Lost Art Press

Wounds in the Workshop, Minor and Otherwise

Posted on by Lost Art Press

I’m not afraid to pull down my pants, turn my head and cough when it comes to discussing workshop practice. And after reading this very interesting bit on treating wounds with French polish, I decided to discuss some of the stuff I do – advisable or not.

When I cut myself in the shop and it’s not ER-able, the first thing I do is wash out the wound in the sink with running water and soap. Then I put some Neosporin or some such on the wound.

But how do I close the wound so that I can continue to work? That depends.

If it’s real minor, I use fabric bandages from the drugstore. Yawn, I know. But these bandages – no matter how much money I spend on them – are usually wrecked when I move my joints. Most woodworking wounds are on the hands, so most bandages don’t last long.

So if it’s a bleeder, I take some other steps that have worked well in my shop for 15 years without any problems. First, clean the wound. Clean it. Clean. It. Then:

1. Blue tape and a clean paper towel. Yup, make your own custom dressing with these two common shop products. Why do I do this? It’s a much more “adaptable” dressing. Even good fabric bandages don’t last the whole day in the shop. Blue tape sure does. And the tape resists dirt. Fabric bandages absorb it.

2. Cyanoacrylate with accelerator. This is my favorite wound-closer. After cleaning things out, I’ll press the wound together, apply some cyano over it and squirt it with accelerator. If it’s a wound on a joint, I’ll usually add a second coat of cyano to make a tough skin. I follow that up with the blue tape/paper towel as noted above to keep the dirt out, and I am good to go.

3. Recently, I’ve made some bandages from clean strips of cotton (old T-shirts) soaked with hide glue. You make the bandages beforehand so they look like light brown strips of dried bacon. But they work. You wrap them around the wound and they tack pretty quick. I still prefer cyano over all the other methods, but this is a good field solution.

I know that the doctors will likely cringe at my methods. But I have had far fewer problems with infection once I started actively closing the wounds with cyano and blue tape.

— Christopher Schwarz

38 thoughts on “Wounds in the Workshop, Minor and Otherwise”

  2. In an emergency (defined as any wound that might bleed on the wood), I’ll grab whatever tape comes first to hand, whatever the color. Never heard that blue tape was particularly efficacious, but thanks for the tip; I’ll give it try. Beyond that, I am also a fan of Cyanoacrylate though I have never thought to use accelerator which, upon reflection, seems like a no-brainer. I also like fabric bandaids from Johnson and Johnson. For some reason, the adhesive on cheaper brands causes me an adverse skin reaction.

  3. OK – I’ve used most of the methods before, any masking tape in a pinch. Packing tape over the blue, etc. adds a bit of water resistance, plus it’s width helps seal up the edges. The hide glue wraps are a new one. Does it matter if we use liquid hide glue, or is there an advantage to hot hide?

  4. ER’s all around are using crazy glue to close small wounds instead of stitches … it’s not as crazy as one might think. Your glue trick is the pedestrian version thereof. By the way, I hear they use staples too, but I wouldn’t try that one at home – I’m sure they are not your garden variety office staples.

    2. My sliced her finger open when she was 3 with scissors, the ER used Dermabond (medical CA) to glue it back together, no having to hold her down to get stitches, just glue and off we went.

      Cheers

      1. Dermabond (octyl cyanoacrylate) is freaking amazing on any wound that is CLEAN & well approximated (good edges that come together). If you don’t have those then a cleanish presure dressing is always better than nothing with bleeding. Dermabond goes on like syrup dries in about 20 seconds and is pretty durable and somewhat flexible. The downside is it is about $10 a tube and breaks down with alcohol (or hand sanitizer).

        Joe- a woodworking nurse

  5. I like elastic knuckle and finger tip bandages as well as the extra long one that will go around the finger twice. I always buy from an industrial source, they are way better than the drug store versions. I’m always afriad the glue will glue my other hand to the wound when I pinch the cut closed and duct tape really sticks. But really hasn’t Roy proven it’s OK to just bleed on the project.

  6. CA is a perfectly acceptable practice – used in the combat arena, as well as being an alternative to dissolvable stitches, given that the body can cleanly break down CA.

    I’ve fixed many a shop wound with it, although have not resorted to using accelerator – not being as sure about how the body likes accelerator absorbed through an open wound, but moreso that the CA cures so rapidly in contact with the skin that I’ve never needed it (anyone who has managed to stick their fingers together can testify to that!!)

    Also used it on my pets – a dog I had did some damage to his paw, and no bandage would survive his attention, or simply his activity. CA fixed him right up.

  7. If I were to ever cut myself in the shop I think I would like stretchy electrical tape. Just saying…

  8. If you cut your hand: wash with soap and water well, apply a clean (not dried dog piss soaked or applied goober goop) dressing and elevate it so it won’t bleed all over the pages of your Grey’s Anatomy as you try to sort out just what damage you did.

  9. Hi Chris,

    Thanks for sharing your techniques for wound repair. You are correct, that most medically trained will draw a wince or cringe from your treatment advice, but that doesn’t make it all bad.
    As often on these thirds, we need to be careful giving advice, because it can be misconstrued. In addition, I find it necessary to validate my position more for clarity, than any other reason.

    Besides being a professional woodworker, I am also a 30-year veteran of wilderness field medicine, (WEMT.) When you’re in the “bush,” simple or complex injuries have to be dealt with. There is no running to the emergency room, and little wounds become big ones if not handled accordingly.

    Now, after all that validation is out of the way, your advice is basically sound, assuming you really clean the wound very, very, VERY, well, and you have a robust immune system. Each one of your descriptions is basically a “poultice,” by design, and the key elements are:

    1. Clean the wound well, and keep it clean.

    2. Always keep the wound covered during activities.

    3. Clean and change dressings, (band aid,) regularly, in most cases, allowing the wound to “air out,” if the tissue looks overly wet.

    Now for some critique and my own “two cents.” The use of any kind of “adhesive base wound closure system can be very risky, do to the potential for “abscessing,” which can rapidly lead to a systemic infection, so be very careful. Cyanoacrylate has been used within the medical profession for a while now, but there are limitations. You must understand the principles of its application on the human body before employment of treatment modality. The industrial types really aren’t that well suited for wound closure. It only takes one case of blood poisoning to land you in hospital with an I.V. stuck in you.

    In our shop and job sights, our treatment protocols are as follows:

    1. If no major artery or vein is lacerated, allow free bleeding until simple clotting begins.

    2. Debride and clean wound completely, it hurts but you must be thorough. During debridement, make certain that no tendons, or nerves have been damaged.

    3. Cover wound with clean, (sterile if possible,) dressing. Here we use a light amount of anti bacterial ointment, and possibly a product we keep around called, “Liquid Skin,” (you can now get this at many Drug Stores.)

    4. Cover this dressing with simple white sport tape, and you will have a “bomb proof,” dressing (band-aid) that usually has to be cut of before it would comes off.

    5. Change dressings daily and allow to air out in a clean environment.

    Good luck

  10. Yep, blue tape is pretty indispensable in my shop for just that reason. I changed over to red dykem from the traditional blue both (for metal layout) because it marks clearer and it doesn’t show blood spots.

    I’ll have to try cleaning the wound, that’s probably a good idea.

  11. Why has the comment field changed to: “say something intelligent”? That sort of rules a lot of us out..

    Anyway. I normally lift up the injured place to above my head (if possible) to stop the bleeding. Then putting on a normal bandaid and I’ll continue. If I am working on something that does not take the blood stain very well like a finishing job, I’ll normally do some other part of the project, where cleanliness from my own blood is not so important should it drip through the bandaid.

    Last time I had a major incident in the workshop I stopped working, went in and cleaned my left 2nd and 3rd finger – amazed at the large gap left by the shaper. I applied a clean bandage and commented like any doctor: “There is not an awfull lot we can do about it, but if it hurts you can eat an aspirin or two”.
    So that saved me from spending the rest of the evening at the hospital waiting for some doctor to tell me the exact same words.

    Back in the days when there was always a smoker around, I have stopped small bleedings instantly by putting cigarette ashes in the wound. It stings at first but it is really effective.
    Brgds
    Jonas

  12. If you have a cut that’s gushing too much for the CA to work, use some black electrical tape as a tourniquet — pull it tight to be effective. Then, you can clean it, CA it, and apply the dressing. Then remove the electrical type and elevate til it stops throbbing.

  13. My day job is diesel mechanic. I know rather well about minor cuts and scrapes on the hands. Soap and water, a squirt of hydrogen peroxide, anti-bacterial cream of some sort then a bandage. Band-Aid tough strips are the best I’ve used (the Walgreens brand are just as good). The adhesive on those things is really aggressive. Keeping the bandage from soaking up dirt and oil isn’t an issue since I’m usually wearing those blue nitrile gloves. Out in the service truck I sterilize as best I can then use paper towels and electrical tape until I get back to civilization and can do things properly.

  14. I’ve been anesthesiologist for ten years and have seen my share of wound closures with CA based liquids. If we are talking about simple skin closure, as opposed to gluing back on a limb, any variant of CA is acceptable once the wound is clean. If you plan to continue working, better to close the wound and KEEP it clean than run the risk of exposing an open sore to all the workshop nasties. All forms of CA have a risk of toxicity either via fumes or absorption through the skin. If the wound is non “ER-able”, toxicity through absorption is unlikely. Even sutures or staples can lead to abscess or secondary infections by causing further skin trauma. Keep a good eye on the wound. If swelling or redness increases over a day or two get it looked at. Also, keep your tetanus booster up to date (every 10 years).

    I’m too tired to type out a standard medical disclaimer so I’ll just end by saying this is all my humble opinion and in no way is meant as a substitute for consultation with your healthcare provider.

  15. “This episode of Workshop Survivorman has been brought to you by the Schwarz. All rights not reserved.”

  16. More so than axe-induced cuts, my hands suffer from the extremely dry and cold winter air. The resulting splits on my finger tips don’t ever seem to heal. I used to try neosporin and bandaids, but it didn’t help. A dermatologist years ago suggested CA, and told me it was first used during the Korean War to close wounds.

    I cringed a little at the dead-horse-bacon bandages. I think you’re starting to screw with us a little bit.

  17. When my buisiness partner severed , but not completely amputated three fingers, one of the guys grabbed a piece of wood and taped his hand to it, with each finger placed back into position and taped firmly in place for the 40 minute ride to the hospital. this action, he was later told by the hand surgeon,had probably saved his fingers.

    1. This is called “inline splinting,” or “immobilization split,” if the “guy” wasn’t medically trained somewhere, he definitely was brilliant. Your partner was really lucky.

  18. There is a product called quickclot that has been around for a while. Some of our returned veterans might be able to comment on its use and efficacy. I think it is zeolite in a bag.

  19. i recently had a minor dovetail saw accident a few weeks ago that I actually blogged about (hmmm). The cut probably could have used a couple of stitches, but two stitches doesn’t warrent an ER visit. I found the best thing, after a good cleaning that is, is pre-made butterfly stitches and some gauze, and neosporin after the cut is closed.

  20. Chris – You should avoid using hide glue on wounds. Commercial hide glue preparations are typically loaded with bacteria, yeast, and mold. And the heating treatment we all use to get it into solution so that it can be worked isn’t nearly hot enough to sterilize it.

  21. One thing to be aware of with using CA that hasn’t been mentioned. It does soak for a short distance through tissue before it sets. This can be a problem if the cut is deeper and near a joint (such as your knuckle). The resulting hard spot will erode the cartilage in the joint and result in arthritis. So if the cut is pretty shallow CA should be fine. But if it is near a joint and you are having the “should I go to the ER for stitches” debate going on in your head don’t use the CA.

    Another bandage that works really well is gauze (or whatever other clean bandage type material you want) and the stretchy stuff they use to hold the cotton ball on your arm after you give blood. I cut my fingertip once at the beginning of a class on building a rocking chair. I covered the stitches with that and had no dirt in the wound for the next two weeks, and the bandage stayed in place quite well (I did replace it every day).

    1. Coban … Sticks only to itself. Don’t wrap too tightly. It doesn’t loosen over time or with flexing and has been known to inhibit circulation.

  23. I have always heard that “Super Glue” was first developed as a material to repair wounds. I had a nasty cut – split my finger and fingernail in half about 3/8″ in from the tip (yuck) and they repaired it in the ER with surgical “super glue.” This was probably two decades ago.

  24. I’ve never used CA on the cut itself, but I’ve used it to attach fiberglass strands across the cut (like makeshift stitches). Lasts longer than butterfly bandages, but a bit more involved to apply.

  25. I have used variants on your solutions, as have probably most of us woodworkers. In my case, however, my shop is 45 km from town, I have been on blood thinners for 30 years, and bleeding does not always stop quickly. So, I have developed my own protocols — i) if the cut is shallow and bleeding can be brought down to a trickle by direct pressure (no bone visible, just kidding) cyanoacrylate is my treatment of choice, one shot to seal the cut and a second to extend the coverage area to keep out dirt; ii) if the cut is deeper or bleeds profusely when I release the direct pressure, I put on butterfly bandages, then cover with cotton or gauze or old t-shirt, if it is still bleeding after a couple of hours (I am on blood thinners, remember) go to the hospital or medical clinic, I usually find that the bleeding will stop just after I finally get through triage…; iii) if it definitely will need stitches (or I guess reattachment, although I have never encountered that), wrap and go to hospital now, do not pass GO.

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