Ever superglue yourself back together?

[strantor]

I'm an idiot, I was careless, beat up on me if you must but, but know that you can't say anything worse to me than what I've already said to myself.

Now that's out of the way, Yesterday I was trimming some flashing off a plastic part with a brand new "scalpel" style #22 Xacto knife when it slipped and went into my finger. Just went straight in, no hesitation, no pain, clean entry, lots of blood. I saw it happen in slow motion and that blade went DEEP. Probably hit the bone but I don't know for sure as I didn't open it up and look.

I held it closed with a clean paper towel while fumbling open a pack of single-use superglue tubes. Rubbed superglue all over it and it cures instantly when the blood hits it. Forms an instant scab and holds the skin together while it heals. Burns a little for a second but not bad. This was a "go get stitches" scenario but I have had excellent results each time I did this. Especially for very clean cuts like this one. Probably not the right call for a chainsaw bite but who knows?

The corpsman on my boat in the Navy said the surgical glue they use is basically just superglue and that stuck with me. I also had a civilian nurse confirm it. So I don't go in for stitches unless I am worried about infection or the wound is really gnarly.

Anyway, I guess nobody knew I've been doing this all along and I mentioned it yesterday around friends and family and the reactions were not what I expected. I thought this was a well known thing, but apparently I was wrong. People either thought I was joking or disappointingly stupid. "I hope you're joking because if you're not you need to go to the doctor first thing the morning before gangrene sets in." Jeez aunt Ruth, calm down, it's not like I cut it with a rusty saw covered in human feces and bat saliva.

So am I the only idiot gluing body parts in place instead of going to the hospital like a responsible adult?

Pic below, showing angle of attack. Doesn't look bad in the picture, mostly covered in polymer scab. Blad went in about 3/8" deep and cut about 5/8" long

Spoiler: Pic

 

[rwm]

Slightly chemically different from Dermabond. Glue is generally not recommended for high tensile areas with movement, like fingers but it may work for you. Be prepared to reapply. Fortunately fingers are very tolerant to trauma and generally heal. I actually prefer stitches so I don't have to worry about failure. The last time I put my fingers in the band saw, I glued the wounds closed. I ended up getting stitches two days later when they split open! Then I could swing a hammer again.

 

[SLK001]

Been there, done that. I was installing a new dishwasher and cut my knuckle bad enough that it wouldn't stop bleeding. I popped out the super glue and glued the two sides together. Stopped the bleeding. Had to reapply about every day, because the glue line easily fatigues, but the glue did the trick. Finished the installation with the wound S/G'ed together.

 

[jwmay]

Yeah Dad taught me that trick when I was a teenager. I keep superglue in with the bandages/first aid stuff as well as a fresh tube on the workbench at all times.

 

[RJSakowski]

My single biggest use for superglue is gluing myself together. I started using it in the 1970's. The biggest use is probably gluing those pesky splits in my hands that occur during winter months. I have glued some major wounds that probably would have otherwise required stitches. For those hard to keep closed wounds, use a small amount of gauze to bridge the wound and apply superglue to the gauze. It works better than band aides.

Many years ago, we had a horse that managed to open a big wound at the center of its forehead. The vet just used sperglue to glue back together....no stitches.

 

[Shiseiji]

And FWIW, keep a roll of "good" riggers tape for the big ones. All the ED nurses, including my RN partner, were pretty impressed. Other than the shop floor, very minimum blood loss from a 4" deep cut. Great bar story, wasn't funny at the time LOL.

 

[GeneT45]

Cyanoacrylate adhesives were originally designed for just that purpose. "Super Glue" was just a happy alternate use. I've used it a few times and the hardest part is not gluing your undamaged hand to your wound...

I carry a scar on my thumb, probably close to 40 years old, from a very similar accident. (Of course I was young at the time - though old enough to know better...).

GsT

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Butterfly bandages, CA glue, self adhesive grip tape, and liquid bandage are all in my traveling triage kit.
I’ve patched myself back together more times than I can remember.
I have used electrical tape and paper towels for instant results more often than anything, until better methods can be applied

 

[682bear]

I'm glad I'm not the only one doing this... CA is particularly useful for cracked dry skin.

I have also used it to remove those tiny slivers that are too small to see and remove... the CA sticks to the sliver, and when it eventually peels off the skin, the sliver comes with it.

-Bear

 

[woodchucker]

done it many times. back in around 1984 I stitched myself up, after that, I found that I could use CA.. been using it ever since.
as a matter of fact we had to glue my wife up 2 Christmas's ago. Cutting up stuff at my Son's .. and ... tried a styptic stick first, then went to the glue.