels" removed to relieve a prostate problem, the vet used a medical version of super-glue to close the incision.

I asked if it was different in any way, she said no , just the labeling!!!

Worth a try!

Dan

[Jake Di Vita]

At USPSA nationals a few weeks ago I absolutely cut the junk out of my pinky finger just before the match. As soon as I did it most of my hand was covered in blood. Not wanting to have to deal with recoil and reloads possibly ripping it open more I super glued the crap out of it and it worked fairly well.

[reneet]

My personal experience with Liquid Bandaid on hands was not good. I sliced the meaty part of my palm at the base of my thumb right before the TX Open championship last year. I was shooting Limited and every time I'd shoot the cut would gape open causing a good deal of pain. As long as I wasn't shooting, the liquid bandaid worked OK but between the gun and oil it didn't stand a chance. Ended up with duct tape to get through the match.

[shred]

Yeah, the usual "Nu Skin" or liquid band-aid stuff we get here doesn't hold up to any kind of stress or wear. Good for road-rash, but that's about it. Superglue is much better for sticking flaps of skin back on so they'll stay. Do look at the packaging.. some claim to be more toxic than others.

[Kory]

I have sucessfully used regular old Superglue to repair my skin for years. If it's a clean cut, just push the slit shut and lay a skinny bead along the accidental opening. Flappers glue shut well too. I try to keep it external, avoid "filling in the gap". It lasts about two days, then it peels off and I usually reapply if necessary. I haven't used a Band-Aid in years. I am no doctor, but the few I have asked all said it was fine.

[Rob Boudrie]

Recently my dog had his "jewels" removed to relieve a prostate problem, the vet used a medical version of super-glue to close the incision.

I asked if it was different in any way, she said no , just the labeling!!!

Worth a try!

Dan

Labeling and price no doubt

[jnshapiro]

I cut through the nail of a finger to the bone with a knife while cutting up a green pepper. Day before a match too. I used some crazy glue to glue the nail back down to the nail plate. Worked great! I had to reapply every day or two, but it kept everything together until the nail grew out.

I now keep some in my range bag.

Joel

[DougBarnes101]

When I got my new Benchmade Knife I was practiceing opening and closing it one handed and I managed to lay my thumb open. Since I needed to leave for work in about 5 minutes I took the glue that my wife uses to attach her artificial nails with and closed that rascal up. Burned like he** but made it to work on time and no charges from the doctor for stitches.

[Flexmoney]

Superglue...when duct-tape just won't do.

[Mark Perez]

I was watching one of the Discovery channels last night .

Episode where a liitle girl was having spinal surgery due to scoliosis.

Docs did the sutures on the inside and closed the o/s with "super-glue".

Footage showed one surgeon running a tube of the stuff across the closed skin.

MP

[mpolans]

How bad is it to get some of the glue in the wound?

[EricW]

For small cuts, super glue is probably no more hazardous than a band-aid, but I'd use caution on deeper cuts - not becasue the glue is toxic - but because of the possibility of hermetically sealing in contaminants and creating a major infection. There's a reason why MD's don't like amateurs doing suturing of any kind glue or otherwise. (I've asked about it before and was sternly warned.)

[Vlad]

Dermabond and vetbond are kickass things, from what I hear. Various versions of it can be used as replacements for normal stitches or staples. It is not cheap and the human version is even more expensive at about $45 perl .05mL. Vetbond can be found cheaper and as far as I can tell it is the same thing. The extra cool thing about them is that they have an antibotic effect thus fighting infection while keeping the wound closed. As far as I understand it they are related to crazyglue but not quite teh same thing. In a pinch you could use crazy glue to close a wound but it is not as flexible and lacks the infection fighting bits. I've recently ordered some to add to my first aid kits

The human version:

http://www.chinookmed.com/detail.php?produ...5&limit_start=0

The pet version:

http://petsupplies4less.com/sb/site.cgi?sid=&m=3&item=014006

Vlad

[MasterLefty]

"Super Glue" was firsted developed during the Vietnam war. I have heard that the type used in Vietnam was a carcinogen, but when compared to bleeding to death on the field or making it alive to a MASH station what if you might develop cancer. This may only be with the metyl based cyanoacrylate.

The newer types such as Dermabond TM, are butyl ester based and are said to be "painless" when applied properly. Dermabond is sold by Ethicon, Inc.

The Johnson & Johnson company also markets an over the counter line sold as Band-Aid TM brand liquid bandage.

Dermabond and vetbond are kickass things, from what I hear. Various versions of it can be used as replacements for normal stitches or staples. It is not cheap and the human version is even more expensive at about $45 perl .05mL.

Dermabond is one piece of the Ethicon umbrella and I work in the suture wound closure division, but when we introduced the product line the cost was $12US a vial. It looks like Chinook is making a fair profit.

Kenny

Dermabond and Band-Aid are the registered trademarks of Ethicon, Inc. and the Johnson & Johnson Company.

[kimel]

I have successfully used the Liquid Band-Aid plus a couple butterflys to close a pretty deep cut. LBA closed everything up and the butterflys kept it closed. This was on the web between thumb and forefinger after jamming a screwdriver through it. It healed without much of a scar too.

[Liota]

I use Superglue to close cuts, seal and toughen blisters, etc... I have used it on my students, too. At first they thought it was nuts. Once they discovered that after the glue dried it no longer hurt, they came looking for Sgt Wakal's bottle of glue. We made sure the cuts were clean before application of the glue.