I'm not going to try black powder, but I have heard that cigarette tobacco has antisceptic qualities and can be used to treat lacerations and it's got me curious. Is anybody familiar with the remedy?

One of my grandpas swore by black pepper. Just pack it in the cut and leave it alone. I tried it recently on a cut from a fairly sizable wood sliver that I dug out of my hand and it worked well enough. The cut wasn't large enough to need stitches so would probably have healed just fine on it's own.

I'm wondering about cigarette tobacco. Is it supposed to work the same way?

I've heard of lots of different versions. Tobacco juice, chewed or manually ground into a paste, a mat of hairs from a fiddle-head fern, pepper, bacon fat, even a claim you could use large ants to hold the cut closed by tricking them to bite across the laceration, applications of swamp moss got mention, and mustard plasters were all the rage in the late 19th century...

I've never used any of those.

As I understand it the good money advice for lacerations is to clean them out with mild soap and water and/or jets of normal saline or clean water from a syringe, a baggie with a pinhole squeezed works pretty well, and to mechanically keep the wound closed if it won't stay closed on its own.

Sewing shut is a treatment that goes back thousands of years. Using some sort of tape or strapping, possibly with some sort of adhesive, is an alternative. Butterflies, Steri-strips, bands with tincture of benzoin for glue, superglue directly or with bands are all options.

[I, for the record, do Not recommend anyone attempt to close any wound or use any compounds or medications in any manner or way. Do your homework, get training, and educate yourself. It is always best to consult with and use the services of medical professionals.]

On my own hide I've used athletic tape (it is my favorite tape for first-aide kits), Steri-strips, butterflies made from duct tape (is there anything duct tape isn't good for), and stitched myself up with common thread boiled and soaked in Neosporin to make it slippery, and one time, on a rather small but deep cut on my leg that was annoyingly placed and refused to stay closed, with dental floss.

A little topical anesthetic is handy if you have to stitch yourself up but it isn't really that painful without it.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK AND ONLY AFTER CONSULTING WITH YOUR DOCTOR: Diphenhydramine capsules can be cut open and the powder used as a topical anesthetic. Lasted about an hour last time I used it. Also handy for toothaches and as a last desperate resort for painful or itching insults to the skin. Sprinkling by hand works but you get better coverage per capsule over wider areas if the powder is picked up in and blown through a straw or other tube. Apply it and let it set for a few minutes to allow to gain maximum numbing effect.

I highly advise that you wash your hands after messing with the powder and don't get it in your eyes. It can make vision in that eye wonky and blurred. Eye/s that won't focus might be problematic in a survival situation. Things returned to normal after a couple of hours. On the up side that eye didn't itch for several days and it was high pollen season.

STANDARD WARNING APPLIES: Tetrahydrozoline based eye drop liquid will often slow or stop bleeding if you squirt it into a wound. Don't use this too early, blood helps clean the wound, but stopping the majority of the blood after giving it a reasonable chance to clot and stop on its own does help when trying to stitch it up.

Used to be Betadine and Neosporin was standard, and I sometimes use them, but last I heard there was some doubt as to how much good they do. Ive informally experimented with using A&E ointment, petroleum jelly, and butt creme on cuts and stitches. They all seem to work pretty well on clean wounds. IMHO, based on entirely anecdotal evidence, A&E ointment seemed to speed healing a bit.

The only thing I've heard used in 3rd world settings is sugar or honey, something about the pH inhibiting bacterial growth. Not that those remedies don't work, but I personally wouldn't pack a small wound with anything. A large wound can be packed with sterile gauze, moistened with sterile saline/water.

I am fairly conservative in this area. I stick with my training - basically pressure dressings - no stitching. It has worked for me, although nowhere near as dramatic as sewing, which I leave to the MDs and the seamstresses.

Thanks guys. I like to always have a good first aid kit around, and do reach for that first. Growing up in a family of nurses makes me a strong advocate of soap, water, proper bandadges, good first aid training and seeking medical attention for the big stuff.

I'm also interested in learning about home remedies. It's always nice to have a back-up for your back-up.

The theory behind honey is that it is naturally antibacterial and is also highly hygroscopic and tends to suck all the water out of any microscopic critters that it comes into contact with. I've read that honey never goes bad and this is a testament to its antimicrobial properties. I don't know about 'never' going bad simply because never is a very long time. I can say that I've had honey stored for ten years that didn't get moldy or grow colonies. It crystallized but returned to its normal state when heated.

Word I heard was that honey was the mainstay of antimicrobial agents in the Viet Cong and NVA military organizations. It was seldom as immediately effective as using the right antibiotics but it seemed to work pretty well. Cheap and locally available in quantity, in addition to being functional, keeps it on the list of options.

There was also some reports a decade or two back of doctors resorting to a mix of honey and Betadine to treat skin infections that wouldn't respond to antibiotics. I can see myself trying honey or the honey/betadine mix if I lacked other materials. Even if I had antibiotics I might go to that mix as a first option for minor wounds. Use what you have a lot of, and can get more of easily, while keeping the hard to get antibiotics for serious cases and situations when the honey doesn't work.

Tobacco works on stings. Even from a stale cigarette. Just moisten it with water or spit and place on the sting. Works well for me anyway. Though I still carry "AfterBite".

Thanks Art and Matt! There's a world of un-"medical" remedies out there, aren't there? Good to know if you don't have more conservative remedies on-hand, or, as you say Art, those resources are in short supply or become hard to get.

Oddly enough, I have a lot more soap of one variety or another, and a fair number of sterile dressings, around the house. I do have some honey (a jug of a very nice dark variety that goes very well with Constant Comment and is great on my special pancakes), but I would reserve the honey for foodstuffs and use the dressings in the conventional manner in an emergency.

That is not even considering producing sterile dressings by prolonged boiling, which can be done with almost any cloth.

Great reminder about boiled dressings, Hikermor!

And now I'm hoping the troops whip up pancakes for mom's day tomorrow. I haven't tried them with honey before. Sounds yummy!