Just like all things, it's not a matter of "if" but "when". This is what I learned.
WARNING There are some pics of a small cut in this article.
I feel ridiculous bringing this up, but I know there is at least one person, somewhere out there, who would appreciate a heads up.
If you don't like seeing tiny cuts, then this article is not for you.
How to Treat Small Cuts From a Fillet Knife
It had been almost a decade since I've last seen Jared.
Last time I did, I was boarding a helicopter to leave the Green Zone, ending one chapter in my life and beginning another. It would be the last time I would see Iraq.
In the present day, circumstances brought Jared closer to what I call home in Louisiana. He wanted to catch up and, since he loves hunting and fishing, I thought we should do it on a fishing trip to Delacroix.
It was a great time recounting the glory days of being a private security contractor. We ran the streets of Baghdad together, hired by Uncle Sam to protect his snowflake underlings from harm.
We caught a good deal of reds, which Jared wanted to keep to cook later. He loves wild game and I had to beg him to stop casting at gar and not put them in the cooler. I know, it's funny.
Anyways, we were cleaning redfish on the tailgate of my truck when I realized I had grabbed the wrong fillet knife. This one was dull and worn down.
To top it off, my cleaning gloves were nowhere to be found. I just haven't been cleaning that many fish in the last year.
I straightened the burrs out with a steel and that got me through 6 or 7 of them. But it was that last redfish I should've stopped pushing my luck.
The whole time thoughts were running through my head, "Dull knives are unsafe!" I envisioned my dad shaking his head at what happened next:
The knife slipped into my index finger, slicing through the subcutaneous layer.
The Problem
This cut wasn't bad, it was just an extremely inconvenient location: my hand.
The skin on my hand is always flexing and I need my hands to work. Infection comes easily and the wound tends to open up.
My solution to this has always been superglue! I'd simply glue the cut together, and that worked, but superglue is rigid and doesn't flex with the skin.
Nor does it peel off easily.
The Solution
Jared happened to have a bottle of New Skin in his truck.
This stuff is way better than superglue! It applies with a built-in brush and dries quickly, creating a bandage across the cut.
It flexes with the skin, so I can work without worry of the cut opening again or getting dirt inside it. Being anti-septic is a nice bonus as well!
It stings when it goes on, but I like that kind of sting. Lets me know I'm alive!
Think of how this prevents water-borne flesh-eating diseases, like vibrio vulnificus, from entering your body.
And here it is the next day. I had finished my morning run and shower, the skin around the cut is dry, but the liquid bandage is still holding strong.
Conclusion
New Skin is anti-septic and works way better than superglue or a bandaid. It readily peels off, so a fresh bandage can be applied.
Yeah it “stings”
Very glad to hear that. Sounds like y’all were a handful. LOL
My mother found this stuff about 50 – 55 years ago. She swore it kept my brothers and me out of the E.R. many times….and it did.
Good stuff, thanks for commenting!
“NEW-SKIN”/”LIQUID BANDAID” great products…first started using it a long time back while in high school/college when ‘sponsored’ bowling over 90-100 practice games per week! Still use it around the house and boat…John Castelluccio, Jr.