The use of sugar to enhance wound healing

[CharlesHarris]

I received a copy of Hugh Coffees book "Ditch medicine" and in it I found an interesting chapter on the use of sugar as a treatment of infected wounds.

Quote: Sugar has been called a non-specific universal anti-microbial agent. Based on its safety, ease of use and availability. As with any wound the wound is first irrigated and debrided. Hemostasis is obtained prior to the application of the sugar since sugar can promote bleeding in a fresh wound.

A wait of 24 to 48 hours before the application of sugar is not unusual. Once bleeding is under control, deep wounds are treated by pouring granulated sugar into the wound, making sure to fill all cavities. The wound is then covered with a gauze sponge soaked in iodine solution. In a few hours the granulated sugar is dissolved into a "syrup" by body fluid drawn into the wound site.

Since the effect of granulated sugar upon bacteria is based on osmostic shock and withdrawl of water that is necessary for bacterial growth and reproduction. So to continually inhibit bacterial growth, the wound is cleaned with water and repacked at least one to four times daily. Or as soon as the sugar becomes diluted with more solute (sugar) to re-concentrate the aqueous solution in the environment of the solution. Unquote.

I was taught to mix Betadine with the sugar. Irrigate the wound with sterile water once it becomes syrupy, then repack the wound with Betadyne sugar again. Repeat as necessary.

That little medical tidbit came from a short class I took with a Canadian Paramedic who works in the remote wilderness of the Canadian Rockies.
Also learned it in class. http://www.medicalcorps.org/class.htm Also learned how to rehydrate an unconscious person using a nasogastric tube either through the nose or rectally from that same Canadian Paramedic.

Cool stuff. Problem is, you don't want to use it except in the most extreme of circumstances and you're on your own for an extended period. Too much liability.

[River Song]

Charles

The URL for the medicalcorps class doesn't work. Needs a new one.

For the rest of us who would like a PDF of Ditch Medicine ...


http://survivalist.fm/wp-content/uploads...encies.pdf

I'm now going to be an expert in Rectal rehydration

[Binnie]

Rectal rehydration....... wrong on so many levels!

due to the nature of my work, any cuts and grazes are normally at risk of infection, i learnt about using sugar to treat wounds.

I'd like to just add that it really DOES work, sometimes a cut that happened at work could take weeks to heal, now that i use sugar its a lot less, normally 5 days before the scab starts to lift.

This is a tip for life not just after tshtf

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can't edit, but it should have said

i learnt about using sugar to treat wounds from this forum

[Lightspeed]

(25 September 2013, 08:11)Binnie Wrote: Rectal rehydration....... wrong on so many levels!

due to the nature of my work, any cuts and grazes are normally at risk of infection, i learnt about using sugar to treat wounds.

I'd like to just add that it really DOES work, sometimes a cut that happened at work could take weeks to heal, now that i use sugar its a lot less, normally 5 days before the scab starts to lift.

This is a tip for life not just after tshtf

---

can't edit, but it should have said

i learnt about using sugar to treat wounds from this forum

Thanks Binnie,

Real-life first hand feedback, this is exactly what we need.

[Scythe13]

We used to have sugar when we lost a tooth and it was bleeding. Mum used to say it stopped the bleeding and made it taste better. She was right. So I use a similar system still, with most cuts. I like to use salt first, then sugar. If that's not available, I'll go with proper medical stuff....boring!!!

[BeardyMan]

Got bitten by some Cornish beasty when we first moved here, had a black hole appear on the side of my leg, wouldn't go down and certainly wasn't healing. Looked like necrosis of some sort. I used Manuka honey for that, had it sorted in less than a week.

Pure sugar I used when I ripped my leg open when I was pissing around on the roof of the gun club, wound became infected (I didn't have any honey at the time) so I made a donut shape from a bandage to surround the wound, packed it with sugar then taped over as usual. Draws the infection out, and helps to heal the wound. Good stuff.

[Jonas]

Quote:I was taught to mix Betadine with the sugar. Irrigate the wound with sterile water once it becomes syrupy, then repack the wound with Betadyne sugar again. Repeat as necessary.

I was taught to use (and have used) providone-iodine solution mixed with granulated white sugar...

[MaryN]

We've used honey for healing for years, but does anyone know exactly how and why sugar works? It makes a cuppa taste wonderful, but with the current downer that everyone seems to have on our intake of sugar as a population, what is it that makes it such a good helper for healing? Anyone?

[Jan]

Hi, I haven't been on for a while, but I recently fell off a gang plank into a sharp edged rock, marina key in greece, landed on my muscle 3 inches below my knee, the wound is approx 5-6mm into the muscle, was treated by am Israeli army medic, a nurse and a GP on the scene, and now 10 days later all is well, it hurts, it has scabbed, but would the sugar solution help now, or should I just leave it to heal