Workshop First Aid, WoundClot Gauze?

[Doug71]

So the thread about the chap cutting his fingers on the table saw has got me thinking about what I would do if I had a similar or worse accident in my workshop.

I have a standard type first aid kit in a cupboard but that is it. I saw the chap used some kind of gauze which was supposed to stop the bleeding quicker, something similar to this

https://medtree.co.uk/woundclot-trauma-gauze-8cm-x-20cm
Does this stuff work, if the worst happened is it something I could just grab and press on the bleeding bit while I get help?

I work alone so realise I need a good plan for if anything should happen

Any advice appreciated.

Doug

 

[LJM]

Yes, it would extremely well; it can stem an arterial bleed.

 

[samhay]

I would imagine a tourniquet you can use with 1 hand is also useful if you attempt DIY amputation of more than a few fingers.
Keeping your phone handy is also a good habit. Getting stuck and not being able to reach a phone would be unfortunate.

 

[LJM]

A tourniquet is good, if you know how to use it. Be wary of the American military ones on eBay!

 

[kinverkid]

Don't pack your separated digits in ice or a bag of frozen peas. Just pop them in a pot that doesn't contain an assortment of reclaimed screws that you've been meaning to sort and take them with you. And, don't try to staple them back on a la Rick Mayall and Ade Edmundson in Bottom . Having Bluetooth ear defenders will at least enable you to call 999 hand/digit-free.

 

[Stan]

If you cut yourself and have a significant bleed on a limb I suggest:

IMMEDIATE ACTION
1. Apply direct pressure to the wound. Use your good hand(s) and press down hard on the wound.
2. Raise the wound above the level of your heart. This will slow the blood loss.
3. Try to stay calm. Getting agitated and rushing around will increase the heart rate and this will increase the blood loss.

Follow up ASAP getting help, binding the wound etc.

Things to bear in mind -

If the wound is urgent enough, then use whatever is necessary to dress it. Ideally you will have a stock of sterile bandages but if not, improvise with what is at hand, the cleaner the better. You don't want do introduce dirt etc into the wound if you can avoid it, but if your wrist is squirting blood everywhere then concentrate on stopping the bleeding. Your first priority is not to bleed to death. Everything else is secondary.

If you have severed body parts, eg fingers, you are the first priority. Get yourself sorted first and only then worry about the other bits. Ideally, bits would be wrapped in something sterile such as a spare bandage, then sealed in a sterile plastic bag, then placed in a container of ice which is labelled with your name, body parts and the time. But if it was an ideal world, you wouldn't need any of this. DONT put bare bits of flesh directly into ice.

When dialling 999, the emergency services will need to know your location. You could put your address on a notice on the wall next to your first aid kit. If you are bleeding badly you might be distracted by that, and remembering things like your postcode might be tricky.

If you normally lock yourself in, unlock your door so the good guys can get in. As the incident progresses you might not feel well enough to let them in. Smashing your door down will waste valuable time, but the good news is that you will have an interesting repair project to come back to. ( This is assuming that the best parts of your kit have not grown legs and run off through the hole in the meantime ).

Once the bleeding is under control and help is on the way, sit down before you fall down, propping the wound up so it is still above your heart. If necessary lie down.

Significant blood loss is likely to make you feel faint. If so, lying down with the wound elevated is good. You could also elevate your legs. You need to keep your brain supplied with blood, and this is a way of making it get priority over less important parts. Keep the phone line open and talk to the emergency controller. STAY AWAKE.

If you have a wound penetrating your chest and possibly a lung, when you lie down lie on your side with the bad side down. Prop yourself against a chair or whatever if necessary. The way to remember which way you should be, is that if you are bleeding internally, good side uppermost keeps the good lung from getting clogged up with leaking fluids etc.

Before you are in a position to need any of this, do a first aid course.

Hope this helps. Regards

 

[LJM]

Assuming that you take basic precautions such as not wearing loose clothing and, as my Startrite TA manual advises, choose a clip-on tie, then the most likely serious injuries are cuts and abrasions and puncture wounds (be that by the tool directly or the material. If you have a puncture wound and the offending article stays in the wound, leave it there! Do not try to pull it out.

NB: Common sense must prevail; in the worst case scenario that you find yourself impaled on a machine, and so cannot reach your phone or the door in order to call for help, you’re going to have to remove that machine from your body. This may cause more damage on the way out, and severe bleeding could ensue, so be prepared.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

For paper cuts and small nicks that just won't stop bleeding turmeric works.

 

[Sideways]

If it's really serious, you won't be messing about with a first aid kit, you'll be staunching the blood with the T shirt you've just taken off, or someone will putting the severed hand in an empty crisp packet scavenged from the bin while you're on the floor from shock !
You might think I'm joking. I'm not.

Large businesses have lone worker safety policies in place because you may not be in any state to deal with what has just happened to you. Make your plans around the type of accident you might not walk away from rather that prepping a handy triangular bandage for that inconvenient gunshot wound that never seems to slow anyone down in the movies.

Worst case to me, somehow getting dragged into a machine, out of balance at full stretch, unable to cut or tear the jacket that is wound around a spindle and bleeding out...

For a lone worker, I don't know the answer except to always have a sharp knife in your pocket that you can open one handed and a phone in the other .. and on opposite sides of your body so that you can reach one of them whichever arm is trapped inside the machine.

Just thinking about this is a potent reminder that the best way to prep is to make sure you have the skills and the guards in place to stop it ever happening in the first place.

 

[artie]

For paper cuts and small nicks that just won't stop bleeding turmeric works.

And Cayenne pepper

 

[Skeety]

I can attest that it works very well. I had an argument with a wheelie bin a couple of years ago, 3 fingers cut down to the bone. Had wrapped and elevated them in clean tea towels but the bleeding was still heavy on arrival at A&E. They applied that stuff and the bleeding stopped pretty much straight away.

Needed plastic surgery, 35 stitches and they used that stuff on top of something similar impregnated with honey before final dressing.

Jon.

 

[Stan]

What Sideways said.

If you get injured and suffer a catastrophic bleed, you will not have very long to do something. You must do the right thing straight away. If you get it wrong it is more than possible you will be non functioning within the first minute, comatose for the second minute and after that nothing but a few lines at the bottom of page 19 in the local paper.

People sometimes get distracted by all the Gucci kit, but is more important to learn the immediate actions.

 

[Spectric]

So the thread about the chap cutting his fingers on the table saw has got me thinking about what I would do if I had a similar or worse accident in my workshop.

If it is in your thoughts then think why, have you had any close shaves recently. Prevention is always better than cure.

 

[Doug71]

Thanks guys, some great advice.

I have not had any near misses lately, I just realised I needed a plan for if something did happen.

I will get some of the gauze and bandages and leave them in a handy place. I like the idea of writing the address next to them, my workshop is a couple of miles from my house, not much point giving the wrong address as you possibly could if you were panicking and confused.

I do always keep my phone in my pocket, I have to because if I put it down I lose it

The other thing is there are a few industrial units around mine, one is another joiner, one an engineer, one a mechanic and one a boat builder. I guess any one of these could stagger in to my workshop with a bit hanging off in need of help so it would be good to be prepared for that also.

And the best advice from LJM's Startrite manual "Choose a clip-on tie", how times change

 

[baldkev]

For paper cuts and small nicks that just won't stop bleeding turmeric works.

I always have superglue or mitre mate available. Yes you can laugh but seriously it works well. In hospital they have superglue without the cynoacrylates, but unfortunately they wouldn't let me take any home!!!

 

[MARK.B.]

Thanks guys, some great advice.

I have not had any near misses lately, I just realised I needed a plan for if something did happen.

I will get some of the gauze and bandages and leave them in a handy place. I like the idea of writing the address next to them, my workshop is a couple of miles from my house, not much point giving the wrong address as you possibly could if you were panicking and confused.

I do always keep my phone in my pocket, I have to because if I put it down I lose it

The other thing is there are a few industrial units around mine, one is another joiner, one an engineer, one a mechanic and one a boat builder. I guess any one of these could stagger in to my workshop with a bit hanging off in need of help so it would be good to be prepared for that also.

And the best advice from LJM's Startrite manual "Choose a clip-on tie", how times change

Might be a good idea if you all had each other's numberthe closer the help is the better even if they can only apply pressure till the blue lights turn up could mean the difference for you or any of them.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I always have superglue or mitre mate available. Yes you can laugh but seriously it works well. In hospital they have superglue without the cynoacrylates, but unfortunately they wouldn't let me take any home!!!

Likewise, but it doesn't work very well until the bleeding stops. Superglue was developed for battlefied emergency surgery - Kodak 911.

I just found this by accident - The World’s Strongest Adhesive | DELO News ................ unbelievable.

 

[baldkev]

Wow, i could have fun with that!!!

 

[glenfield2]

Gave myself a minor mangling on Sunday (power-driving screw into batten at allotment; screwdriver slipped off and stabbed into thumb).
Even with a competent wife it took a frustratingly long time to sort through the contents of our first aid kit and find something suitable - just a large sticky plaster in my case which the GP nurse replaced next day with atubular dressing and tetanus shot.
My point is - don’t just buy a kit and think job done; a lot of the stuff is very injury specific. Get the small wound stuff where you can find it, add a few extra bits (scissors, antiseptic, plasters etc). Trying to sort it when you’re even slightly shocked by what you’ve just done is hard.
And keep your mobile phone where you can reach it.

 

[silentsam]

My point is - don’t just buy a kit and think job done; a lot of the stuff is very injury specific. Get the small wound stuff where you can find it, add a few extra bits (scissors, antiseptic, plasters etc). Trying to sort it when you’re even slightly shocked by what you’ve just done is hard.
And keep your mobile phone where you can reach it.

Anyone done any research into this and found any first aid kits that would be suitable for a workshop situation? I use the table saw/chop saw rarely so accidents are more likely to be smaller and somewhat less serious, axes and jigsaws are probably the most dangerous tools I use on a regular basis. Any first aid kid recommendations?