I once attended a prepping school called ready 5 in San Diego. One of the classes was on stitching a wound led by a former army medic. In a survival scenario knowing how to suture up a bad wound would be a great skill to have.
Myths and urban legends about stitching
You might think that you could use a fish hook and some fishing line or a needle and thread to suture up a wound but those are just urban legends. The human skin is too thick to push a sewing needle through and fishhooks have barbs which make using those regular household items impossible to use for stitches. In practice you really are going to need medical grade suture equipment.
Items you will need
- Rubber Gloves
- Medical Grade sutures
- 1 pair of Medical Forceps (pliers will work in a pinch)
Steps
- Clean the wound
- If you do not have standard wound cleaning products as a an option such as hydrogen peroxide, the next best thing to do is simple yet effective. That is to douse the wound with allot of water. What that does is dilute the wound. So if there is bacteria in the wound it will be much diluted and then your patients immune system will kill the rest of the bacteria.
- Using the forceps take one set of forceps and place the forceps in the middle of the needle. With the other pair of forceps clamp one side of the skin, pierce the skin at a 90 degree angle and using a slightly U shape wrist movement, pierce one piece of skin and push the needle through. Then repeat the process for the other side of the cut.
- Pull the thread and then you need to tie the two ends together using 3 square knots. See video