I managed to split the skin on my knuckle on a wood surface yesterday. The wound was about 2 inches or more long. That gave me the chance to see if I could suture my hand by myself. If I had gone to the hospital I would have been there for hours on end waiting to see a doctor. I remembered that Brianne convinced me to take sutures on my trip last year so I hauled one out and used my S&G skills to good end.

Because it wasnt a puncture wound I wasn't very worried about infection although I did sterilize the area around the wound to be safe using one of my med kit steri-wipes. Eight stitches and some struggling with bad angles and I was on the mend. Today there is almost no swelling although it hurts a little.

My thought here is that for those of you going on wilderness paddles where there is little chance of getting medical help in case of emergency, get the sutures and carry them in your med kit. A deep and/or long wound must be closed immediately after the injury or you will have serious problems with bleeding and/or infection. I bled profusely but once sutured up, no bleeding. I applied Polysporin as an antibiotic and gauze pads tightly wrapped so as to apply good pressure to the wound. I then taped it up with even pressure over the wound to ensure that there was no risk of stressing the sutures, effectively immobilizing the wounded area. That meant using the gauze to bind my two small fingers together then taping them with med tape so that they can't bend. The next risk if this had happened out in the wilds would be to have something available to cover the bandages so I could keep paddling. A snug rubber or nitrile glove would work well. I wouldn't be able to wear a paddling glove because of the added bulk of the bandages. Another problem I discovered was that in the wild I would have used up all of my sterile gauze mopping up the blood, so adequate gauze supplies means maybe 20 pads or more, large ones would be best because they can be folded to be used on the wound. Another problem was that I didn't ahve peroxide in my kit. That would have been useful for sterilizing large areas of skin for wounds on other parts of the body.

Although I feel like a dolt for not being more careful, I did get to learn that I have what it takes to provide myself with appropriate wilderness medical care. As I look at the rest of my hand now, I can see that even the minor sweelign has gone away. Brianne, thanks for the advice, next time I have to do the sewing I'll be thinking of you.

Robert N Pruden