In terms of stopping the flow of blood when you cut yourself, in what order of effectiveness would you put the following. Alum block Spit Cold water Styptic pencil Aftershave Witch Hazel something else I may have missed. Thanks Kristian
**My personal opinion** In my opinion styptic is great at it, spit never solved anything, cold water only succeeded at making me cold, after shave is OK at it and the witch is so so. **My personal opinion**
Styptic alum block (only minor ones) before I discovered the above, I used to tear a small piece off a tissue and wet it to get it to stick to my face (results vary) nothing else has worked for me
Styptic (that's what it's designed for) Alum (if it's more than a minor nick it takes a LONG time) aftershave (only minor nicks using AS's with high alcohol content) I've only used alum since starting wet shaving. Only one nick that I think the styptic would have been a better choice.
I'm sorry, I wouldn't have laughed had I not misread the title as "Stropping the blood".... anyway, spit in the dirt, make a mud pack, and rub it in; if it was good enough for Jesus to heal blindness........ I've never had need of any of these, have the styptic, but have never needed it. I find that a few seconds, cold water, and witch hazel take care of any little weepers I may ever get.
For the really small stuff, the witch hazel is a strong enough astringent. If the bleeding is a little heavier, the styptic pencils work pretty well. I think a styptic pencil should be in every first aid kit, by the way. Handy little things. I've used mine in a pinch when traveling because it was in my shaving kit.
Hiya, Methods used, from the worst case scenario to least in severity: Tourniquet Sutures Pressure bandage Super glue Styptic pencil Cold water Spit Glad to help with your confusion, Martin
Hiya Lee, Yeah, excellent advice for use as an antiseptic. The Bay Rum tree essential oil provides both a pleasant scent, and is a great natural alternative for products like alcohol based witch hazel. I'm sure you're aware of the large percentage of alcohol that's contained in the freshly tapped Bay Rum sap. Yeah, you and other members must have seen those old pictures of the pirates laying around in hammocks.........buckets attached to the trees nearby. Very similar to maple sugar making, if that helps. Heh, this is done in warmer climates though. Many drunk pirates with very nice breath........ Anyway, the undiluted liquid (right from the tree) can vary from 70-90% alcohol, making it around 180 proof on the high end. Yep.......think of Everclear with an island twist.....heh. Thanks for including your thoughts. I woulda forgotten all about that stuff if you didn't mention it. Martin
I never thought about it before but I think I would have guessed that the alcohol was added synthetically. I dont know why or how this makes it a good blood stopper, but it has been enough for me so far. Thanks for the information! Martin you need only use it occasionally in the mornings after a close shave and you will have a much harder time forgetting about it!
Hiya, Just a quick disclaimer about the previous Bay Rum post I made earlier. There MAY be one or two statements that could possibly be up for another interpretation. Anyway, just thought I'd mention that..........
Styptic and Alum, in this order for the severity of the bleeding - that is what I use (believe me I have experience here...)
Ayurveda helps ! I would like to give a little lesson in Ayurveda on this topic. In India, turmeric powder is a very common spice/masala for use in the kitchen for preparation / coloring of foods and curries. If you have eaten Indian Tandoori Chicken which has the red spice applied, you can bet it has turmeric to add to the taste. Back to the topic, for any cuts where blood flow gets a bit out of hand, the common practice is to instantly sprinkle turmeric powder on the cut and apply pressure with a clean cotton swab or cloth. In seconds the bleeding will stop. Turmeric has very strong antiseptic, anti-inflammation properties and hence doubles up and fastens up the healing process as well... You might want to give it a try for any shaving cuts which are nasty and refuse to stop with alum or a styptic pencil. There is an Indian Antiseptic cream called "Vicco Turmeric" which is used if people don't want to use raw turmeric powder. They also make a shaving cream which I have yet to use [Trust crackstar to have used and reviewed every shave cream in India, including ones I get to know exist in India only after reading his reviews !!] http://www.ehow.com/how_2152479_stop-bleeding-instantly.html http://www.thereligiousproducts.com/uses-of-turmeric.html http://www.ayushveda.com/magazine/turmeric-health-benefits/
Styptic or Alum, and depending on size - Savlon, or maybe even Sudocrem or TCP. I have some distilled witch hazel but I haven't tried it yet.
Do all syeptic pencil's sting like no other? I nicked myself the yesterday, and the Syeptic Pencil stung like a bad word..... is that normal? I am a newbie to this trade...
