Gluesticks

How safe do you think it is to use over-the-counter Super Glue for sutures?

Tonight a neighbor cut his finger and my boyfriend rushed in the house to grab a needle and thread as well as some Super Glue.. He used the superglue to stop the bleeding and proceeded to sew the guys finger up. It worked! So I decided to do some research. I found out that it was common in the Vietnam war and not so unheard of when it comes to the medical field. Has anyone else used the assistance of Super Glue to aid in preventing bleeding and suturing cuts?

Public Comments

1. I sure wouldn't advise this. In a quick fix, use sterile water to clean and then some steri strips to hold shut.
2. It's good that he stopped the bleeding and yes for small cuts this will actually do a nice job but if it is bad enough to need stitches no one should use super glue or needle and thread to sew it up. This can lead to infection and with the mrsa going around this can be deadly. have your friend go to the Dr. and have the thread removed and have real stitches put in. In the meantime have him clean it thoroughly with some peroxide and put some kind of antibiotic ointment on it. good luck
3. What is the previous person thinking...do you know how much that would sting...supa glue is not designed for sutures...go to the pharmacy and ask them what is best...
4. It probably will stop the bleeding, but in general it's not a very good idea to use household items to perform medical procedures. Unless your boyfriend is a trained medical professional, it's possible that his attempts to fix things will only make them worse. Next time, apply pressure to the wound with a sterile (or at least clean) cloth, and take the person to the emergency room.
5. Both the medical dermibond and Superglue are pretty close to the same formulations, and will help to close a wound. BUT you have to have some care in using them. For holding the surface together, it's ideal. But in the wound itself- the raw edges so to speak- it will interfere with the healing process because it prevents epithelialization of the wound edges beneath the surface. So you do need to know what you are doing to an extent. And as far as sewing somebody together with needles and thread- that makes me shiver. Before a wound is closed, it needs to be as clean as possible- you don't want to be sewing up a bunch of bacteria and gunk in that cut, so it gets infected. The sutures would have to be removed to allow it to drain, and that would defeat the purpose of suturing in the first place. And you don't want to just use any old thing for the thread either. Regular sewing thread is cotton covered polyester, or polyester as a rule. Those are porous wicks, and will serve as paths for pathogens to migrate from the skin surface into the wound. The body also deals with them like intruders, and will attack the material as well. Nylon is used for regular suture material because it is not wicking material, it repeals water, and the body is more tolerant of it. It's also a lot easier to remove the stitches afterwards- where thread will not be. I know in the old days they did use sewing needles, thread and even horse tail or human hair. It did work, but it wasn't the ideal. I've used Dermabond to keep small wounds closed, and I use it at home for the kids various nicks and scrapes. It works well for small things, not so good for the big ones. In the case of a deep cut, it's really best to go for the emergency room. In that case, you will need sutures below the surface of the skin as well as on the surface. They may still use "superglue" for the surface closure, but they will use a much more suitable material for the subcutaneous ones. And a final note, although yes- regular superglue works in a pinch, it is rather destructive to skin. The preps made for the purpose are formulated to be much less destructive to skin structures. It's worth it to go ahead and purchase a kit to keep on hand for emergencies.
6. This is some crazy first aid that has infection written all over it. If it was bad enough to require stitches, i certainly would recommend a visit to the ER or doctor. Dermabond can be bought at most pharmacies, a little better than crazy glue. I would have used butterfly strips or even med tape to close it up before glue.