Another week, another Medical Monday post! This week we will be covering stab wounds. I will also include animal bites since the treatment and wound pattern is almost identical.
Stab wounds can be very frightening to think about. With the lack of imaging that a grid down situation causes you will be hard pressed to see what below the skin is actually damaged. The lucky thing is our body is very resilient. Organs have been noted to shift out of the way of a knife or other penetrating object. Most of that has to do with velocity.
If there is any major bleeding you are going to want to stop that first. If it requires a tourniquet use that, or if direct pressure works just use that. You might have to pack these wounds especially if they are in a junctional area. The junctional areas are where an extremity and the trunk meet. Armpits, groin, and neck. If the object that made the wound is still embedded then do not try to remove it. Just bandage around it enough to secure the object so it won’t move and cause further damage. These patients need to see a higher level of care.
If there is no major bleeding these wounds will need to heal on their own. Debridement should be performed using Dakin’s solution. Do not close these wounds up, do not suture these closed or try to use butterfly bandages. Use an antibiotic cream topically. Cover with gauze and check on them every few days to monitor for signs of infection. Clean the wound with Dakin’s solution every time you remove the gauze to examine it. Reapply the antibiotic cream and cover with a clean sterile dressing.
All the of the above applies for an animal bite, but you need to make sure you clean the wound extremely well. Use lots of Dakin’s solution and pay extra attention to these for signs of infection.
This was the last post that I already had the idea for. Now I will start posting polls on Unchained Preppers to get ideas. So if you want input for the next posts, join the forum and vote! Check out the rest of the forum as well, there is plenty of good information there on a multitude of subjects.
If you have any questions post them below in the comments section. Don’t forget to share these posts with anyone you think could benefit from the information, and subscribe to the blog as well. Don’t be left bleeding out like a stuck pig!