Super Glue - not just for projects

[FinalImpact]

Mods, not sure where this best fits so move it if there's a better place.

All, after a long weekend of running about in very hot weather and bare foot through rocks and water I managed to peel a very large chunk of flesh many layers deep from big toe (about the size of quarter). Not much blood as it was peel back kinda like blister but layers deep and lots of raw nerves.

Knowing it'll take a good week to repair itself and I need my big toe operational so I opted for scrubbing/washing with soap and water and gluing the flap down with super glue. That was two days ago and it sure looks like sealing it up to keep the dirt out has down a great job. In fact the color looks like its normal color as if it never happened.

Bottom line: this is not the first time I've used super glue to repair cuts and abrasions and now include it in my first aid kit.

It's a life saver and you can pump it straight through a leaking area to seal it all back together. Yes, they make a medical grade super glue but off the shelf instant adhesive could be a good thing for a fallen biker who needs a quick repair to get home.

So consider grabbing some and keeping it with you. :thumbup:

 

[CHEMIKER]

Great advice. My fingers get dry and crack at the corners of my fingernails during winter, and superglue is the only thing that keeps the crack from getting bigger while allowing it to heal.

The difference between medical grade and Home Depot grade is that when used internally, the Home Depot grade causes inflammation, where the medical grade doesn't (as much). Both are the same when used on skin. And since liquid super glue is toxic, even the Home Depot grade is sterile :thumbup:

 

[kidfazer56]

Yes super glue is actually an antiseptic so it kills bacteria. I use it over band-aids all the time

 

[Motogiro]

I considered using it on a knife cut last week after I cut myself reaching into sudsy water. Since I didn't know about toxicity I didn't use it but if I was out in the field, I might have to.

One thing to consider when closing a wound beside toxicity would be bacteria.

I've glued myself to large objects in the shop. There is this stuff called Zip Kicker that forces super glue (Cyano Acrylate?) to cure really fast. I was holding a piece once and I sprayed the Zip Kicker and didn't realize I had some super glue on my thumb nail. My thumb nail was smoking!!!

They have really cool super glues out now that are more flexible and less brittle for better repairs. Awesome stuff!
Hope your injury heals up real quick!

 

[Botch]

I just glued my thumb back together on Friday; woodcarvers have been doing this for years. :thumbup:

 

[FinalImpact]

I've been an RC boat, plane, helicopter guy since 10 years old. Always had this stuff around.

It's crazy when you add accelerators how hot it gets on your fingers!!!!

Ya, I'm fine. Walking is almost normal.... I've found that oils in our skin usually release the glue after about three/four days which is just enough time to get some healing done. :thumbup:

 

[FinalImpact]

I considered using it on a knife cut last week after I cut myself reaching into sudsy water. Since I didn't know about toxicity I didn't use it but if I was out in the field, I might have to.

One thing to consider when closing a wound beside toxicity would be bacteria.

I've glued myself to large objects in the shop. There is this stuff called Zip Kicker that forces super glue (Cyano Acrylate?) to cure really fast. I was hold a piece once and I sprayed the Zip Kicker and didn't realize I had some super glue on my thumb nail. My thumb nail was smoking!!!

They have really cool super glues out now that are more flexible and less brittle for better repairs. Awesome stuff!
Hope your injury heals up real quick!

Seal in the flavor (bacteria) ->True, but a good knife wound usually cleans itself!!! If not, try again and then it'll self-clean! :welcome:

 

[CHEMIKER]

I considered using it on a knife cut last week after I cut myself reaching into sudsy water. Since I didn't know about toxicity I didn't use it but if I was out in the field, I might have to.

One thing to consider when closing a wound beside toxicity would be bacteria.

I've glued myself to large objects in the shop. There is this stuff called Zip Kicker that forces super glue (Cyano Acrylate?) to cure really fast. I was holding a piece once and I sprayed the Zip Kicker and didn't realize I had some super glue on my thumb nail. My thumb nail was smoking!!!

They have really cool super glues out now that are more flexible and less brittle for better repairs. Awesome stuff!
Hope your injury heals up real quick!

There is nothing to worry about with closing a skin wound with Home Depot stuff. The "toxicity" is mild in the scheme of things, the Home Depot style releases formaldehyde as it is absorbed by the body, which causes inflammation until it's gone, but nothing too crazy. It was used in Vietnam as a wound sealing spray to cause hemostasis in trauma patients, until they could get to proper medical care. That was a large amount in an open wound, and the benefit of stopping blood loss far outweighed the inflammation caused during resorption.

Interestingly, even medical grades release formaldehyde as they degrade, but they are designed to do so at a slower rate, so they just cause less inflammation.

 

[CHEMIKER]

There is nothing to worry about with closing a skin wound with Home Depot stuff. The "toxicity" is mild in the scheme of things, the Home Depot style releases formaldehyde as it is absorbed by the body, which causes inflammation until it's gone, but nothing too crazy. It was used in Vietnam as a wound sealing spray to cause hemostasis in trauma patients, until they could get to proper medical care. That was a large amount in an open wound, and the benefit of stopping blood loss far outweighed the inflammation caused during resorption.

Interestingly, even medical grades release formaldehyde as they degrade, but they are designed to do so at a slower rate, so they just cause less inflammation.

Also, "inflammation" doesn't mean a huge swollen thumb, it's something only a pathologist with a microscope and a biopsy will see.

 

[04fizzer]

You can also use nu-skin, which is actually intended for this purpose. It works like super glue, but has an antiseptic in it as well.

I've used super glue to rebuild a nail that I sliced off while cooking dinner one night. Fortunately, it was just BARELY through the nail, just barely exposing the nail bed. It didn't hurt, but boy it felt weird. The super glue saved me a lot of pain as the nail grew back in.

 

[4drfocus]

Loctite has a Control Gel formula, it's thick like hair gel, doesn't drip.:thumbup:

 

[Botch]

I've used super glue to rebuild a nail that I sliced off while cooking dinner one night. Fortunately, it was just BARELY through the nail, just barely exposing the nail bed. It didn't hurt, but boy it felt weird. The super glue saved me a lot of pain as the nail grew back in.

Made me think of this stuff:

 

[04fizzer]

Made me think of this stuff:

That surely would have been more fitting, if not a bit more messy.

 

[callmegandhi]

And I thought you were sniffing it! :rof:

 

[mrphotoman]

I have used superglue for cuts before too, i never thought to add it to a first aid kit, that is a great idea!!

 

[JayJay]

A mate told me the military has been using superglue to seal wounds for years.

Google search...
The Straight Dope: Was Super Glue invented to seal battle wounds in Vietnam?

The use of cyanoacrylate glues in medicine was considered fairly early on. Eastman Kodak and Ethicon began studying whether the glues could be used to hold human tissue together for surgery. In 1964 Eastman submitted an application to use cyanoacrylate glues to seal wounds to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Soon afterward Dr. Coover's glue did find use in Vietnam--reportedly in 1966 cyanoacrylates were tested on-site by a specially trained surgical team, with impressive results.

Although cyanoacrylate glues were useful on the battlefield, the FDA was reluctant to approve them for civilian use. In part, this was due to a tendency of the early compounds (made from "methyl-2-cyanoacrylate") to irritate the skin as the glue reacted with water and cured in the skin, releasing cyanoacetate and formaldehyde. A compound called "butyl-2-cyanoacrylate" was developed to reduce toxicity, but suffered from brittleness and cracking a few days after application. Finally an improved cyanoacrylate glue was developed for medical applications called "2-octyl-cyanoacrylate." This compound causes less skin irritation and has improved flexibility and strength--at least three times the strength of the butyl-based compound (reference 2). As a result, in 1998 the FDA approved 2-octyl cyanoacrylate for use in closing wounds and surgical incisions, and in 2001 approved it for use as a "barrier against common bacterial microbes including certain staphylococci, pseudomonads, and Escherichia coli" (reference 2). This latest incarnation was marketed under the name Traumaseal as well as the more popular Dermabond.

Cyanoacrylate glues also find use in medicine for orthopedic surgery, dental and oral medicine (marketed as Soothe-n-Seal), veterinary medicine (Nexaband), and for home use as Band Aid brand Liquid Bandage. It even has been explored as a potential treatment for emphysema, where it can be used to seal off diseased lung passages without the need for invasive surgery.

Is it safe to use ordinary household cyanoacrylate glue as a medical glue? According to Reference 7, most cyanoacrylate glues not designed specifically for medical use are formulated from methyl-2-cyanoacrylate, since it produces the strongest bond. Not only can such glues irritate the skin, during polymerization they can generate significant heat, to the point of causing skin burns. I gather this is a problem only if a large area of skin is affected. But to err on the side of safety, you should tell your brother-in-law he should only use medically-approved glue, not the ordinary kind. And always be careful using it--I know families are supposed to stick together, but there are limits.

 

[Humperdinkel]

Seriously , let this dumb Aussie get his head around this When you say Super Glue you are talking about this stuff right ??

Because if you are then you all get rep , during winter my knuckles on my right index finger & left thumb split badly & this could be a godsend for me :thumbup:

 

[stink989]

That's it humpy. I have seen a bloke glue a massive gash across his palm up, just so he could keep on riding for the weekend. He had tears rolling out and reckons it killed.

 

[mrphotoman]

Did anyone see that Paris Hilton movie House of Wax where he superglues that girls mouth closed and she rips her lips apart to sream for help lol. Now that looked painful.

 

[CHEMIKER]

Seriously , let this dumb Aussie get his head around this When you say Super Glue you are talking about this stuff right ??

Because if you are then you all get rep , during winter my knuckles on my right index finger & left thumb split badly & this could be a godsend for me :thumbup:

That's the stuff. I have the same problem in winter and it works great! I keep a tube in my luggage and use it whenever I discover a new crack.

Don't worry about the medical/non-medical thing either, the stuff off the shelf is just fine for small skin openings.