gelandangan wrote:

I heard somewhere that cyanoacrylate (superglue) were used to "stitch wound. would it be a better method than needle and thread? also, would an epipen for anaphylaxis reaction to toxins or allergens be useful in the kit? Gelan

Gidday Gelan, fellow compartriate.

I know that they use a glue of some sort to "fix" cuts etc on kids, but whether or not it is cyanoacrylate I don't know. But still, thats a pretty good idea. I know it sticks skin to skin pretty bloody good !!

As for carrying a EpiPen®....unless you personally have a need for this ie, you have an allergy that will bring on anaphalaxis shock, you shouldn't really have one. I would be EXTREMELY wary of administering anything to someone that I didn't know for sure had been diagnosed by a Dr and was carrying their own medication....in fact I wouldn't do it....too dangerous. I would be content to maintain their vitals until professional medical assistance arrived.

Anyway, we are getting way off topic here. Maybe this is something we could open in a new thread to see what everyone else does.

Cheers, Vince

Not with out knowing your reaction to the solution in the epipen, Im alergic to the cure for a bee sting. so it would do me no good.

gelandangan wrote:

I heard somewhere that cyanoacrylate (superglue) were used to "stitch wound.

It is and it isn't, things like Dermabond (the one on my list, that costs 45$ for a bottle the size of a normal super glue bottle) is actually 2-octyl cyanoacrylate which doesn't react with some peoples skin or cause heat that the normal super glue can thats why the FDA didn't approve it at first, when they were using it in Vietnam.

A quote about other toxic problems with the actual superglue type:

Quote::

Cyanoacrylates bond skin and eyes in seconds. Studies have shown that methyl-2-cyanoacrylate degrades fairly rapidly upon contact with living tissue. This leads to the release of formaldehyde and a toxic response. However, epidemiological studies of individuals working in a plant that manufactures ethyl cyanoacrylate do not indicate a risk to human health. The National Toxicology Program and the United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive have concluded that the use of ethyl cyanoacrylate is safe and that additional study is unnecessary. 2-octyl cyanoacrylate degrades much more slowly due to its longer organic backbone which slows the degradation of the adhesive enough to remain below the threshold of tissue toxicity. Due to these toxicity issues, 2-octyl-cyanoacrylate is used for sutures.

Dimitri