Expendables?

[Echelleg]

I am currently working on my med preps. As I was shopping for gauze pads. Rolled gauze ect I noticed the price of these items have gone up and it made me start to wonder how many I needed and if there were alternatives. I called my grandmother (she's 82) and asked her what they used when she was a child. She told me that her mother would take sheets and cut them into strips, boil them to sterilize them and then store them in clean canning jars. This peaked my curiosity, so I started doing some research and I found a wonderful video on utube about crochet bandages. She crotchets a rolled bandage out of 100% cotton yarn. I took this a step further and crocheted some 4x4 (plus other various sizes) gauze type pads. What I like about these is they are reusable. They can be washed, bleached, boiled and then vacuum sealed or put into mason jars. Cotton yarn can be used for so many things and it doesn't take long to whip up these bandages. It seems to me to be a good way to build up a supply, but also have a reusable/renewable source. Everyone should check out her video, she is great. I would love to hear what your thoughts on this are.

[MustangGal]

My thought is to put some 4x4 in small packages and then place them in the jar, pressure cook for 40 minutes and then once cool take them out of the jar. I think they would be as sterile as the stuff you buy that comes wrapped in paper.
I have a big partially ussed bag of 4x4s that I need to put into various kits.

Doh! Sorry! We just wrapped our stuff in the disposible surgical drape material. Actually, we double wrapped 4x4, so we could turn a sealed package out onto a sterile surgical tray without losing sterility.

[EX121]

My thought is to put some 4x4 in small packages and then place them in the jar, pressure cook for 40 minutes and then once cool take them out of the jar. I think they would be as sterile as the stuff you buy that comes wrapped in paper.
I have a big partially ussed bag of 4x4s that I need to put into various kits.

[MustangGal]

So i'm wondering if I can put stuff in a canning jar and then water bath it in a pressure cooker for 10 min. ???

I don't think that would be long enough. We usually autoclaved our equipment for 30 to 40 minutes after it reached temp. I think a mason jar would also really limit your portability. Broken glass in a bandage wouldn't be a good thing.

[EX121]

So i'm wondering if I can put stuff in a canning jar and then water bath it in a pressure cooker for 10 min. ???

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Would it be feasible to have a bulk amount of gauze material and just cut it to what ever size you need?

That depends on the time you have treating the wound based on how severe it is. I would say offhand outside of the battlefield yes you have time to cut it to fit provided you have enough hands to do it and hold the wound/patient. A little of both IMO would be in order.

[Grinnan Barrett]

Maybe I missed this one. Working in the third world, infection was the thing that got most people. I bulked up on a lot of antiseptic products including Advanced Mouth Wash which will do in a pinch to clean out a wound of any kind. Gauze, cotton, diapers, tampons, white towels, or just about anything that does not have dye in it and is absorbent will do to pack a wound temporarily. Hand sanitizers will do in a pinch to clean your hands prior to handling a wound. Rubber gloves are nice to protect the patient and you. I like wrap around self sticking gauze to hold wrap in place. If you have access to a veterinarian clinic antibiotics for small to medium size animals can be used on humans if you have to. Not my first choice but who is asking when it falls apart. If you run cattle, sheep or goats you will have access to this stuff.

[Cimarron]

What size is the abdominal pad?

Would it be feasible to have a bulk amount of gauze material and just cut it to what ever size you need?

[Mjollnir]

my list goes:

4x4's
abd pads
maxi pads
sterile gloves
Kerlix rolls
tape
betadine
betadine
betadine
betadine

[Mjollnir]

For future reference you can pack any dressing material in a vac-pack bag, toss those bags in a pressure canner or cooker for 10 minutes at 10 pounds pressure and you have shelf-stable sterile dressings. Also use that same method to sterilize sutures, medical equipment, what ever really needs to be sterile. Learned that in my Wilderness Medicine class via the doc. Those pressure canners/cookers are really autoclaves and can even be used over an open fire with watchful care.

Awesome info! Thanks for that.

[MustangGal]

At the vet clinic, we used Nu Gauze 4x4s by Johnson & Johnson. The same stuff they use on people. We bought it as non-sterile and autoclaved it. 4x4 is the size.

There are different types (woven/nonwoven) and brands of 4x4s. Nu Gauze was just our vet's preference.

We divided up big packages, wrapped them in drape material (a paper surgical drape) and secured them with autoclave tape.

[Mjollnir]

I am not exactly sure what you mean by 4x4, 2x2.
Is that any pad or dressing material that is 4 inches by 4 inches and is it a particular type of dressing?

Yes 4x4 means 4 inch by 4 inch sterile gauze pads.

[Cimarron]

I am not exactly sure what you mean by 4x4, 2x2.
Is that any pad or dressing material that is 4 inches by 4 inches and is it a particular type of dressing?

[goatlady]

Pretty cool stuff, MG. http://shop.mwhitedental.com/Autocla...medium=organic

It is called autoclave tape, indicator, and not very expensive either.

[MustangGal]

The autoclave we used at the veterinary clinic was just a glorified pressure cooker. There is a tape you can put on items that will change colors once it is sterile. It looks like masking tape, but has black stripes on it after processing. We just called it autoclave tape - not sure if it has a special name.