A praise for Cyanoacrylates, daily update pics.

T-Bird · #1 04-27-2009, 01:12 AM

Hi.

Disclaimer:

Other than the basic CPR training I have no medical training/education, nor I'm willing to take any ATM.
Base Your judgement about what I'm going to show and suggest on that.
I ve been doing this for almost two decades, that doesn't necessarily mean that You should.

I work on metals, woods, glass, etc. Sharp materials and often even sharper tools. Most of my tools/machinery are industrial strenght and won't budge or stall if say, a finger, a sleeve, loose hair, beard

, etc. gets in their way.

Needless to say I cut, nick, bruise, scratch myself in a daily basis. I usually can't wear gloves, "work brakes", as I lose the touch and they just get in the way.

Yesterday I was using an one hand angle grinder with a flap-disk to prepare some tubing for an exhaust system. Obviously the grinder slipped and leveled a part of my thumb knuckle.

As I have CA always in the shop for instances like this, I applied some to the cut immediately, before it started to bleed (IMPORTANT).

The educational value of this didn't occure to me yesterday so here's a pic I just took.

The cut is about 10*10mm and the black stuff You see above the wound is part of the skin that was ground off. I didn't have the scalpel ready, so I left it there.

After a minute or so I applied a second layer and after that was dry, I continued grinding. The beauty of CA IME is that You can continue working almost immediately. No fear of infection, it doesn't hurt (a bit sensitive to touch of course) and generally it's like nothing happened.

I continued working about 6 hours after that incident BTW.

ATM the wound doesn't hurt at all, no sign of any infection, just the rigidity of the CA stretches the skin a bit when moving my thumb. The sensitivity to touch is already gone too, couldn't be happier. But then again I'm used to this

.

The CA I use is regular 3M product, but I haven't found too much difference between brands, they all work well for me.

If You want to be ready as a boy-scout, carry a bottle of CA with you and there will be no small nicks preventing you from working.

Usually these heal really quick, I'll be posting updates for Your viewing pleasure.

Regards
Sam

santucci218 · #2 04-27-2009, 01:20 AM

...ill bite and be an idiot...what is CA?

santucci218 · #3 04-27-2009, 01:25 AM

aah, i appearently did not read the thread title. so you just put superglue on it?

Stumbo · #4 04-27-2009, 01:25 AM

Super glue....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

T-Bird · #5 04-27-2009, 01:34 AM

Hi.

Yep, super glue.

There's other super glues also that aren't cyanoacrylates. From experience and literature I know that CA isn't harmful in bloodstream, don't know about the other products.

When in contact with blood, CA clogs and expands (or vice versa, I'm no chemist either

) and forms quite strange looking foam that hardens.

Regards
Sam

Tsal · #6 04-27-2009, 04:11 AM

Apparently, pet stores sell the medical grade version of CA. If you're worried about the skin irritation with the normal CA, you might want to look into these.

machine gewehr · #7 04-27-2009, 05:38 AM

Superglues are used in surgeries too if I'm not mistaken.

Just be careful not to have a piece of wood/metal on the tip of the bottle.

Michael Campbel · #8 04-27-2009, 05:43 AM

CA's are used all over for medical purposes. I do a (very) little woodworking and it's invaluable both for screwups on the pieces, and screwups on my hands! =)

Wikipedia mentions its use in 'Nam in 1966!

i_got_a_mohawk · #9 04-27-2009, 07:58 AM

I thought they were first used for medical reasons before being used a general purpose glue?

If it's just surface bleeding, it isn't going to get into the blood stream, if it was a big enough gouge into a major vein or artery, then I wouldnt be using CA on it!

Certainly is wonderful stuff at times, though it's strong adhesion to skin can also be a bit of a pest!

TheDarkReaver · #10 04-27-2009, 07:58 AM

When I was young I cracked another young boys skull with a teaspoon. It was super glue that they used to stick it back together.

So yes, medical practices indeed.

ehque · #11 04-27-2009, 10:19 AM

Some of the superglues that are CAs have additives that might be toxic or at least an irritant, so i heard.

Quote:

As it can irritate the skin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not approve superglue's civilian medical use until 1998 when a variant called 2-octyl-cyanoacrylate was developed... 2-octyl cyanoacrylate is the medical grade glue encountered under various trade names, e.g. SurgiSeal, FloraSeal, Dermabond, Nexaband, and others.

bassteban · #12 04-27-2009, 10:45 AM

I read somewhere tha CA was developed as a field suture-type thingie(pardon my high-tech terminology)for battlefield use around the time of the Viet Nam war.

santucci218 · #13 04-27-2009, 10:49 AM

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...nds-in-vietnam

that guy is a genius!

MakiSupaStar · #14 04-27-2009, 10:58 AM

As a lifeguard working on our rescue boat, little cuts, abrasions, and wounds are pretty common. I keep a tube of superglue in my bag for this exact purpose. It's waterproof, so even if I go on a rescue, it keeps the wound clean and helps prevent infection.

Absentia · #15 04-27-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by santucci218

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...nds-in-vietnam

that guy is a genius!

thanks that killed a few min. interesting stuff.

I've used the stuff for years on small cuts and blisters, works great, never had any side effects... minus the of course gluing fingers together.

santucci218 · #16 04-27-2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Absentia

thanks that killed a few min. interesting stuff.

I've used the stuff for years on small cuts and blisters, works great, never had any side effects... minus the of course gluing fingers together.

keep him bookmarked man, he answers one crazy question a day and its always interesting.

RWP · #17 04-27-2009, 11:52 AM

Didn't some woman glue her husbands 'thing' to his stomach with super glue?

santucci218 · #18 04-27-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWP

Didn't some woman glue her husbands 'thing' to his stomach with super glue?

i remember reading that too! haha.

T-Bird · #19 04-28-2009, 10:22 AM

Hi.

^Yet another case where the husband was sent to a looong stretch by a female judge after he had given his nagging wife some "eye drops". Now that's a cruel joke IMHO.

Good to see that people are more or less familiar with use of CA. Over here I get REALLY weird looks when I patch myself on the job sites I visit. No-one can believe how fast I'm able to work again and how fast the cuts heal.

In case people don't read the Wiki article or know about it beforehand, the medical cyanoacrylate isn't the same chemical that the "regular" cyanoacrylates/super glues/CA is. There's chemical differences between the "grades". The industrial stuff IS NOT approved for medical use.

Todays pic:

Healing well, and the skinless area seems to have shrunken a hair.

Regards
Sam

honestjohnny · #20 04-28-2009, 11:24 AM

I could be wrong, but I think CA was originally developed for military use. Either way, we use it regularly at the hospital, albiet the "hospital grade," stuff. It's called Dermabond. However, in situations where it hasn't been up to task I have gone and gotten Krazy Glue, which usually does the trick. No ill effects that I know of.