Treating minor wounds

[Meandmeboy]

sorry to dig this up again but where does everyone stand now after Siegfried's reply, are we saying it depends on the depth or severity of the cut before spraying with Terramycin?

[Stacia]

I think he was saying that if the wound needs suturing, do not spray with the purple spray.

Jelinga

[Meandmeboy]

Thanks, ive since got some off a very friendly sympathetic farmer to keep in the truck in the first aid kit.

[AlandJake]

Sorry Mods, for tacking onto this thread, but I didn't want to start a new one with lots of recent interest in first aid kits.

As regards packing an absorbent dressing for minor cuts etc, and bearing in mind this will be for emergency first aid in the field, could I get away with using lady panty liners? They are individually wrapped, absorbant and I'm presuming sterile and guessing the dry weave top sheet should help prevent the pad sticking to the wound.

Just a thought as there's usually a supply in the bathroom cabinet that I could pilfer from.

I'm now awaiting a stunned silence..... but I do remember someone saying on the Forum that the only daft questions are the ones you don't ask

[Judy]

Yes as long as they are individually wrapped.

[AlandJake]

T'riffic. Thanks

[AlandJake]

Rascal, what sort of barbed wire cutters do you carry ? The cutter I have is fairly large but still isn't strong enough to cut barbed wire ?


Wullie

I bought these the other week but only got round to testing them this morning.

http://m.screwfix.com/p/cable-cutters-1 ... tered=true

I won't say anything about hot knife and butter but certainly happy they would do the job in an emergency without too much effort.

Packs pretty small but I have more confidence in these than some of the side cutters I have seen people packing in their kits which would be fine for domestic electrical soft copper wiring but I do worry how effective they would be on new galvanised barbed wire.

[davidbrac]

thanks very helpful thread as Loki seems to be having a spate of cut paws at the moment.

Took her for a walk at a sea loch to start the cleaning process as she was struggling every-time l went near the paw, now l can see it its a trip to the vets. But l have ordered a pair of the boot things to help protect when she does have cuts.

[Wobblebelly]

I had running dogs for years and foot wounds were very common especially as I ran then on the South Downs which is chalk and flint. Without stating the obvious, vet if bad but real minor cuts such as those that my dogs got every other time they went out were cleaned twice a day using boiled water (once tepid) mixed with everyday salt. Did this for a few days then let the dogs lick it and let wound dry out.
I'm sure there will be people on here putting their ten pence worth in and going on about vets and first aid kits and heat lamps antibiotics etc etc but for true minor wounds it worked for me and although I had lame dogs sometimes they soon healed and were soon back coursing RABBITS (Yes rabbits before this opens a new can of worms)

[Naj]

That's been my experience, too, (with numerous gundogs) and I've had what some would think are bad cuts to the pad that have healed quickly with a bit of TLC & attention, as well as the majority of skin tears. Tackling 6 strand barbed wire stock fencing is a daily fact of life for all my dogs & they get very canny at negotiating it safely. Perhaps I've been lucky but I get odd nicks & tears and occasionally a dog gets hung-up while trying to sneak between strands without waiting for me to get there to assist it through but I've never had anything more serious. I don't go to the doctors every time I cut my finger (and I've had some really nasty cuts in my time ) and adopt the same philosophy with my dogs, obviously dependent upon the extent of the damage. In fact, I've never had to take a dog to the vet due to damage from barbed-wire.

I've done a fair bit of fencing but have never had to cut barbed wire to 'rescue' a dog & if you ever find yourself in that position, then take great care for cutting wire under tension is a dangerous process in itself. In fact, I wouldn't advise it, especially when there is a dog presumably strung up in the middle of proceedings. You could end up doing more harm than good. I have had a dog trap a leg on the loose top wires that often 'top' a shire wire or rabbit fence but the best solution to that is to lift it back the way it came, so to speak. The best (handy) tool for cutting any wire is a specialist fencing hammer (not quite sure what they call them) that doubles as a cutter & hammer & can be bought from any agricultural store for a few quid.

Naj