On Jul 11, 2007, at 12:26 AM, David Locklear wrote:
Do cavers carry super-glue in their cave-packs? Is DermaBond Skin Glue something you can get without a prescription.
You can get it on Ebay if you're willing to pay a small fortune for it. It's been approved in Canada and Europe for far longer than here, so you may also be able to get it from foreign pharmacies. The easiest and least expensive go-around is to buy the vet version.
Regular super glues are methyl cyanoacrylates - they contain methyl alcohol - and they have some tissue toxicity, in addition to hurting like the dickens when you apply them. They can actually cause minor burns because of the heat generated as the glue polymerizes, though in the quantity normally used for small repairs, this isn't usually a problem.
The real tissue glues are very similar, but are made from a butyl or octyl (and sometimes isobutyl) based rather than methyl. Dermabond is 2-octyl cyanoacrylate. It doesn't burn, it has some antimicrobial properties, and it makes a very strong bond with skin. The vet version is Nexaband S/C, which is the exact same substance, but suppied in a vial with some disposable pipettes, rather than in individual applicators like the Dermabond.
Vets also use Vetbond, which is a butyl cyanoacrylate. It's probably more widely used, mostly because it's cheaper and has been around longer. The butyls don't form quite as strong a bond, it's apparently plenty strong enough for most uses. Like the octyls, the butyls also don't cause the kind of tissue damage and burning that methyls can. Histoacryl Blue is the human version of this that was first used widely in Europe.
All of them are fairly water resistant, but will peel off sooner if you soak them a lot. None should be used IN a wound or on mucous membranes.
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