For those that are medically inclined - what do you carry in terms of a suture kit?

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

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Mar 19, 2007
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I would love to get good advice on a suture kit for my PSK. I would like advice from people who are medically trained or inclined please.

Thanks!

TF
 
Duct tape. Suturing shut a wound without proper infection control is, generally speaking, not a good idea. I'd much rather use bandages and tape to hold it together.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Duct tape. Suturing shut a wound without proper infection control is, generally speaking, not a good idea. I'd much rather use bandages and tape to hold it together.
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That... Flush it and put butterfly's or tape or something over it until someone who knows what they're doing can look at it...
 
I used to buy books like Ditch Medicine and the like, because I thought outdoor suturing was something I could readily employ. However, after being in school as an EMT, and taking Anatomy and Physiology to become a paramedic, I would have to agree with JBob24 and Insipid: leave it to a professional. The basic concept of knowing that the skin keeps out 70% of infection is deadly true: without proper sterile settings, it is almost damaging to entirely seal up the wound.

I used to want to buy all these medical kits, loaded out with all sorts of fancy equipment. But after doing rotations and school, I realized all of it is useless without rapid transport. Whats the point of having sutures if you don't know what your stitching shut? Or the proper medical facility that may be needed to open and repair the damage that has been inflicted. So for now, I just carry a stethoscope and a blowout kit in my bag. Sure I've got a basic first-aid kit in the car for smaller things. But there really is no need for sutures, or O2 tanks, or c-collars and all that unless you've got the ability to provide rapid, prompt transport.
 
Suturing in the field is a horrible ideal, for all the reasons stated above, plus I think a lot of people underestimate how bad the process of actually sewing a wound closed without at least something to numb the area is. We are talking about some significant pain, you are going to be sticking a needle into the raw edges of a fresh wound. Plus for every stitch you make you are adding 2 more puncture wounds to the one wound you are trying to treat.
 
@Hunter: Agreed. Your suture kit is nothing without Lidocaine. All that hype about people doing it on their own is bs. It is really, really painful.
 
I've been a paramedic for 11 years field sutures will most likely lead to infection. My advise if your looking to build a kit for hiking or camping where a hospital would be hours or even a day or 2 away is to get some Israeli battle dressings 1 or 2 quick clot sponges but make sure you read up on them as they are not a solve all. Also veterinary super glue for moderate lacerations to extremities that are not on joints. The most important thing would be to take a wilderness first aid class though. Knowledge is greater than any piece of kit you can carry.
 
Without a method to flush the area AND maintain a sterile field (almost an impossibility in the wild), you are going from the frying pan into the fire, I don't think I would even attempt to dermabond or superglue anything in the field. You are really begging for some sort of nasty infection.
 
hunter s thompson said:
Without a method to flush the area AND maintain a sterile field (almost an impossibility in the wild), you are going from the frying pan into the fire, I don't think I would even attempt to dermabond or superglue anything in the field. You are really begging for some sort of nasty infection.
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I always keep a few 10cc saline syringes in my camping first aid kit for just that reason. The last EMS conference I attended it seams like it won't be long before durabond is on all ambulances.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Duct tape. Suturing shut a wound without proper infection control is, generally speaking, not a good idea. I'd much rather use bandages and tape to hold it together.
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this is pretty good advice actually. A wound shouldn't be closed with suture, until it is ready to be permanently closed. Unless you can assess this, ie cleanliness, vascular and nerve status, what if any muscular layers are involved then you shouldn't close the wound. A wound can be packed with gauze and a pressure type bandage, for days at a time. The trick is in changing the bandages- every day approx, and keeping everything clean. I personally like iodine "betadine" for this, as alcohols and hydrogen peroxide can actually damage sensitive tissues. You can also read about debreding technique, it's beyond the scope of a post here, but it can keep an open wound viable for future suturing for several days.

My bottom line, and please don't take it the wrong way...anyone who has to ask about suturing technique/materials etc shouldn't be sewing anything especially in a wilderness setting. The reasoning behind this is that suturing is fairly easy-generally if you can sew up clothing you can sew a person- but knowing the complications and what to do if all isn't according to plan is not :(
 
snyper1ad said:
I always keep a few 10cc saline syringes in my camping first aid kit for just that reason. The last EMS conference I attended it seams like it won't be long before durabond is on all ambulances.
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I knew the word "field" was going to lead to problems. :D By "field" I meant The Great Outdoors. I am 100% sure I can maintain a sterile field in the back of my ambulance with the proper equipment on board. I am not anywhere near that certain I can do the same thing in the woods with the equipment I carried in with me in a kit.
 
In the Falklands War when we were conscious that if shot the issued battle dressings were a bit old and not very effective some of us decided to carry tampons for the entry wound and sanitary towels for the exit wound. Both are sterile and very absorbant ... better than the field dressings by some margin ... and later on in Gulf War 1 I added a few rolls of "cling film" . This is very malleable stuff and can form a good tight seal when wrapped round the chest. Useful for lung wounds and for retaining some semblance of a sterile barrier over the top of the dressings. Not a long term thing ... just interim measures whilst awaiting a caseevac ... but good enough to stem blood loss and avoid dirt getting in to the wound ( or at least stop the wound from getting worse - clothing fragments etc would already be in there and hence the need to sterilise and clean the wound properly).

If you translate the same measures to cope with bad gashes from falls etc sanitary towels make for a more easily found option to clotting sponges and cling film works to keep things reasonably clean and sterile until you can get treatment.
 
hunter s thompson said:
Suturing in the field is a horrible ideal, for all the reasons stated above, plus I think a lot of people underestimate how bad the process of actually sewing a wound closed without at least something to numb the area is. We are talking about some significant pain, you are going to be sticking a needle into the raw edges of a fresh wound. Plus for every stitch you make you are adding 2 more puncture wounds to the one wound you are trying to treat.
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I've sutured myself before. I flushed it with sterile saline solution and inserted just enough stitches to close the wound, but not entirely. I left drainage holes at either end on the wound, and applied triple antibiotic after an antiseptic solution (betadine). The pain of suturing wasn't too bad. I was hampered by having to sew my right hand with my left, but I got it done. It healed without a noticible scar and no infection. Cleaning/debriding/disinfecting/closing a minor wound isn't rocket surgery. I keep packets of prethreaded sutures in my FAK of the three most useful sizes. I've used them on several occasions to sew up hunting dogs. Having a pair of hemostats and a scalpel blade handy helps.
 
cleans up said:
My bottom line, and please don't take it the wrong way...anyone who has to ask about suturing technique/materials etc shouldn't be sewing anything especially in a wilderness setting. The reasoning behind this is that suturing is fairly easy-generally if you can sew up clothing you can sew a person- but knowing the complications and what to do if all isn't according to plan is not :(
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Not taken the wrong way at all. I think I am learning that I may keep a suture kit at the house - but not in the field.

All good advice - I would rather get the straight dope - than the easy on the ears lies....

TF
 
For a quick and hopefully not so dirty fix, paint the sides of the wound with tincture of benzoin compound, let it get tacky, then use steristrips. But as mentioned before, make sure the wound has been cleaned properly. Then cover the wound, and seek professional advice. The tinc benz co just helps the adhesiveness of the steristrips.
 
Codger_64 said:
I've sutured myself before. I flushed it with sterile saline solution and inserted just enough stitches to close the wound, but not entirely. I left drainage holes at either end on the wound, and applied triple antibiotic after an antiseptic solution (betadine). The pain of suturing wasn't too bad. I was hampered by having to sew my right hand with my left, but I got it done. It healed without a noticible scar and no infection. Cleaning/debriding/disinfecting/closing a minor wound isn't rocket surgery. I keep packets of prethreaded sutures in my FAK of the three most useful sizes. I've used them on several occasions to sew up hunting dogs. Having a pair of hemostats and a scalpel blade handy helps.
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I agree it is possible, I don't think it is advisable, it may be done but the possibility of what could go wrong probably outweigh the benefits, IMO. As to the pain of sutures everyone has a different tolerance for pain. A situation that someone finds "mildly uncomfortable" someone else may find "excruciating". It is definitely not brain science but it also isn't for everyone either!
 
I would say that most if not all of us are here because we want to be as self reliant as possible. I know that's the reason I'm here learning survival skills. This however, is one of those things where it's just best to ask for help rather then fumbling through it yourself. I've talked to a GP doc, an emergency room doc, 2 nurses and a combat medic about this. Not a single one of them advise doing this procedure yourself. Indeed the only people I've seen who recommend this are people who have little to no medical training. Not really the best people to take medical advice from. This may not be rocket science but it's one of those things where you don't know what you don't know. If you want to risk nerve damage and/or loss of mobility then have at it.
 
A doctor would obviously suggest that you should consult them for every medical need. A plumber will advise you to always use a reputable, licensed plumber. A mechanic. And electrician. A homebuilder. A veterinarian. A gunsmith. An appliance repairman. A knife maker. I prefer that my customers use my service rather than try to do some things themselves and muck it up causing more expense than if they had paid me to do it in the first place. But I recognize that there are a number of people who can study and master most given tasks that I do.

I have no problem doing simple medical proceedures on myself (such as suturing minor wounds) and have never suffered from doing so. Obviously there are people who should not try to change their own light bulbs. Or the spark plugs in their car. My ex-wife was forbidden by me to use our lawnmower and eventually even the weedeater.
 
Codger_64 said:
A doctor would obviously suggest that you should consult them for every medical need. A plumber will advise you to always use a reputable, licensed plumber. A mechanic. And electrician. A homebuilder. A veterinarian. A gunsmith. An appliance repairman. A knife maker. I prefer that my customers use my service rather than try to do some things themselves and muck it up causing more expense than if they had paid me to do it in the first place. But I recognize that there are a number of people who can study and master most given tasks that I do.

I have no problem doing simple medical proceedures on myself (such as suturing minor wounds) and have never suffered from doing so. Obviously there are people who should not try to change their own light bulbs. Or the spark plugs in their car. My ex-wife was forbidden by me to use our lawnmower and eventually even the weedeater.
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If you want to play Frankenstein with your own body I could care less. The reason I chime in on these threads is so that some 12 year old reading this doesn't try to sew himself up like Rambo cuz a guy on the net said it was fine.
 
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