the tea bag trick

[randall rosenthal]

i nick myself all the time and usually a band aid will suffice. two days ago i made a real rookie mistake with a mat knife. the blade entered the top of my finger....went all the way through...out the bottom and then out the tip. lots of blood. i wrapped a tea bag around the wound with tape and left it on for 24 hours. tea will stop the bleeding. when i took the tape off the tea had solidified around the wound. by slowly rinsing i got it all off and put anti biotic on and re bandaged. just a good way to stop bleeding.

[Michael Mezalick]

Not sure about the tea but I do know that the paper used for the bag is the strongest when compared to others that thin and porous.

[randall rosenthal]

a periodontist turned me on to tea to stop bleeding. its the tannic acid that clots blood. works great after dental surgery....and anywhere else apparently.

[john lampros]

Was it green tea? black tea, will herb tea work? or how 'bout Chai? how long do you let it steep? My Dw said to use chamomile so it will calm you down while it stops the hemoraging.I guess she knows this from experience. I got a whole cupboard full of different types of tea here and I need to know which ones will work in case I get cut. did you make a poultice? we need more details here! you cant just start this thread "I got cut so I made some tea to stop the bleeding" . Oi.

[randall rosenthal]

english breakfast (black)......but you don't brew it.....you put the bag on the wound. its two days now and the wound which is quite gaping is not bleeding at all. i just taped the bag over the wound with adhesive tape for 24 hours. i think any kind of real tea will work.....brew the herb tea and drink that to calm you down after you dress the wound.

[David Keller NC]

Clot-forming bandages are also available to the consumer - they contain proteins that initiate the clot-forming cascade in blood (I have them in my shop first-aid kit - everyone should):

http://www.quikclot.com/home.aspx

[randall rosenthal]

thanks david. a friend said he was gonna send me some mil-spec clotting powder. a lot of my off shore fishing friends have something like this in their first aid arsenal. i have to say however for smallish wounds....tea is pretty amazing.

[Lee Schierer]

My dog sometimes gets some pretty serious cuts from briars when he hunts. My vet suggested using superglue to close the wound and stop the bleeding. I've used it twice now with no problems. It is a bit faster than holding a tea bag on it overnight.

[randall rosenthal]

this was not a wound that could be glued back together. if it was i would have sewn it up. 5 days now and healing nicely but.....thats gonna leave a scar!