Posted on 08/07/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT by neverdem
Really?
THE FACTS Most parents and school nurses have a time-honored approach to treating a small wound: clean it up, stop the bleeding and then let it get some air.
The point of this approach, as described in medical texts, is to lower the odds of infection and to speed the healing process. But over the years, researchers have found that what many people know about treating small cuts and scrapes is wrong.
Exposing a wound to the air so it can breathe is a terrible mistake, experts say, because it creates a dry environment that promotes cell death.
A handful of studies have found that when wounds are kept moist and covered, blood vessels regenerate faster and the number of cells that cause inflammation drop more rapidly than they do in wounds allowed to air out. It is best to keep a wound moist and covered for at least five days.
Another common mistake is applying antibiotic ointments, said Dr. Mark D. P. Davis, a professor of dermatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. These ointments may keep the wound moist, he said, but they can also lead to swelling and an allergic reaction called contact dermatitis. Plain and simple Vaseline, applied twice a day, works fine.
And as awful as removing scabs may sound, it may actually be a good idea, Dr. Davis said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I've tried both methods over the years. Very superficial cuts and scrapes heal faster and are less painful for me if I let them scab over. If I have something more serious, I cover it.
Got to let your dog lick it!
I use Arnica for anything swollen, Calendula cream for cuts and scrapes....and let it air out. Seems to heal faster, no infection and no scars.....
Having raced bicycles for many years and having more than my share of "road rash" I can say that keeping the wound moist definitely speeds healing. Years ago there was a product called "Second Skin". It was a gel material in sheet form that was applied over the wound to keep it moist. Applying a good antibiotic like silver sulfadiazine to the wound and covering it with Second Skin worked miraculously to heal large areas of missing skin.
Or, go to the rootworker down the street for a "laying on of the hands" and a poltice collected from the chicken yard.
Spray it with Windex
Administration Aims to Set Health-Care Standards
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
Ping, sweetie. Who knows?
recently found this for
Tourniquets
An Ultrasonic Tourniquet to Stop Battlefield Bleeding
The Pentagon is committing $51 million to creating a tool for acoustic cauterization.
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17215&ch=biotech
http://www.dcmilitary.com/army/standard/9_18/features/30900-1.html
Time-honored to leave a small wound open? People buy band-aids by the kajillions for the express purpose of putting them on owies! A kid feels neglected without one.
Anyone with a modicum of experience (such as moms) know a covering does speed up the healing, and Neosporin is also great though there are people out there who are slightly allergic to it, in which case, Vasoline jelly works, too.
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I usually use Neosporin and Banana Boat Aloe. Interesting that you mentioned silver because Curad recently started releasing band aids with silver in them.
Go ask the FDA about silver and they'll tell ya "Uh... silver... it has limited applications..."
Yeah, right.
Another hint, I had a pretty bad sinus infection. Started taking alot of Vit. C, and daily, I'd mix up some aloe and lukewarm water, put it in a sprayer, and basically try to drench my sinuses with it.
It's working GREAT! Keeps my sinuses moist and whatever irritation there was there is clearing up.
Aloe really is a miracle plant. Skin loves it.
Thanks for the dynamite links!
Duct tape
only bandage my dog can't chew thru.... :)
Sounds nuts, huh? But that forms the core of a revolutionary new US battlefield dressing (the dressing is impregnated with that stuff, which obviously is marketed with much snazzier terminology):
Something about the proteins in the mix helping blood cells to cross-link, thereby bringing about clotting in wounds that would otherwise kill a soldier.
With direct pressure, that stuff will stop wounds that are literally SHOOTING out blood.
You just slap it on and press like hell, and the bleeding stops in about 90 seconds.
My SOP for gashes in the shop is to rinse it off, give it a dose of oxygen from the OA torch, and superglue it. It's worked so far.
In fact, hospitals have special glue and even staples, which work.
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