Workshop First Aid

metalspinner · September 23, 2021, 09:25:04 PM

Let's talk about first aid kits in the workshop!

I have the basic stuff like bandages, tape, gauze, ointments, etc.

But earlier this week, my ring finger had a run in with a chainsaw tooth. The saw was not on or running. I bent down to pick up some pieces I had just cut and pulled my finger across a tooth at the nose of the bar... I pulled it a full inch until I thought to stop. :

:

I went in and washed it and immediately recognized this was worse than the typical deep scratch. I wrapped it with a piece of paper towel and walked to my neighbors house. He was cutting his grass and just happens to be a flight nurse for UT Lifestar.

He saw me standing there with a bloodied rag on my finger and just kind of giggled to himself. He took me over to his carport and grabbed is big bag of stuff from his car and patched me up. He mentioned if I went to the ER they would probably put a stitch or two in it. But he glued it with "superglue" swab then wrapped it stiff so I couldn't bend or flex the finger, as this would just continually open the wound up.

So for the past couple days, I've had this stiff finger hindering me in the shop.

But this got me reevaluating my box of first aid stuff and what upgrades need to be made.
I'm hoping our resident healthcare experts can chime in so we can all make a good shopping list and maybe even get advice on bigger worse case scenario preparations that need ER visits.

BTW, my favorite bandage brand has become Nexcare. The adhesive is very sticky and they are waterproof. It will stay on for several days without peeling at the edges.

Ljohnsaw · September 23, 2021, 09:52:14 PM

:P

SwampDonkey · September 24, 2021, 03:34:46 AM

I use this one. Make sure you have pressure bandages. This kit has 8.

CSA Large Basic First Aid Kit - Type 2 | St. John Ambulance Canada

doc henderson · September 24, 2021, 05:27:29 AM

knowledge is the first thing you need. for chainsaw and woodwork, a stop the bleed course is good. you can find video's online.it centers a bit on domestic violence like mass casualty shootings at schools and such. I think a tourniquet under a seat in your truck is good. if you are like me, you are never too far from your truck whether home, working or traveling. there are new hemostatic dressings and powders and of course 4 x 4 gauze and wraps. and ace wrap is good to control bleeding if there is a wad of gauze folded small and held over the laceration. the most pounds per square inch is best so do not use your whole hand for a small cut, but for some maybe just the tip of one finger. I have used dermal glue in my shop and have place about a hundred stitches there. never for a shop injury, but friends and family that call and do not want to go to the ED. antibiotic ointments are better for preventing the gauze from sticking than preventing infection. non stick telfa gauze is good. you can get an aluminum splint that comes rolled up, and can be molded to the extremity it is needed for, but lots of sticks and boards you can do makeshift with, or cardboard or magazines. I keep some ibuprofen there, but it always goes out of date. for a big wound you can use a clean shop towel or paper towels, but remember the idea is to stop the bleeding, not just keep sopping up blood and throwing it in the trash can. if nothing above works, do not worry, "ALL BLEEDING EVENTUALLY STOPS". when you run out of blood.

Raider Bill · September 24, 2021, 04:24:29 PM

Hey Doc, you do gun shots at the house?

Asking for a friend. :D

Texas Ranger · September 24, 2021, 09:49:13 PM

Quote from: Raider Bill on September 24, 2021, 04:24:29 PM
Hey Doc, you do gun shots at the house?

Asking for a friend. :D

Bill, he is not a vet! 8)

doc henderson · September 24, 2021, 10:29:52 PM

I HAVE DONE SHOTS AT THE HOUSE AND IN THE SHOP... I would do gun shots on an emergency basis.

Dan_Shade · September 24, 2021, 11:29:02 PM

I thought this was a good video.

Serious Injury - What Emergency Trauma Medical Workers NEED You to Know-Shop/Woodworking/Jobsite/DIY - YouTube

Dan_Shade · September 25, 2021, 06:42:15 AM

One interesting thing that I took away from the video is if you need a tourniquet, you probably don't want to to fight it out of its packaging, you may want it opened in your first aid kit.

doc henderson · September 25, 2021, 09:14:04 AM

I have never had to place one (we receive them), but we practice. do not use them for a cut that can be controlled with point pressure. They are used for mangled or missing extremities. If you have an injured dominant hand, it can be hard to apply with a single non dominant hand. After IEDs became a big thing, soldiers would apply one loosely to each thigh, ready to cinch up if needed. when minutes count, you may not have time to improvise finding a belt or cord in the heat of the moment. Preparation for situations you hope do not happen. "Be prepared, the motto of a Boy Scout!"

Texas Ranger · September 25, 2021, 09:36:17 AM

Having experienced a number of moderate to severe (vein cut) injuries requiring stitches, I have decided the best thing for first aid in the shop is another person. I had the first aid stuff in the army, and at home from my dad who was not the best at keeping his hide in tact, but you find there needs to be a second hand available. The other person drove me to the ER, several times, because hard to hold pressure on a bad cut and drive at the same time, besides, the steering wheel gets slippery.

On one, my wife got word of me being in the ER, bless small towns, and showed up to see my van parked with blood on the door. She got there in time to see the doc sewing up a cut arm where the vein was squirting on the floor. She would not be the best for the second person in the shop, she panics some at the site of blood.

I'll not post pics of some of the injuries, gives me the hebie jebies.

doc henderson · September 25, 2021, 10:45:11 AM

we have plenty of moms (and dads too for that matter) that come with a child wrapped in a towel screaming for help. the kid is crying cause the parents are crazy scared. unwrap only to find a tiny superficial cut needing a band aid. some of the worst little issues that turn out to be potentially life threatening, can be a tiny puncture to a varicose vein on a leg. those veins have lots of back pressure, can shoot blood 4 feet across the room. often needs a purse string/mattress suture to stop the bleeding. I had a guy pass out after the repair, and did not recover well. had to give him 2 L of fluid, then the wife showed me a trash bag pic that showed prob. a liter of blood volume in the corner. they were catching the blood but not holding pressure. they were both a little squeamish to red.

his blood pressure was in the 80s lying down and dropped if he sat up. he was half way to bleeding to death.

Ljohnsaw · September 25, 2021, 11:19:56 AM

When my wife and I were young and dumb (1983-4), we were just married and got a horse. We were renting (not horse property) so we toured around the neighboring neighborhood, going door to door. We found one older lady that had a 1/4 acre fenced paddock (half chewed through 1x4 fence boards).

Using my VW squareback, we hauled some discarded, dry, rock hard 2x6x16' rafters (set on the dash, hanging out the back, scraping the road on occasion) we made it 1/2 mile to the paddock. All was going well - pull a fence board off, put a "good" one on. It was starting to get dark so had to clean up all the old boards. Had to haul them to our rental house to put i the garbage. Didn't want to drag them so started busting them up (before the advent of battery saws). So, prop one end up and stomp on it to snap them.

Did I say it was getting dark. I was on a roll, stomping the daylights out of them when I came down on a nail. I stopped and my wife said "what's up?". I said I think I hit a nail. I had to step on the board with my other foot and pull as hard as I could to get the nail out of my heel of my right foot. That made both of us queasy. The worst part was my wife couldn't drive a stick so I had to drive both of us to the ER about 5 miles away. Spent the better part of 3 hours there waiting and soaking my foot. And got a tetanus shot.

Raider Bill · September 25, 2021, 11:48:25 AM

I put one on a biker that had been T-boned into a guard rail.
Just happened to be around the corner when the call went out.
He was able to lift one of his legs out of the way but not the other so it got caught between the bike and rail, crushed, Ugly. It was hanging by not much.

I've always carry a snot rag, got about 100 of them. Never without. Always have since I was a kid.

Whip it out,

Around the leg, half hitch, closed straight razor and then another half hitch to cinch it down.
Used the razor to twist and clamp it.

When FD got there they put their own on and did their thing.

They were kind enough to wash my razor off and were having some first responder humor with it.

The District chief who had no humor gave the razor to my Sgt with a few questions like what the fir tree is this about and why are cops carrying straight razors.. blah blah blah

Sgt who was the greatest guy I ever worked for almost had stroke trying to keep a stern and concerned face on to the chief who he had a pretty big dislike for.
I'd never seen a face so red,

everyone thought I was going to get a royal chewing and be driving the front desk for a month doing filing and teletypes.

Soon as the FD chief strutted like a stiff legged yard rooster got in his car and left the sgt did a R Lee Ermley drill sgt about face and marche'd over to me. Everyone was waiting for the storm to erupt and I was the target, again.

About half way he exploded in uncontrollable laughter, couldn't talk, could hardy breath. Got everyone in the my squad and fd that was still there going too, nobody liked the DC

He knew I had it, had even tested the sharpness with his arm hair in the squad room.

Bad scene, guy lost his leg below the knee and I couldn't carry my straight razor anymore.

Guy learned to ride with a prosthesis. He was a good guy.

Dan_Shade · September 25, 2021, 12:40:12 PM

Just think, if you had your razor, maybe the goose would have made it....

Old Greenhorn · September 25, 2021, 02:24:59 PM

Quote from: doc henderson on September 25, 2021, 10:45:11 AM
...... I had a guy pass out after the repair, and did not recover well. had to give him 2 L of fluid, then the wife showed me a trash bag pic that showed prob. a liter of blood volume in the corner. they were catching the blood but not holding pressure. they were both a little squeamish to red. his blood pressure was in the 80s lying down and dropped if he sat up. he was half way to bleeding to death

This story brought to mind a call I ran once. Many times you don't get those critical details that would be most helpful, like how much blood loss in that story.
This call was more of the opposite. We got banged out for "Chainsaw injury with bleeding". While enroute you hope for some follow up info as the dispatcher collects it over the phone. In this case we got "Patient was on a ladder trimming branches with a chainsaw when the ladder fell over and he grabbed the chainsaw bar on the way down". OK, not real helpful but something anyway and I assume, and prepare for the worst, have my PPE on and trauma pads ready when I step off the rig. Find the pt. sitting on the house steps with his arm wrapped in a queen sized bed sheet with some blood visible. Pt. is scared and upset and has not looked at the wound yet. I had a couple of helpers show up and after calming the pt. I gave one helper my new cell phone with a camera (1" square photos in those days) and had him take a photo of the wound when I removed the sheet so the ER Doc could have a look without having to open it up until he was ready, I had my other helper standing there with two trauma pads ready to apply. Slowly I took the sheet off ready to move quick if things 'changed' but I got it open and it was oozing blood from the palm of his hand and thumb. I counted 5 digits almost entirely intact and not a lot of loose floppy meat. We took a couple of pictures and packed it back up for transport. As I was wrapping him I thought to ask a stupid question: "Was that chainsaw running when you grabbed the bar?" "Well" he said "not exactly, the chain was stopped and I was reaching for the next branch when I started to fall so I thought I was reaching to grab a branch to catch myself, but instead grabbed the bar of the chainsaw which I had just dropped with the other hand." It wasn't all the bad, about a dozen stitches. The Doc appreciated the photo, first time he had seen somebody do that and thought it was a neat idea. I didn't keep the picture though for obvious reasons.

Magicman · September 25, 2021, 07:58:07 PM

First Aid is for Sissies. PatD has not had to bandage me up since this morning. Well I did help by smoothing the skin back in place and holding pressure until she opened the bandages up.

I am very seldom without a bandage somewhere. :

WDH · September 26, 2021, 10:14:44 AM

"Goose One, Calling Goose One. Come in, Goose One". A few of us lucky ones got to hear about "Goose One" at a Pig Roast.

Maybe y'all can coax the story out unless it is already posted here somewhere.

bannerd · September 27, 2021, 02:46:16 PM

Too late, already got my finger in the table saw with saw stop. Cutting chicken coop stands when my glove started to unravel about 8 inches from the blade... glove started to go towards the blade and I pulled so hard that I lifted the table saw up... well it hit my thumb and the blade braked. Could have been very bad.. Took some bone fragments out.. was able to stop the bleeding with liposomal lecithin (cleaner then quick-clot). Slow drip of serum but hey, I'm thankful I still have my thumb.

Tom the Sawyer · September 27, 2021, 03:25:51 PM

Something often overlooked for sawmill safety equipment is an eyewash station. I had someone get sawdust in their eye and all we had was bottles of water. I bought a couple of portable units but found out that the shelf life is only 2-3 years and, fortunately, I haven't needed them. I am considering eyewash cups that you can use with distilled water the next time. Hey Doc(s), are those effective?

firefighter ontheside · September 27, 2021, 03:58:01 PM

As Doc said, the goal is stop the bleeding and not just to catch it. If you apply a bandage and it soaks thru, do not replace it. Go over the top with more bandaging. As blood begins to clot in the original bandage it will not soak thru as easily.

With the kinds of injuries we can cause to ourselves with sawmills and wood shops, a tourniquet is a must. If you search tourniquet you will find many suitable tourniquets with a windlass that you wind which applies pressure. Practice putting it on with each hand by itself as you may have to do that if you injure an arm or hand. After you put it on for real due to an injury, do not take it off. As Doc said, some training is good. Not every injury needs a tourniquet. Direct pressure may be all it takes.

Another very useful dressing is known as an Israeli bandage, which can also be had on Amazon. Its a good dressing that can apply pressure. As with the tourniquet, some practice is warranted so you will know how to use it if need be. Learning to use it while you're bleeding would be less than fun.

We teach stop the bleed here at the firehouse. Its a good program.

Texas Ranger · September 27, 2021, 05:30:31 PM

Quote from: firefighter ontheside on September 27, 2021, 03:58:01 PM

We teach stop the bleed here at the firehouse. Its a good program.

Army said stop the bleeding, protect the wound, and treat for shock till help arrives

Texas Ranger · September 27, 2021, 05:33:33 PM

Quote from: Tom the Sawyer on September 27, 2021, 03:25:51 PM
Something often overlooked for sawmill safety equipment is an eyewash station. I had someone get sawdust in their eye and all we had was bottles of water. I bought a couple of portable units but found out that the shelf life is only 2-3 years and, fortunately, I haven't needed them. I am considering eyewash cups that you can use with distilled water the next time. Hey Doc(s), are those effective?

I keep one of the plastic squirt nasal wash bottles full of a saline solution for eye wash. Hold eye lids open and squirt with saline. Helps a bunch.

doc henderson · September 27, 2021, 05:53:36 PM

Tom, garden hose is ok, but cold water can be uncomfortable. if i had to at home i would jump in the shower. you can use flush syringes if you have access. they sell 1 or 2 oz bottle of eye wash. eyeballs are something that people tend to be skittish about, so a cup that you push on your face may be helpful for some.

beenthere · September 27, 2021, 09:14:05 PM

Quote from: bannerd on September 27, 2021, 02:46:16 PM
Too late, already got my finger in the table saw with saw stop. Cutting chicken coop stands when my glove started to unravel about 8 inches from the blade... glove started to go towards the blade and I pulled so hard that I lifted the table saw up... well it hit my thumb and the blade braked. Could have been very bad.. Took some bone fragments out.. was able to stop the bleeding with liposomal lecithin (cleaner then quick-clot). Slow drip of serum but hey, I'm thankful I still have my thumb.

A good and important rule around saw blades, is to not (like never) wear gloves.
Sorry to see that injured thumb.