What a long day

[EllenD]

I wouldn't put styptic powder on skin!! It's only for nails that are bleeding, if you put QwikStop on his skin it will burn him very badly! You can go to Walmart, to the men's shaving section, and they sell a white styptic pencil that is meant for skin, it doesn't burn like the yellow powder they sell at Petco does. You wet the end of the pencil and then dab it on the cut to seal it...And the "NewSkin" stuff or "Surgical Glue" is OK to use as well, my avian vet uses it on little cuts and things, I actually have a tube that says "All natural, non toxic on it", I believe I got it at Rite Aid.

Believe it or not, a little trick my avian vet taught me for topical pain or itching in my birds...If you go to Walmart, to the aisle that has the laxatives, enemas, and hemmeroid creams, there's a Walmart brand hemmeroid cream in a blue box, it's the generic for the box next to it. It's a topical pain cream...All it is 5% Lidocaine cream, it's the strongest dosage of Lidocaine you can buy OTC without a prescription. They use Lidocaine topically on birds all the time, my avian vet rubs it on before he takes blood or gives an injection to lessen the stress...So this stuff completely numbs everything, like a shot from the dentist does, for like an hour, and there's nothing else in it but the 5% Lidocaine. It costs $8 a tube but I keep it around for myself too, it's awesome if you cut yourself, burn yourself, etc. Just numbs everything!

Good luck, poor guy, what a rough day...

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[Kentuckienne]

FYI, I've used New Skin on myself many times going back to my rock climbing youth, and IT BURNS. It has a solvent base and is very painful on an open wound. The pain only lasts a little while but is fairly intense. And cornstarch is a good clotting agent, better than styptic which is toxic. The generic prep H, I will be getting some of that - lidocaine is a useful thing to have on hand. Thanks for the tip.

 

[chris-md]

EllenD the label for Kwik stop clearly states it is indicated for minor cuts in addition to nails and feathers. If you've had a negative experience please do share!

 

[Owlet]

Just called the vet and I was able to make an appointment for Wednesday since that was their earlier availability... tried calling back to see if it there was anyway possibly I could get sometime sooner because I'm really worried about him and there's not much I can do from home.

 

[Anansi]

The cream I was given by my avian vet for Maya was called Soother Plus topical cream by Healx. It was very helpful in relieving her distress.

As for styptic powder vs corn starch, I don't have personal experience. But much of what I've read over the years indicates that styptic powder has potential side-effects, including a possible burning sensation, that makes it the less desirable of the two... especially given that corn starch is very nearly as effective in clotting wounds. So I've chosen to err on the side of caution and keep a supply of corn starch handy rather than styptic powder.

 

[Owlet]

I believe we have corn starch at home but to be safe I'll grab some on my way home from school.

Is this soother plus thing over the counter or?

 

[Owlet]

He seems to be doing a lot better. He didn't re-open the wound at all today and yesterday it was only once and even then it bled very little. I don't feel like a vet is necessary at this point. I'm still debating whether I should cancel the appointment tomorrow or still go.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I thought I'd find a clear answer regarding the safety of clotting products, but no. Styptic products contain anhydrous ammonium sulfate. It doesn't seem very toxic when applied to the skin, but when injested or inhaled it is. I found one article saying a woman died next to a beer can full of the stuff - you can't make this up - and elevated serum levels of the compound. They fed the stuff to some mice who died. It's more toxic to mice than salt, but not as toxic as copper. It is a common ingredient in fertilizer and accumulates in nematodes and then in earthworms, with deleterious effect. Maybe the amounts needed for a small cut or bleed are so small as to not be a problem, and bleeding is certainly a problem, so it's a trade-off. Cornstarch is probably safer, don't you think?

Which reminds me...I don't know how many people need to treat wounds at home, but pouring a wound full of sugar kills bacteria and promotes healing. Honey is even better. Something about the sugar pulling the water out of the wound into the dressing, so bacteria can't grow? And it washes away easily and reduces pain at the wound site and promotes healing. Supposed to be especially useful for burns. Here's a link to a scholarly article:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17708384

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I think I'd rather be safe then sorry and still go..then you can discuss what a good remedy would be if ever you need to clot and injury again..and just have the doc look at his little footsie to be safe.



Jim

 

[EllenD]

EllenD the label for Kwik stop clearly states it is indicated for minor cuts in addition to nails and feathers. If you've had a negative experience please do share!

I've absolutely had negative experiences with it...Try putting it on a little cut the next time you get one!!!! It burns like your skin is on fire!! And the reason I tried this, long ago, is because of a budgie that got nipped and was bleeding that I used it on a few years ago. He just went crazy when I applied it, and it didn't stop for at least 5-10 minutes. So I tried it. Mistake. Since then though, just to clarify, I've seen numerous people post on here about only using it on nails and never on skin, so they've experienced it as well. I'm not saying it won't work to clot blood, it definitely will...But ouch!!!

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[EllenD]

FYI, I've used New Skin on myself many times going back to my rock climbing youth, and IT BURNS. It has a solvent base and is very painful on an open wound. The pain only lasts a little while but is fairly intense. And cornstarch is a good clotting agent, better than styptic which is toxic. The generic prep H, I will be getting some of that - lidocaine is a useful thing to have on hand. Thanks for the tip.

No problem, when my avian vet pointed this hemmeroid cream out I had my doubts. So I went to Walmart, found the generic Walmart brand was still $8 and thought "It better work!". When I read the ingredients and it had only one: 5% Lidocaine, then I knew it was good stuff. I keep it around all the time now! My mom laughed at me until she burnt her hand badly on a kerosene lantern and was in a lot of pain the next day. I brought over some silver cream and the hemmeroid cream, mixed some together, slathered it on her hand and bandaged it up...She was thanking me for the next month!

"Dance like nobody's watching..."