Here I am with my left foot in a bucket of hot, salty water.

[den]

Why? And well you might ask. 2 reasons:

1) when I am home I rarely wear shoes.

2) Young dogs leave sharp bones on the mat just outside the back door, right where the shoeless inhabitants of the house tread.

Salt water is the best thing since I'm allergic to liquid antiseptics like Dettol. I'm okay just putting it on the skin but if the stuff gets through the outer layers of skin (ie through a cut) I swell up. It's bad.

So here I am with my left foot in a bucket of hot, salty water. When the bleeding stops I'll whack some cream and a a band-aid over the cut. All the tough skin has been pushed back to expose the softer, living skin underneath. The cut is like a 3-corner tear. I can push the removed skin back over the hole. I don't expect it to stay there but it is protecting the now-exposed living skin.

Did I mention it stings like hell? It stings like hell.

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I know, but I don't have any handy.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[tropism.livejournal.com]

Augh. Those are the worst -- those kind of tearing, slicing wounds to the foot. Ow.

As for antiseptics, if you've got (or can't use) anything else, you could use alcohol. Vodka works in a pinch, but hurts like all fuck. Wine or beer, however, also contain enough alcohol to be antiseptic, and yet be dilute enough that they shoudn't hurt much more than any other cold liquid.

Other things which can be used, in a pinch, to clean wounds, though alot of them aren't pleasant:

Dilute bleach
Dilute ammonia
Urine
Vinegar
Fire ;)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

stop that you're making my eyes water

Paging doctor otter....paging doctor otter...

[ionotter.livejournal.com]

*plays theme from Chicago Hope*

Salt water. Excellent. It will draw out any infectious materials and shrivel any bacteria. It will also shrink the tissues and make them less succeptable to infiltration.

Keep doing these hot soaks, too. Add a wee bit of bleach, but only a little.

Dettol? *shudders* Right...moving on!

Tetanus shot. Get one. If you've had one more than 5 years ago, get a booster. Triple-antibiotic ointment. Good stuff, that. Use it.

Also, look for an ointment called "Icthamol". It's a nasty, disgusting, stinky black salve that would stain glass, but it'll suck an infection in your foot out of your head. Also very useful in drawing out boils and foreign objects.

After the soaks, dry and lightly bandage. Wear two pairs of black socks on the foot. Why black? Because white ones will look rather disgusting after walking around the house in them all day. ;)

Re: Paging doctor otter....paging doctor otter...

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

tetenus aint a problem. When you're going to get bitten by wild animals, tetenus shots are a matter of course. I'm using stuff called "magnaplasm' which has the same effect on infections as "Icthamol". Great for boils etc.

And I'm even wearing black socks. 8)

OW!!

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

*Doctor Desmodus Rufus to The Human Tent, Please!*

Reading that makes me twitch! Good thing it's a tear and not an outright puncture. Those can be extremely nasty. Delphi used to do the same thing when she was a pup, before she discovered that bones still taste ok after having been out in the yard and exposed to the sun and rain. Maybe somebody digging eons from now will find the remains of a petrified bone that gave my heel a nasty bruise in the same way.( Note:
this means you must pause before mowing the lawn to ensure a bone doesn't get sucked into the motor. Makes a horrid noise and can destroy the blades).
*Salt water*? Yow! But it works, and doesn't stain like iodine or merchurachrome? . I'm not even sure the last one is *legal* any more. Orange everything. Make that a sling for your wing and and binder for your foot. And administration of dark caramel chocolate until the patient no longer looks peeved:).