This subject has probably come up before - but I want to re-visit it.

Imagine that you are in a hurry and you need to make a quick note. So you just write the message on the skin of your hand or wrist. It's simple, practical and you know you won't lose it.

This technique used to be used by EMT's when they applied certain treatments to patients. For example, you put a tourniquet on a victim at 11 am, and you want the doctor to know this. You write on the patient's skin ... "TK applied at 11 am."

So here's my question?
What is the best kind of pen to use for this? It's possible that somebody has come up with something better than a standard ballpoint. Also, is there a pen that writes well on skin, but the message can also be erased fairly easily later?

And one other thing - what if the person's skin is black and not white. Is there a pen that shows up better for dark sin?

thanks,
Pete2

I do this constantly for everyday reminders or even a short shopping list. I find pressurized ball point pens like the Papermate Profile (or whatever takes those refills) work best. I have been surprised and pleased at the quality of the pen that my modified SAK has, too.

This washes/wears/sweats off pretty easily.

David

There are companies that make special sterile surgical marking pens. These pens are designed specifically for writing on skin. Surgeons and tattoo artists use them. I'm sure you can find them on the internet.

With that said, If I had to write something important on myself or someone else, I would probably just stick with a Sharpie or other simple permanent marker. They work pretty well for writing on skin and have been used for that purpose for a longtime.

All in all though, writing on one's hand is typically a spur of the moment kind of thing; where one just grabs whatever pen is at hand and does it. If I was prepared enough to have a special pen for writing on my hand, I would have probably been prepared enough to just carry some paper or stick-on labels with my pen.

I'm not a medical person, but I'm with Paul, if I were to want to write something on someone, a Sharpie would probably be my first choice.

In fact, I keep one in my kit. Not exclusively for that purpose by any means, but I try to have a couple of different writing/marking devices that can work on a number of different materials and conditions.

For example, a Crayon, chalk, Sharpie, mechanical pencil and Space Pen.

In the dry, the chalk would be good for buildings/sidewalks. In the rain, the Crayon does better than chalk but is less visible. The Sharpie is good in a number of situations, but not so much in the wet.

-john

Sharpie for me too.

So far as writing on a person's skin where the sharpie doesn't show up so well, tear off a piece of tape (white, blue etc), write on that, and put it on your patient.

For mass casualties I have drilled to put a 1 ft of tape on my pants leg, and write important stuff - search results etc - on that. When you go in to debrief, tear it off and put it on the back of the search results. Same for doing triage - if you don't have patient tags or paper, write down vitals, bp etc, and transfer the tape to the patient or their medical record. Mostly works, as long as you're diligent about marking your written stuff according to patient (get a name or patient number). If I'm really thinking about it I would probably do it for a single casualty but haven't had that kind of urgent care where it was necessary.

I gave up ballpoints for a finepoint sharpie, and keep a grease pencil/china marker for notations on the inside of my windshield. If I remember correctly, Tourniquet notations go on the patient's forehead.

I frequently use the left palm for telephone numbers, talking points, and other quick notations. I find a standard ball point works quite well for quick notes. If I am noting anything fairly permanent, transferring to another surface is a good idea. Sharpies work very well, but they also easily mark up whatever arments you might be wearing. I have way too many ink stained shirts....

I first thought about the surgical marking pens as well. I don't have to use them that often but the last time I had to I seem to recall it smeared fairly easily. Perhaps I grabbed a faulty pen out of the med room.

I prefer a good, old basic Bic.

Cheers,
LW