Wound Dressing After TEOTWAWKI

I see many articles written about treating wound after TEOTWAWKI and most of them are quite good.  But there is one aspect that I rarely see mentioned and that is the type and amount of wound dressings you can go through in a short time.  Most first aid kits carry nowhere near enough dressing to treat a serious wound.

If you have to treat the wound yourself, often the dressings need to be changed daily.  This can require a good backup supply of wound dressing material.  As you know, medical dressings are expensive.  One way you can beat the high cost is to purchase sanitary napkins, see my post, Sanitary Napkins and Their Alternate Uses.   These can make good serviceable dressings.

I would also suggest that you get an early medical manual, World War 2 or before.  Most of them provide much more information techniques for using roller bandages.  Roller bandages often can be purchased inexpensively and can easily be improvised.

The most common manner in which you are likely to have to use a dressing is either wet-to-dry or dry.

Dry wound dressingsDry dressings are typically some form of gauze pad that is secured to the wound by roller bandages, tape or as a self-adherent bandage with a gauze center like a band-aid.  Dry dressings are simple, inexpensive, and widely available. They generally work well for wounds with small amounts of drainage, but they can stick to the wounds with heavy drainage.  When removing dry dressings that are stuck to the wound, it is helpful to pour some normal saline or warm water over the area to moisten the dressing for easier removal.

Wet-to-dry wound dressings By placing a wet (or moist) gauze dressing on your wound and allowing it to dry, wound drainage and dead tissue can be removed when you take off the old dressing.  To create this type of dressing, place a saline-soaked dressing within a wound with drainage. As the dressing dries, it pulls fluids out of the wound.  Wet-to-dry dressings are time-consuming to apply and are generally painful to remove.  Dakin’s solution can be used to wet the dressings.  When removing an old dressing, if it is sticking to your skin, wet it with warm water or saline solution to loosen it.

All of the above is for information only; any wound treatment should be done at the direction of a Doctor.  I am not a Doctor and have not had any special medical training.  Get medical advice.

Howard

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