The hands and the face are a pain to do well. Cosmetically and functionally a challenge.

They didn't give me antibiotics

Two stitches were the sum total of the medical care I got for that injury

I fought with the medical billing department for months. I'm positive they charged me for anesthesia but medical coding is a black art and they would not give me an itemized bill. Ultimately I made an offer that was more than reasonable and they sent it to collections

Many years ago I was without insurance and needed to visit the Dr routine check up. Told them I will pay for everything at time of service. I also told them don't bother sending a bill after, if it isn't charged now I am not paying it.

Sure enough they sent a bill and sure enough I told them to pound sand.

/Thread derailing

I’ve stitched myself a couple times, used superglue once,butterfly bandaids once and steristrips once.
All followed up with a trip to the ER
Yeh I’ve had may share of bleeding
It’s a useful tool in your med kit, along with a numbing agent and quikclot,

I didn't realize my spending 1 hour on learning an interesting and useful basic skill and posting about it would be so controversial.

If you exist in a sedentary life near a 1st world hospital and have excellent healthcare insurance, this may not be for you.

I have traveled to 5 continents, and spent significant time in the outdoors including in 3rd world countries FAR AWAY from anything approaching excellent healthcare. For instance a 5 day 50 mile hike thru the Salkantay mountain pass thru rain forests and jungles to Manchu Picchu Peru. Good luck getting medical care there... simple skills might make the difference if even for morale purposes to close a wound until someone can get to a competent professional.

It doesn't take a lot of creativity to generate scenarios where simple skills like this are handy. Back in the beginning of covid when we didn't know the extent of the danger, I'd have probably been unwilling to go the the hospital if I had a small injury to fix at home myself like a couple of stitches. Now, I'd go to the hospital but back in March or April - different story when a long period hanging out in an ER with infected covid carriers seemed far more dangerous than today. Also, finances. If you need 2 stitches but it's going to be $1000 one might consider doing it at home.

True story - when I was a child I got injured so many times the family doctor gave my mom a suture kit and showed her how to do stitches at home! Times were different ...

The point is for 1st world folks who expect to have XYZ available, it may not always be available either due to location or the situation...

Not controversial to me at all

I still go out to places where there isn’t easy access to medical treatment, like the middle of the Pacific Ocean

Would rather know it and not need it than the other way around


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Badass LC. The more self-sufficient we all are, the better. We don't know what the future holds.

I used to have to do this regularly on mice as part of a previous job I had at an animal lab. Sure enough, it works the same way on people, just with a larger gauge needle and wider spacing. Make sure you practice regularly, because learning to suture is not like learning to ride a bike.

I could have used that skill this archery season. Instead I flushed the wound with saline solution closed it and applied neosporin and a gauze pad and wrapped my wrist with a torn scrap of a towel and a wrap of duct tape. No way in hell was I going to miss opening archery season when I had drawn a cow tag.

I think it's great to learn things like this. Always practical, possibly not. But a "better to have and not need...." kind of thing, absolutely. Plus it's cool to just learn stuff. I have spent way too much time learning how to pick all kinds of locks with a basic rake and wrench. I don't foresee anytime in the future I would need that skill, but it was kind of fun to learn it.

I enjoy suturing, but it's also a routine part of my job. Had a boss years ago that would take his staff to Hawaii every couple of years and would always pack a med kit which included suture and antibiotics. He figured someone is always going to end up cutting their toe on something sharp in the ocean and he'd rather fix it himself than spend half a day in the ER. Needless to say, I have all of that stuff at home. Just in case. Can't ever be too prepared.

Damn straight, learn that shit!
That is a skill that is more than necessary in oh shit situations.
Once you have 2 hand operation down, go to one.
There's a silicone device with various straight, deep, angled and rough cuts in it to practice, forget to what it's called but it's cheap.
I have a 30+ year old light showing scar from self sutures, courtesy of Jack Daniels and swiping a 91D kit.
Funny thing, doc working on fixing a severed tendon couple years back, next to self stitched scar asking questions of how. Described bored drunken day drinking with other green weenies with big knives and relocating med supplies, says he's same era and typical shit he saw back then.
Difference between the two scars, mine shows much less!

Right on, LC. I learned to do this at boat school 20 years ago. We had a class called Shipboard Medical and it was exactly what it sounds like. No doctors or EMTs available when you're in the middle of the ocean so we all had to be ready to fix each other up. I mean, nominally the Chief Mate is the medical officer but what if it's the Chief Mate who's all banged up?

We practiced suturing on pigs' feet, gave each other saline shots, learned about a whole slate of basic meds including various antibiotics and painkillers, splinting, casting, setting bones... It was like all the Boy Scout first aid badges rolled into one and multiplied by 20. Good time.

Recently at work I had a good refresher on tourniquet application along with the CPR and defib refresher. Never know when any of this stuff will come in handy.

Just be careful! You won't need stitches.

Pretty slick practice kit for $49.99 (Currently on Sale)

https://trueskinsuturekit.com/