I’m almost always an open book when it comes to talking about the books we are working on at Lost Art Press. But when we began working on “Workshop Wound Care” by Dr. Jeffery Hill, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I did this because I was surprised that no one had published a book like this before. Sure, there are some magazine articles out there. Plus some general “first aid” books that cover everything from drowning to being trampled by livestock (both are rare injuries in the woodshop).
But a book that covers workshop-specific injuries? If it exists I haven’t found it.
I was worried that if I announced the book too soon, another publisher would beat us to press by pulling together a bunch of internet drivel and plopping it onto a print-on-demand service.
After many months of work, we are now in the final stages of working on this book. And with any luck it will be out in October or November. So now I feel comfortable talking about this new title.
“Workshop Wound Care” will be in our pocket-book series. It will cost about $20. And it will delve right into the heart of what you need to know when faced with a laceration, a blood blister under the fingernail or a puncture wound from a nail.
Dr. Hill is the perfect author for this book. He is an emergency room physician and an active woodworker (you can follow him here on Instagram – or if you are an ER nerd, here’s his blog). So he knows exactly what sort of information a woodworker needs to know when it comes to injuries. And he presents information in a way that a non-medical professional can understand it.
As Megan and I edited this book, we were surprised by how much we learned about wound care. We set aside our coagulant dressings and hydrogen peroxide and have instead been using Dr. Hill’s instructions for dressing wounds so they heal faster.
Also surprising: the first aid stuff you need is not exotic. Dr. Hill recommends items you can get easily at a good pharmacist or online. We are now building out our shop’s first aid kit to match his recommendations. And this process has brought a sense of relief. Off-the-shelf first aid kits are hit or miss when it comes to having what you need for the workshop. After reading the book, I feel we will be prepared for *almost* everything.
I know that “sex” sells better than “safety.” But I hope you’ll consider adding this important book to your library so that when (not “if”) you hurt yourself, you’ll be back at the workbench in the minimum amount of time, and with as little agony as possible.
— Christopher Schwarz
Table of Content
Chapter 1: Introduction
This will be a practical guide for triaging and managing wounds in a wood shop. Along the way you’ll learn a bit about anatomy, wound healing and the pathophysiology of certain types of wounds, in addition to learning how to stop bleeding, dress wounds, and, heaven forbid, store and transport an amputated finger tip for possible re-implantation.
Chapter 2: Building out a Proper First Aid Kit
Standard first aid kits that you buy over the counter contain some useful items but usually not in proper quantities or of proper quality. Collecting select high quality equipment will ultimately be more functional.
Chapter 3: How to Stop Bleeding
Stanching the flow of blood from an open wound is of nearly obvious importance but it is often done wrong. Here we will walk through the approach to stopping bleeding from various type of wounds
Chapter 4: Wound Healing Primer
The pathophysiology of wound healing is a series of biochemical cascades; understanding (in plain language) what is happening at a cellular level can give additional insight into expectations of the wound healing process.
Chapter 5: Anatomy Primer
Understanding the anatomy of frequently injured parts of the body can help on triage the seriousness of a particular wound. We’ll cover the anatomy of the hand and face primarily.
Chapter 6: Red Flags
Judging exactly when to seek care after an injury is very much situation-dependent, however there are certain things which will absolutely necessitate additional care by a medical provider (loss of function, neuromuscular compromise, wound healing, cosmetic concerns).
Chapter 7: Tetanus is a Bad Way to Die
This chapter will cover the risks of tetanus based on exposure type and immunization status with a brief primer on what tetanus is and how infections occur.
Chapter 8: Early Wound Care Principles
Appropriate early wound care and proper irrigation, in particular, is important for decreasing the risk of infection. We’ll focus on irrigation techniques with a focus on those that have the best evidence for preventing wound infections.
Chapter 9: Wound Dressings
If a cut/abrasion can be dealt with in the shop, or if a wound has been dealt with at a doctor’s office, an understanding of how to appropriately dress the wound to ensure a clean, not overly moist healing environment. We focus on care of sutured, taped, and glued wounds and focus on bandaging techniques that will lead to secure(ish) dressings.
Chapter 10: So You Cut Your ____ Off? Now What?
This chapter will give clear instructions on how to properly store an amputated piece of your body for possible reattachment. It will also cover the immediate care, and common treatment, of amputations.
Chapter 11: Lacerations
Among the most commonly encountered injuries, the initial care and triage of lacerations depends on the nature of the wound and what caused the tissue injury. Clean cuts from knives and chisels will generally be easier to manage than tissue-loss injuries caused by power tools.
Chapter 12: Crush Injuries
A misplaced blow of a hammer or dropped workpiece will crush tissues and possibly break bones. We’ll cover the general triage and pathophysiology of these injuries with special focus on subungal hematoma (bleeding/bruising under nails).
Chapter 13: Puncture Wounds
Puncture wounds may appear innocuous but pose the greatest risk in terms of wound infection. The triage of the wounds generally revolves around the site of injury, what caused the puncture, the cleanliness of your skin (and the object that punctured you). Splinter management is covered in this chapter.
Chapter 14: High-pressure Injection Injuries
These are a type of puncture wound where the puncturing object is the air and whatever was being sprayed. These injuries can seem relatively minor at first however they can be incredibly devastating with extensive tissue loss from necrosis that develops in hours and days.
Chapter 15: Eye Injuries
The eye deserves special attention as there is risk of permanent vision loss with some types of injuries. This chapter gives consideration to corneal abrasions, metal and organic foreign bodies, and puncture wounds/open globes.
Terrific idea and service to the community. Thanks, and good luck bringing it home!
I hope it has info on kick back injuries.
Really? This is a great deal. I work in a developing shop, at home, in our basement, and alone most of the time. It’s also a construction site right now with walls going up, a center support beam (that is cracked and broken) coming out and a new steel beam going in. The layout will have 3 new, 3 ply 2X10 and 2X12 structural beams going in for the floorplan to work. My planned end date for the heavy work to be done is August 6th. I hope I live through it coming together so I can see what I should have done. I’m sure my experiences will make the learning and reading more meaningful.
Definitely going to keep this in the toolchest. I imagine it’ll have blood stains in it at some point.
You should sell Dr. Jeffy™ First Aid Kits!
Good idea. Then Chris’ tattoo can say “ No more posters or first aid kits, dummkopf.”
This really is a fantastic book idea.
I prefer using the slide-lock bags for severed digits. Easier to close one-handed.
Just shake some black pepper on the wound and keep on working; gotta get this thing done by Tuesday. …and don’t drip blood on the project!
Looking forward to a new essential workshop book.
Fantastic idea for a book! I would be very careful about the red cross that cover though. The American Red Cross have it trademarked and they have been very litigious about it in the past.
I looked (briefly) into the symbol’s usage after reading your comment. I hope this helps others.
I don’t think it’s trademarked, perse, but usage is codified within the Geneva Convention. All of the international Red Cross member organizations will take action against improper usage. For instance: Putting it on the side of a building that’s used as shelter or a hospital during a war is a proper usage, but putting it on a product (even if it’s a first aid kit) isn’t, unless it’s endorsed by a Red Cross organization.
That being said, as long as the color isn’t red, it should be okay.
Thanks for the head start on researching this.
A Green cross is for pharmacies in many countries. Here in Portland that seems reserved for recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries, which gives me a chuckle when I travel.
‘I know that “sex” sells better than “safety.” ‘
What about safe sex?
Although even just the chapter summary made my rather squeamish and too-easily-turned tummy do the icky-ew with an added somersault, this is a book I will nevertheless buy and read with great interest! If nothing else, I rather look forward to finding out what else beside kitchen roll and sticking plaster should be in my workshop first aid kit (in all fairness, the upstairs kit is better equipped, ‘though the day might come when …) but also to find out what I’ve been doing wrong (or, at least theoretically, even right) when treating the results of various slings and arrows over the years.
Cheers,
Mattias
Same here. I never thought reading a chapter summary of a Lost Art Press book would make me queasy. 😁
looking forward to this book. feels like the general ‘merican health/nutrition/first aid education is lacking. thanks for improving one part of this!
Great idea for publishing this book. First aid knowledge in a workshop or on the job site is always a good thing to have.
We have two members that are EMTs, at the KC Woodworkers’Guild. They handled setting up our first aid kit and developed our protocols. It’s always good to have a medical professional involved.
This is another excellent idea and I can’t buy this fast enough.
Just reading the summary table on contents have my toes curling-up inside my work boots (other body parts are retracting too into more closely held positions)! But, its a good addition to the catalog. I built my shop 1rst aid kit from a FWW article a few years back–also written by a trauma doc with wood shaving in the pockets of his lab coat. But, information is power and more is better. Maybe worth pointing out the value of digesting the material when there is no accident/injury needing attention?
Cremaster reflex.
Is the process for making your own bandages similar to the process for making your own tack cloths from scratch?
Should the Anarchist’s First Aid Kit use bandaged lap joints for joinery?
I hope I don’t get a serious wound in my lap.
Stop playing with the tenon maker.
Sex is better than safety? Who knew…
Awesome!!!!
Is there any chance that the complete “pocket-book series” all be the same size as the “Woodworker’s Pocket Book?”
It would be great, especially for this one given the first aide focus, to utilize the same THWW slip case for both books, or even the series for things that would be great kept in the tool chest.
The issue involves not just the height and width of the book, but the thickness. If the book has many fewer pages, it will fall out; many more pages, it won’t slide in.
I think they might have said that a slip case for Wound Care is in the works?
As soon as this prints, I hope everyone will be compiling their own customized, bespoke first-aid kits, complete with handmade, Studley-esque wall cabinets to house their tourniquets, dressings and finger-storage bags.
Oh speaking of book ideas that never seem to be talked about: I would pay money for a pocket book discussing how to manage and safely dispose of consumables used in a woodworking shop – everything from sawdust to shavings to expired chemicals to used rags. No one is talking about this and I’m struggling to work out a system that I can trust it’s safe for humans and the environment!
Now THAT could be a good poster!
Will Chapter 3 include a section on removing blood stains from projects?
Interesting concept. Cut myself on a bandsaw last November. The nerves are regenerating. Slowly.
The only power tool that I’ve ever cut myself with was a bandsaw. Just a wee nick, but it scared me straight.
Will need TX Heritage to make a red slipcase for this one.
Looks like you now need one more book in your Anarchist series: “The Anarchist Medicine Chest”.
This is one I’d like to pre-order, to avoid the risk that I don’t notice right away when it’s available.
The header photo of this post looks to have left something out in ‘preserving’ an amputated body part. According to the late Professor Toby Bowring (pediatric microsurgery) you should always have water in the outer bag along with the ice – ice alone can result in frostbite injuries to the amputated bit/s, and make it less likely that the part can be successfully reattached. Adding the water means the net temperature is just above freezing, so no frostbite. Also the inner bag should be dry, no added water. Its probably correct in the text, but a lot of people only look at the pictures.
Any mention of using Windex? According to the father-in-law in Big Fat Greek Wedding, Windex cures everything.
Please tell me it will have a forward written by Roy Underhill.
First nit to pick: typo in chapter six tease necessitate addition care. Probably already corrected in your source files…
Thanks. Will fix in the blog entry. Those chapter descriptions are not in the book.
Fantastic idea for a book. I can’t wait to add it to my collection.
I know I’m going to buy this book.
Easy peasy.
The hard part will be to read it when I get it, or sometime before I need it.
Usually I’m the guy standing there, maybe bleeding, maybe holding the anatomical subject in one hand, the book in the other, while scanning the index for guidance.
This is great news. Thanks for bringing Dr. Hill’s expertise to this audience.
One thing I hope it covers is how to deal with finger and hand wounds when you’re on you’re own. I always seem to be home alone when I get injured, and trying to do everything with one hand while blood is pouring out of the other hand is a nightmare. Even the simple act of opening a band-aid becomes difficult.