Superglue for emergency wound care

[JoshuaNY]

Alot of the OCD karate guys in my class used to use superglue to close their open dry feet areas...my friend was an MD who was also in my classes..he said..there isnt any proof to using it and experiencing anything dangerous from it...yet.

I usually just use moisturizer before it gets to that point.

[noahpictures]

Yesterday I cut myself (not shave related) by being careless. The wound was only 3 mm in diameter but it wouldn't stop bleeding even after dressing the wound a couple of times. Today for the first time I tried Krazy glue and it worked. I pulled the skin together with some tweezers and applied the glue across to seal the cut. Glad I had some around.

[DukeGrad]

You found my old ER trick for the little kids with a head laceration.
Been doing this for about 30 years. Most cuts, or lacerations will resolve with glue. Or approximate with freaking tape!!
Beats sutures!

Jimmy

[LegendofVogel]

If someone knows better than I chime in, but wasn't superglue actually developed FOR medical puposes?

[cb91710]

If someone knows better than I chime in, but wasn't superglue actually developed FOR medical puposes?

Not originally.
It was originally developed to make clear gunsights. It's medical uses didn't begin until the 70s, but the FDA did not approve it until the late 80s.
The inventor made the claim in 1966 that a CA spray was used in Vietnam to stabilize patients for transport to a hospital.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

[LegendofVogel]

Not originally.
It was originally developed to make clear gunsights. It's medical uses didn't begin until the 70s, but the FDA did not approve it until the late 80s.
The inventor made the claim in 1966 that a CA spray was used in Vietnam to stabilize patients for transport to a hospital.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

now that is interesting!

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Mechanics and other hands-on blue-collar workers have used super glue for a long time. Mind you, it's for small cuts only. If you think it needs medical attention, then it probably does. Also, thoroughly clean the cut before applying any adhesive in addition to holding the wound closed prior to application. '

I reiterate: If the wound you've endured is much deeper than the top few couple layers of tissue, seek medical attention! There's no need to muck around with some Wally World adhesive if it'll only result in infection.

[goatee]

That's what it's original use was intended for. First aid in the field.

[huntingdan]

As an Athletic Trainer out on the field super glue is awesome. Of course, being trained I know if its appropriate for the situation or not. I have tried "resealable" histocryl that hardens up for about $15 a tube, and $25 one time use Dermabond, I ALWAYS go back to the super glue if steri strips will not get the job done.

As stated before, make sure to clean the wound before you apply the glue, AND make sure whatever you are holding the wound together with does not touch the glue

[RABIDMONKEY]

I mountain bike , so sometime u take a corner a little to fast and barely clip a tree , super glue is in all our camel packs .

[Rob72]

Of course, being trained I know if its appropriate for the situation or not.

That is key. For most minor cuts on the fingers, etc., pressing the edges of the cut together, and applying a light bead of superglue is fine. However, if your cut is, "to the bone", at the least, it needs to be well irrigated- osteomyelitis(bone infection), on the light side, would require re-opening the cut and cutting out dead tissue, on the heavy side, people loose fingers (toes, hands, feet...)

SG is also not appropriate for what we refer to as multi-layer closures. If you see fat, and stuff below the fat layer, it needs stitches, to prevent severe scarring that may limit mobility and/or cause pain if the scar tissue attaches to bone, muscles, etc., as it heals.

SG will not keep you from bleeding out. If you're soaking the wadded T shirt or whathaveyou, you need a pressure bandage. If you're soaking pressure bandages, you need an ED. If you don't have an ED readily available, you need Celox, Quik-clot, or whatever cousin may be handy.

By its chemical composition, SG is "sterile", whether from Dollar General, or MedSource.

[Natohog]

FACT, putting super glue in a wound could give you blood poisoning.

[Slash McCoy]

FACT, putting super glue in a wound could give you blood poisoning.

Er... Can you quote some reliable and authoritative source, and give us a definition of "blood poisoning"?

[Natohog]

Dermatol Clin. 2005 Apr;23(2):193-8.

Cyanoacrylates for skin closure.

Eaglstein WH, Sullivan T.



J Surg Res. 2005 May 15;125(2):161-7.

Evaluation of an absorbable cyanoacrylate adhesive as a suture line sealant.

Ellman PI, Brett Reece T, Maxey TS, Tache-Leon C, Taylor JL, Spinosa DJ, Pineros-Fernandez AC, Rodeheaver GT, Kern JA.

[ingrownhair]

I'm not sure where in the cited article it says it can give you blood poisoning, but the abstract certainly doesn't suggest it. Localized tissue toxicity and blood poisoning are not the same thing in my book. I don't know whether short or long chain CA's are in super glue, but I'd have no issues using it in the field if necessary. I can also say that both of my boys have had cuts glued in the ER or critical care facility. I realize it is not the "super glue" you would get in a store, but still...:

Cyanoacrylates (CAs) were not widely adopted for medical use until recently because of lingering concerns regarding the initial tissue toxicities of the short-chain CAs. The medium-chain CAs, primarily butyl-cyanoacrylate, have been widely used in Europe and Canada for several decades and have gone a long way in dispelling any lingering concerns about tissue toxicity. The newer, longer chain CA, octyl-2-cyanoacrylate (2-OCA), now has been approved for multiple uses in the United States and has achieved widespread acceptance by the medical and lay communities. The current authors believe that this is probably only the beginning of the use of 2-OCA and other CAs in cutaneous medicine. This article discusses the use of CAs in their original cutaneous use as glues for the repair of lacerations and incisions and in their more recent use as dressings for the treatment of abrasions and wounds.

[paco664]

FACT, putting super glue in a wound could give you blood poisoning.

sorry.. but i use superglue all the time for cuts to my hands while working.... the last time was closing a ~1.5" long slash to my left palm that would have required 4 or 5 stitches.... but it closed and i finished the repair i was doing...

superglue was invented as a surgical replacement for stitches... that is why the only thing it really sticks to is skin....

there is no blood poisoning threat...

[cb91710]

superglue was invented as a surgical replacement for stitches... that is why the only thing it really sticks to is skin....

Not true.
It was invented in 1942 as a replacement for plastic gun sights.
It was rejected and forgotten because it stuck to everything.

In 1951, it was "reinvented" and marketed as a commercial adhesive by both Eastman Kodak, and in 1971 by Loctite.

The FDA did not approve Dermabond until 1998, though CA sprays were used by the military as early as 1966 for temporary repairs.

there is no blood poisoning threat...

Agreed.

[kosby]

There's a product called Derma Bond that is often used in ERs primarily for non stress area lacerations that I personally believe is the same thing as super glue but has a purple tint to it and of course is labeled as sterile.

[cb91710]

There's a product called Derma Bond that is often used in ERs primarily for non stress area lacerations that I personally believe is the same thing as super glue but has a purple tint to it and of course is labeled as sterile.

See my message just above yours.
Dermabond was FDA approved in 1998 and it is indeed a CA product, and the first one to be FDA approved.

[John_Roger]

I used super glue to seal this mild chainsaw wound up, and it worked like a charm. I cleaned it out real well, shaved the area with a Gem JR, Soaked the area with some iodine, and glued it shut. Like always, the stuff is great.