Wound in the tropics ?

[kinoons]

I'm personally in favor of naturopathic remedies when they're effective and use them myself, but I do not know of any peer-reviewed literature that supports placing sugar directly in a wound as a wound care adjunct. There is some literature about sugar dressings but I don't know that that is duplicable with ordinary sugar since it's concentration-dependent and lower concentrations actually have the opposite effect (i.e. they act as a medium). There are better remedies out there that are readily available.

Best regards,
DDM

I haven’t done a lot of research on sugar as a wound management method either, but your fear was my first thought too. Get enough sugar and perhaps there is enough osmotic pressure on the wound to inhibit bacterial growth. OTOH you could just be feeding raw energy to the very infection you’re trying to prevent if you get the concentration wrong.

 

[Outbound]

I just gotta say, this has been one of the most amusing threads I've read on SB in a long time. Fifteen pages of:

• Would you dive with this wound? (photos)
• No, you should put antibiotic ointment on it, bandage it, and not dive.
• Don't use antibiotic ointment! Use sugar!
• I've been putting betadine on it.
• I would dive with it. Put some diesel on it and call it a day.
• Don't use sugar, use this Chinese balm stuff that has twigs, berries, and probably some banned chemicals in it. But it works!
• Don't use betadine.
• Can I dive with it now? I've been putting more betadine on it. (more photos)
• Stop putting betadine on it!!
• How about now? I've been using the Chinese stuff. (more photos)
• You really should use antibiotic ointment and a bandage.
• Here's what it looks like with more of that Chinese stuff on it.

Just enjoying the show...

 

[lowflyer]

I just gotta say, this has been one of the most amusing threads I've read on SB for a long time. Fifteen pages of:

• Would you dive with this wound? (photos)
• No, you should put antibiotic ointment on it, bandage it, and not dive.
• Don't use antibiotic ointment! Use sugar!
• I've been putting betadine on it.
• I would dive with it. Put some diesel on it and call it a day.
• Don't use sugar, use this Chinese balm stuff that has twigs, berries, and probably some banned chemicals in it. But it works!
• Don't use betadine.
• Can I dive with it now? I've been putting more betadine on it. (more photos)
• Stop putting betadine on it!!
• How about now? I've been using the Chinese stuff. (more photos)
• You really should use antibiotic ointment and a bandage.
• Here's what it looks like with more of that Chinese stuff on it.

Just enjoying the show...

This thread proves that sometimes a healthy human body will eventually heal itself despite poor management

 

[scubajunky17]

This thread proves that sometimes a healthy human body will eventually heal itself despite poor management

Hahaha or maybe it's good management? There are lots of evidence for sugar and lots of research.
Not saying it's ideal but at the time, betadine and sugar was all I had.
Chinese stuff seems really good and was recommend by many here and elsewhere.
The input has helped me and will surely help others in the future.
Not finished yet but it's looking good so far.

 

[tridacna]

Hahaha or maybe it's good management? There are lots of evidence for sugar and lots of research.
Not saying it's ideal but at the time, betadine and sugar was all I had.
Chinese stuff seems really good and was recommend by many here and elsewhere.
The input has helped me and will surely help others in the future.
Not finished yet but it's looking good so far.

Au contraire. Chinese stuff could hurt others in the future. As could sugar. Nothing like really bad medical advice to spice up a thread.

 

[scubajunky17]

Au contraire. Chinese stuff could hurt others in the future. As could sugar. Nothing like really bad medical advice to spice up a thread.

Have you done your research on sugar ? Sugardine ? Or Die Da yao Jing ?

 

[steinbil]

Have you done your research on sugar ? Sugardine ? Or Die Da yao Jing ?

You have gotten advice from doctors and nurses in this thread, and they all seem to agree. I would trust their research more than your own internet research. You know, reviewing research papers and doing actual research is an important part of their profession. Just saying...

 

[berndo]

Concur with everything in this post except for the sugar. Sugar could actually make infections worse. You may be thinking of honey, which does have antimicrobial properties, but that has nothing to do with the sugar content. There are commercially made wound dressings that contain honey.

It was sugar for sure. We were told that by one surgeon and for my buddy it did to the job. Other than that I don't know. He said in hospital they do use sugar packs for some wounds. It's anecdote though. I don't have enough understanding of this to have an opinion.

Edit: My buddy had an pus discharging infection that kept getting worse. The sugar advice we were giving only for that type of infection, not for fresh wounds.

 

[scubajunky17]

It was sugar for sure. We were told that by one surgeon and for my buddy it did to the job. Other than that I don't know. He said in hospital they do use sugar packs for some wounds. It's anecdote though. I don't have enough understanding of this to have an opinion.

There is more than enough evidence online to validate what you say, just had a doctor take a look at it, ( training course in the resort and they have a doctor with them) she took all the Jing off and cleaned the wound, said it might be slightly infected and has given me antibiotic cream to apply.
I couldn't believe how well it has healed, mistake I made was maybe not cleaning it right out and just putting betadine to begin with.
Told me I can dive with it , just clean it after and apply a little antibiotic cream .
Happy days

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

This thread proves that sometimes a healthy human body will eventually heal itself despite poor management

Or, @scubajunky17 made do with the resources at hand, managed to maintain the perfect antimicrobial environment with table sugar, and the Chinese liniment actually worked. I've seen stranger things happen

That said, with a nod to @Outbound , this thread is a nice 15-page advertisement for including first aid equipment in the dive kit for the future.

Best regards,
DDM