My name is Jim Benson. I'm editor and publisher of ModernSurvival.net website, an online magazine. We have a Department called Ask Us in which readers submit questions and we answer them. One of our readers recently subsmited the following:

"In a situation where medical treatment is not readily available, I heard that I can close a flesh wound with Super Glue. I suspect that I would want to clean the wound if possible, then close the skin and glue it together. The other night, I saw a forensics TV show where someone squirted a whole tube into a gaping wound and that was that. Would the glue have to be removed later? My doctor doesn't want to talk about it"

I noticed that this website (EquippedtoSurvive.com) has emergency medical kit supply lists that include Super Glue for wound closures.

I have been doing research on this subject and saw where a few years back the FDA recommended a type of glue similar to Super Glue for use in minor wound closures. This type of treatment is not recommended for deep wounds, which would still require sutures for proper closure.

Also, various types of medical glues are used for this purpose in other countries.

But I have not been able to ascertain whether the commonly available product Super Glue is actually recommended by medical authorities for use in lieu of stitches for minor wound closures.

I'd lke to know what you hve to say about this matter, and why, specifically, you recommend inclusion of a tube of Super Glue in emergency medical kits.

Jim,
Glad you have stopped by. We on this forum represent many different countries, professions, and of-course, opinions. I am just one of them - not a moderator or anything other than a forumite. My training in medicine stops at EMT-Basic. There are atleast a couple of doctors who regularly post here.

This topic comes up on this forum with surprising regularity. Closing a wound in the field is almost certainly a bad idea. Whether you are using sutures, butterfly-bandages, or superglue the end result is almost certainly going to be an infection. Getting the wound completely clean is required before closing. If the wound is bleeding badly but not fataly then simply using a bunch of gauze and pressure will stop the bleeding and leave it open enough for you to clean and redress it daily or more often. If it is bleeding in such a fashion that direct pressure and bandages won't stop the bleeding then it is unlikely that sewing the skin shut will help - you would need enough surgical skill, equipment and conditions to sew up the organ or artery that is damaged. In such case you are simply dead - sorry If you need an ER and you don't have one then it's lights -out.

The only thing that is avoided by suturing or otherwise closing the wound promptly is scaring. In minor cases the scaring will only affect the skin and in severe cases there may be scaring that can affect muscles. Again suturing the skin is insuffficient anyway you would need to suture the underlying tissues as well. So all you can accomplish with superglue or sutures or anyother closure of a wound in the field is a nicely scar-free wound with gangrene festering underneath the surface.

Don't do it!

What you see in the movies is only good in the movies. What you see on the TV isn't even good on the TV.

I'm sure you will get some responses to this question other than mine. It would serve you to use the search feature of this forum but make sure that you set the time frame to all posts not just those from the last week (last week only is the default) and lookup super-glue / crazy-glue and closure and wound You will see that we discuss that about every two months.

I have had occasion to use superglue to close wounds on myself and on animals. Unless you can make certain that the wound is sterilized first, I wouldn't recommend it. You can't do it if the blood is still flowing through the wound either. The last time I did this was when an elderly freind was helping me dress an elk, and he cut my hand with the knife. After I cleaned the wound and it coagulated, I applied the glue and pushed the skin together until the glue set. The glue held the wound shut and kept it from opening up the rest of the day while I continued to dress the elk out and tend to camp chores. A couple days later, the glue separated and the wound was sufficiently knitted on it's own. Later on when I got home, I opened the wound back up and inspected and sterilized it, then dressed it. The doctor later said I could've used a few stitches, but it was otherwise okay, although it would leave a bragging scar (mostly from re-opening it up).

I have a good friend who is an ER doctor, and he doesn't recommend this treatment for the same reasons as mentioned in the other posts on this thread. Mine was a field expedient because I needed to get the elk taken care of, and in other cases for similar cause.

Cyanoacrylate stings for a long time when applied to subdermal tissue.

One of the best explanations I have ever seen was posted by Trigg at Plainsmans Cabin.
http://pub35.ezboard.com/fplainsmanscabinsurvivalmedicine.showMessage?topicID=256.topic

Hi Jim,

As stated below, alot of folks post alot of ideas on this site. If you perform a search including all posts on the subject you'll find quite a bit of opinion on the subject of using superglue/dermabond for wound closure.

My suggestion is that you e-mail Doug Ritter on the matter, his contact information is here on the site. He can explain and refer you to experts in the matter.

Hope this helps...

Matt

I only use super glue on paper cut/ small razor cuts and I only put a dot of it just to hold the skin from moving apart and annoying me. Even then a butterfly bandage is probibly a much better alternative. I wouldn't reccomend superglue, chances are you can find a much better alternative. Duct tape/electrical tape on the other hand I have used for many years when out of the jobsite. I find it to be a great temp fix until you get home. Just remember that you can never clean a wound enough. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I used to subcribe to your magazine. I still have most of the back issues. Backwoods Magazine just isnt the same.