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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H
If you need to repair a head cut and can’t get to the doctor, this a neat little trick. All you need are two things: a cut on the scalp and hair.
The hair has to be at least an inch or two long and has to surround the head cut. You twist hair strands on both sides of the cut, cross them over the cut to close it, and glue down your masterpiece. Repeat the process along the cut from one end to the other.
Actually, some doctors use this procedure in the office, especially on kids. I don’t. It’s not that I’m cruel. It’s just, I’m afraid the child might pick at it enough to unstick the hair. But, in a bind, it’s a great little trick. If you have some strong string, like dental floss, you can tie it around the strands where they cross. That way, you don’t have to depend completely on the glue.
My written post on how to repair a scalp wound using hair is here.
If there’s no hair around the [... continue reading]
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
We’re finally to the finale. This is the third video of my three-part series on how to treat a cut.
When you have no other recourse, almost any way to keep the edges of a cut together will suffice. Your body will do the rest. Duct taping a cut together requires the skin around the wound to be dry. Even a little oozing of blood may cause the tape to not stick. Other than that, taping a cut is easy.
To treat a cut, first follow the steps in my previous videos, parts one and two. Then:
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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
Everyone wants to get that cut closed ASAP. But hey, hold on there just a minute, Bub. First, you’ve got to stop the bleeding.
Next you’re going to need to clean, clean, clean. After the wound is closed, leftover bacteria are going to just love that warm, moist enclosed space. They can hide and multiply like crazy. And foreign bodies like visual dirt and debris? Don’t get me started. Next thing you know you’ve got a nasty wound infection with pus and redness and fever and worse. Dare I say abscess?
Sure, our immune system is great. It fights off those bacteria like crazy. But give it a fighting chance. Clean that wound. Then the our antibodies and white blood cells can mop up what’s left. (And there are almost always a few bacteria left).
In this second video of my three-part series on how to threat a cut, my daughter/assistant and I brave the wild (kidding) to demonstrate tips on how to tell if you’ve cut a tendon, severed an artery, or damaged a nerve.
I [... continue reading]
Mouth cuts always get infected
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
You’re camping in a remote part of Alaska. The helicopter that brought you in won’t be back for days. You slip and hit a rock. Your front tooth cuts through your lip or cuts your tongue. What do you do? How do you treat a mouth cut or a tongue cut when no medical help is around?
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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
When to see a doctor for a cut?
Crash. A brick flies through a window. Your spouse is cut and bleeding, but otherwise unhurt. The streets are jammed with rioters. There’s no ambulance available, and even if you could get to the hospital, it’s packed. Should you fight the crowd or stay put? The urgency of when to see a doctor for a cut depends on several things.
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Curved suture needle and thread.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
Do I need stitches, Doc? It’s a question patients who come in with cuts often ask me. Or something like, “I feel so silly wasting your time over a little cut.” So how do you know when to get stitches?
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Arteries flow away from the heart (red). Veins flow back toward it (blue).
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
When trying to stop a cut from bleeding, you need to know how to tell the difference between a bleeding vein and a bleeding artery.
Memorize this saying: Arteries spurt. Veins don’t.
Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to tissue. Veins drain the blood back to the heart to resupply it with oxygen.
Arteries pump. Veins dump.
Step 1: Apply pressure.
- Use gauze or a clean cloth. If you don’t have anything else, use a gloved hand. If it’s yourself, as a last resort, use your bare hand. If it’s others, beware you could be exposing yourself to a blood-borne disease. Stuff a gash with a cloth (the cleanest you have) or gauze, and hold pressure. A shirt will do.
Step 2: Determine whether it’s an artery or vein.
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