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Thanks Susan!

I can go clean out my first aid box! ? I know I have all that stuff: ?wonder dust, scarlet oil, furacin, purple stuff .... ?:) ??

Heck - I think most of it is way ?old, anyway. ?This is nice and simple: ?bandaging stuff, Neosporin, betadine solution, a spray bottle, a teaspoon and a box of salt. ? ? (And a little card telling me what to do with them...) ?I think I can handle that. ?:) ?Anything 'special', I can get from my vet for the specific issue.

On Oct 10, 2007, at 2:21 PM, Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVM wrote:

>And isn't there a 6-hour window for successful sutering?
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>Terry
>"May the Horse be with you"

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*Ideally*, it’s best to suture a wound within 6-8 hours, but we don’t always get that.? You can absolutely do a delayed closure if called for due to circumstances, or contamination that needs to be cleaned up first, or whatever---you just have to produce fresh, bleeding edges to get good healing.? But you shouldn’t ever NOT call a vet out to look at a wound, just because you think it might be too late to suture---I just did a reconstruction (in a dog) yesterday on a wound that originally occurred three months ago.? No sweat.

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BTW, since there’s a discussion of saline for wounds, the ratios and measurements don’t have to be exactly precise---just a little less salty than the ocean is about right, and just use clean, fresh tap water and regular table salt to clean a wound.? If you keep a regular, clean spray bottle around that has never held anything else, and adjust the nozzle to the fine stream, that’s just right to blast off contaminants without traumatizing tissue.? If you also add just enough betadine solution (not scrub) to make it the color of weak iced tea, than it will also disinfect the wound without causing additional trauma.? Adding more to make a stronger solution does NOT make it better, it makes it worse.? It’s about the best solution to clean ANY (and I do mean any) wound safely, without interfering with the vet’s ability to later suture or resect the wound.? If a critter (of any kind) dings itself and you’re waiting for the vet, best thing you can do is clean it out with the stream spray of dilute saltwater-and-betadine ONLY, cover it with a clean telfa and put a light vetrap or polo wrap or whatever over it.? If you’re not going to call a vet, clean it with the put Neosporin on it, a bandage and that’s it.? No scarlet oil, no furacin, no purple stuff, no ichthammol.? Don’t get fancy.

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JMO.

Susan Garlinghouse, DVM