Exceptional wound care

[etpm]

Several nights ago I was slicing potatoes 1/8" thick on a mandolin slicer. Because of my inattention I managed to slice a 1/8" thick section from my little finger. It was pretty bad, I saw the fat bubbling out through the blood. I managed to remove not only the epidermis but also the dermis. I decided the next morning, after looking at the wound again, that a pro needed to look at the wound. So I went to the walk in clinic that is fortunately only a few miles from where I live. They cleaned the wound which was about 3/8" by 5/8", too big to just pull the wound closed with stitches. That cleaning process was by itself enough to very strongly suggest that I should not wound myself in a similar manner ever again. But the exceptional part is truly exceptional. The doc opened a package that had a small piece of some sort of foamed material. She cut it to size and pressed it onto the wound. Lotsa fun. But it stuck and stopped the bleeding, which was still fairly profuse. I was told to leave this foam type stuff on the wound until it falls off by itself. And not not only did the wound stop bleeding but the pain from all those exposed nerve endings is gone.I don't know what the foam is made of but it is truly remarkable. I suspect our military uses it a lot. It's been 5 days now and my finger doesn't hurt. I don't know what was put on the wound but it is certainly an exceptional wound care product and I am very glad that some scientists figured this stuff out. I was told that because of the large amount of flesh removed that I should expect 3 to 4 weeks for the finger to heal to the point that the foam stuff falls off and that new skin will at least cover the wound. I was also told that there will probably not be a fingerprint any more from the wounded area. Still, I want to say again how happy I am that medical science figured out this stuff. Fingers are very sensitive and I know if I just bandaged up my finger it would be super sensitive for months while it healed. YAY Science!
Eric

 

[Oaktree]

Did a quick Google search and there seems to be quite a variety of foam wound dressing products.

https://www.amazon.com/Foam-dressings-Wounds/s?k=Foam+dressings+for+Wounds

 

[Roadworthy]

Great solution. I'd never heard of it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RjCorazza]

My dear wife is a wound care nurse. I had carpal tunnel surgery years ago, and she replaced the gauze bandage with a large (4x6") foam product that was state of the art at the time.
When the surgeon saw it during a follow-up visit he was furious !!! (I mean over the top angry). He had no idea what it was, and being the total jerk that he was, refused to listen to reason.

I still remember his face when I told him my wife has forgotten more about wound care than he will ever know.

 

[scootr]

When I was 19 I got a hand burned in an oil fire. Bad deal. All the skin was gone on the thumb and next 2 fingers plus palm and back of the hand. A friend told about vitamin E. I cleaned and applied E 2 times daily and ingested the E too. When I saw the surgeon for a follow up visit he was amazed at the progress. He said you are regrowing hairs! You won't need any surgery and I need to know exactly what you have been doing. He got out his pad and pencil and wrote down everything. Good doctor. Good friend.

 

[bigtiller]

When I was 19 I got a hand burned in an oil fire. Bad deal. All the skin was gone on the thumb and next 2 fingers plus palm and back of the hand. A friend told about vitamin E. I cleaned and applied E 2 times daily and ingested the E too. When I saw the surgeon for a follow up visit he was amazed at the progress. He said you are regrowing hairs! You won't need any surgery and I need to know exactly what you have been doing. He got out his pad and pencil and wrote down everything. Good doctor. Good friend.

It's a good thing.
I used vitamin E cream on my knee replacement scar 2x day after the wound healed, and my scar is smaller that any other knee replacement scar I have ever seen.

 

[wilso]

Wow, Eric! I'm so sorry to hear about your injury, but it's amazing how far medical technology has come. That foam sounds incredible. I didn't know about it. And I think it would be great to have it at home or when traveling/camping, just in case. I think I'll check the Canadian Pharmacy B2B Partner site for this kind of product. Thanks for sharing!

 

[etpm]

Wow, Eric! I'm so sorry to hear about your injury, but it's amazing how far medical technology has come. That foam sounds incredible. I didn't know about it. And I think it would be great to have it at home or when traveling/camping, just in case. Thanks for sharing!

The stuff that was used on me is called "Surgicel", according to the paperwork from the clinic. I looked for it online but found that it was easier to buy a similar product. Surgicel is made from specially processed cellulose so I looked for other products that were made from the same stuff. I ended up buying a product called "Blood Stop". There are other products for stopping bleeding that use kaolin, which is a clay. I just bought what was most similar. My original dressing fell off but the wound still needed covering and was starting to bleed again so the Blood Stop purchase came in handy and it acted just like the Surgicel. I think every home first aid kit should have some sort of hemostat dressing in it.
Eric