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A Stitch in Time... |
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When discarding trash at 3:20 AM, at work, a can cut through the bag, and my left elbow. It was quite a gash, and it didn't want to close properly. After it stopped bleeding, I washed and disinfected it with povidone- iodine, then I stitched it closed with some blue polyester thread and a fine self-threading needle. It required 7 stitches to close. The trick is to start at the middle, and pull it into alignment, then continue off to one side, then the other. Elbow skin is quite tough, like leather, so getting the needle to penetrate requires considerable force (perhaps 10 lbs). Once the needle has penetrated the far side, it can be pulled through the wound with a povidone-iodine soaked pliers. I was working in a mirror, so I had to look specifically at my elbow, and decide the proper angle to use before applying force. The repair took about 30 minutes, and after a shower, I sealed the surface with super glue. It looked the same in the morning. Today I put a bandaid on it, to cushion any impacts. |
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The healed wound, after 3 weeks. Stitches were removed the day before.(I used Povidone-Iodine soaked nail clippers)
The amount of pain in removing the stitches was less than that of removing a tight Band-Aid. |
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MyNetZero |
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MyJuno |
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In all of this... The wound was attended to within 30 minutes [Try to get through an emergency room in 30 minutes] During healing, which was functionally complete within 2-3 days... there was no bleeding, or infection. No carbon footprint gasoline was consumed, no travel time was used, No paperwork (except this...) no Billing,
No Insurance claim, No Workers Comp Disability...
I never left my residence, I lost no time at work ... I controlled the germ field myself, and I didn't spend a cent. Just think, america... They had no ER's in 1776, did they ??? Golly... How much tax money
is spent on stitches??? (Don't Give me any baloney about proper environments... People pierce their own ears and noses and lips, and eyebrows, and diabetics inject themselves with insulin, all without the benefit of "proper environments" so who is kidding whom? ) |
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My arms, by the way, are not as wide as they appear.. It is a lens proximity effect. |
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Learn to take care of yourself. |
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Click to enlarge images.
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