I'd have had a big grin too. :)

AngelusPrime said:

*sneaks in, plops in ded*

How's everyone? Will try to catch up later....

*ded*

And I was just thinking, "AP would know how to do that." What it was, however, I cannot recall. *blithers*

Nan - Got it. Will have to try it once I get a tablet. And, heeee! XD Once you remember what it was then let me know and I'll see if I can help, :-P

Suro - Injury? Who's injured? And I should be around. I'm working the weekend, so I won't be in the morning, but mid to late afternoon I should be able to sneak in a bit.

Oh, and I'm just back from my LAST DAY OF TEACHING!

We're very lucky to have you to ask!

Ooohh... Eee... hmmm... Weeelll... Not THIS bad guy, buuut... I could use the knowledge, you know, randomly, for reference...

Actually, I needed a threat/informant/disruptive presence, and potential romantic entanglement. And this guy got left behind by the other bad  guys, but turns out he didn't die. The hero couldn't possibly abandon him, could he?

And this is a postapocalyptic world. Not a nuclear or alien-invaders apocalypse, but adhesive bandages would be rare, and medicines do tend to run out at inopportune moments. So old fashioned field hospital with wrapped-around bandages, I'm thinking, yes?

And after a little bit of research (tiny, tiny bit) I think a right-side chest wound is what I want. No my character, I'm sure, but my story does.

Nanobot said:

Ahhh. Because you wrapped him like his left shoulder was injured. 

mmyep. Then I changed my mind. oops

Got me there!

Suro - To be honest, if it's old fashioned field dressings that you're thinking, it really isn't complicated at all. Find the cleanest possible thing, place it on top, then wrap it while applying pressure to the wound. Wound dressings themselves, outside of wound vaccums, are really not complicated at all. You don't necesarily need adhesives if you have long enough strips of cloth or similar things to wrap them around. The simplest dressing we do is literally just a sterile square piece of gause over a clean wound with a transparent plastic dressing (called Tegaderm) on top or the one step solution of a square bandage with a sterile, non-sticky center surrounded by adhesive. Then there are the hydrocolloid/hydrogel types which look like the blister bandaids you can get at any pharmacy; once in contant with drainage from the wound they turn almost jelly-like to maintain moisture and promote healing. Most of the others are usually just a sort of cloth/fiber impregnated with either medications or enzymes also to promote healing, aid in debridement (getting rid of the dead tissue/debris/etc) and even mask odor in some cases. The fanciest thing I know of is only used for deep wounds (think literal *holes*) that are very large and/or extremely hard to heal and those are called wound vacs, which is exactly what it sounds. They pack the wound with a type of foam and connect it to a vaccuum chamber which sucks out drainage and encourages the tissue to grow again and come back together; leaves ugly scars though. For lacerations, surgical incisions and/or stabbing-type wounds you could also use steri strips (or butterfly stitches, same thing) which are used to keep the edges together.

Now, with all that said, like I mentioned in the beginning, generic field type dressings were literally just the cleanest thing possible with something to hold it in place. If it was a deep wound, then you'd pack it with gause, put something on top, and then wrap it. The dressing type I mentioned in my previous post is called a wet-to-dry dressing and again, that's all it is. You clean the wound as much as possible from external debris, take clean/sterile gause, soak it with saline/sterile water and pack that into the wound as deep and thick as possible, then cover it with a clean gause. You change it once the packing is dry and pulling the dry stuff out brings with it more debris, drainage and sometimes bits of skin (the painful part). I've seen some people do it without pre-medication, but some offer pre-medication to the patient if it's due (which is what I try to do all the time). Of course, it also depends on the pain threshold of the wounded. 

That really is all there is to it, :) Believe me when I tell you that outside of the wound vacs, wound dressings/bandages are nothing extremely fancy, just clean, dry rags either plain like that or drenched in something to help with healing, which could be found in nature, since you did say that there was nothing nuclear in your post-apocalyptic world, ;-P

Oh, and if you want to do suturing, no lie, grab a sharp needle, sterilize it over fire, get some fishing line (the nylon type) and go to town. You can even use linen or cotton thread, but those are ripe for bacterial growth if not kept constantly clean and you can even use stainless steel wire, but yeah, not recommended for long term repairs for obvious reasons, :-P

Now I'm done. For now, ^_^

Ok, that'll teach me to not write while tired. The hydrocolloids look like the blister band aids and the hydrogels are more like a mesh. They work similarly though.

Well... as long as he was seen by someone with very good knowledge of anatomy (and even then it would be hit and miss), not having proper imaging equipment (which I assume your world won't? X-rays and such?) would not let them make sure the bullet didn't tear apart his insides, because you may see an entrance and exit wound but inside it may not be a straight path (seen it happen; bullet weaved a bit inside the person before exiting). Of course, the one thing TV has gotten right is that you *could* stick something super clean in the wound to determine the path, but *that* would hurt like there is no tomorrow and it is extremely NOT recommended. I mention all this since you did say a chest wound. Lots of important stuff in the chest. You could look at a diagram of the chest and there choose what you'd think would be less lethal without modern medical care (or I can do it for you, but you'll have to let me sleep off work for a bit, :-P). As far as bandaging? Again, just what's cleanest and something to hold it in place on either wound. You could have the medics drench the dressings in something with antiseptic properties like tea tree oil, echinacea or even honey, place that directly on top of the wound and then cover that. 

Nope, no imaging equipment. Electricity isn't readily available, or replacement parts. But knowledge is.

Honey as antiseptic, gotcha. I knew it was a good preservative, but I wasn't sure that the antiseptic part wasn't a legend. And echinacea: I can see my heroes harvesting it and keeping a supply at hand.

Now go sleep! This is wonderful info. Thank you.

Random- I was emailed from the editor of 3D Art Direct regarding my twitter account, wanting to know if he could have the link...which I didn't have.  >.>  Well, I do now.  If anyone wants it's here.

AP: oh yes it helps.

Oh, one note. Honey does work as an antiseptic, but I wouldn't put it on like a gunshot wound or something like that. It's not strong enough. And besides, wounds like that attract flies as is; add something sweet and well, you get my point.

Goldenseal is a good topical, I think.  Edit- OK, not so much, but I recall someone saying that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenseal#Traditional_usage

Coolest Elevator in New York.

http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=4450

Great news on the 3D Art Direct bit, Grim. :)
You're also the second person I've met who's allergic to echinacea.
I've also met a couple of people who're allergic to Aloe. That made me look at all of these diapers and baby wipes that have it in them and hope that they don't get used on an infant who's also allergic.

My big drug allergies are sulfa and ranitidine. Most people just see the latter in Zantac and the like. Turns out it's also an antihistamine. That's how I got prescribed it.

Which brings up another question to AP: supposing that major factories don't work anymore, and distribution systems have fallen apart, is it possible to manufacture epinephrine in an environment more like a home lab? Or something similar even if it's not as good as the modern stuff and epi-pens? Also, how long are they good for? If a stash is discovered, what's the expiration time, and what would be bad about using (unknowingly) expired epinephrine?

(the knowledge is still mostly there, although fading, but the means and the supply aren't)

Nanobot said:

And neosporin makes me break out in hives. Go figure.

last year i cut a finger. neighbor gave me neosporin for it.
they have to have changed it since the 70's. it burnt my
finger and left a part of it dead. it still, months later, has
a spot that is dead!

ladyfur said:

Nanobot said:

And neosporin makes me break out in hives. Go figure.

last year i cut a finger. neighbor gave me neosporin for it.
they have to have changed it since the 70's. it burnt my
finger and left a part of it dead. it still, months later, has
a spot that is dead!

Both of you are probably allergic to neomycin, and should not use Neosporin™ or any other anti-bacterial products which contain neomycin.

Nanobot said:

Xaa said:

ladyfur said:

Nanobot said:

And neosporin makes me break out in hives. Go figure.

last year i cut a finger. neighbor gave me neosporin for it.
they have to have changed it since the 70's. it burnt my
finger and left a part of it dead. it still, months later, has
a spot that is dead!

Both of you are probably allergic to neomycin, and should not use Neosporin™ or any other anti-bacterial products which contain neomycin.

But, Bacitracin? No problems at all.

Edit: Bacitracin probably just contains bacitracin zinc. Neosporin First Aid ointment contains that and neomycin sulfate and Pramoxine (analgesic).

Yep.  The flip side to that story is that Terre can use Neosporin just fine, but can't use the more concentrated bacitracin ointments, it would set off her sulfa allergy.

Actually, it is fascinating, Ladyfur. We've exchanged a set of dangers for another. We wouldn't survive in the wilderness, but someone who only knows the wilderness might very soon die of poisoning or something very modern that we don't even think twice about.