4 ms·
Sounds cool, but I wonder what would happen with bacteria that are trapped underneath the rapidly solidifying gel. Usually, the flow of blood tends to wash pat
by kijin 14y ago
Sounds cool, but I wonder what would happen with bacteria that are trapped underneath the rapidly solidifying gel.
Usually, the flow of blood tends to wash pathogens out of the wound, reducing the chance of nasty infections. Positive blood pressure can therefore be considered a natural defense mechanism. But if you stopped the bleeding too quickly, wouldn't it trap pathogens inside the body before the blood has had a chance to wash them out? Or does the extra-rapid clotting actually trap pathogens within the solid matrix, preventing them from spreading further into the body?
- uptown 14y agoIt's a temporary stop-gap. I'm assuming the strategy would be that when the injured gets brought in for treatment, then you re-open the wound, cleanse the area, and give the body appropriate anti-biotics to fight off any infections. You've gotta pick the lesser of two evils - somebody that bleeds out, or somebody that is alive and able to fight off an infection.
- chrisvineup 14y agoI would imagine its a trade off, infections can be more readily treated, however bleeding out only takes a few moments.
- ErikRogneby 14y agoSeems like you could mix in a triple antibiotic?
- kibwen 14y agoThe article mentions that you can freely mix antibiotics into the gel, so hopefully such a thing would prevent (or at least resist) infection in the wound.
- LinaLauneBaer 14y agoNo doctor talking: I think it all depends on the situation. If you are bleeding heavily and the only way to stopp it quickly enough would be to use the gel then use it and treat the bacteria later with antibiotics or something...
- gnosis 14y agoI am not a doctor, but from what I've read, treating an infection is usually considered much less of a priority by emergency responders than stopping severe bleeding. You can bleed to death in a few minutes. Few if any infections are going to be that fast-acting. So stopping severe bleeding will hopefully buy you some time to get to the ER, where they'll pump you full of antibiotics if they have to.
- andyl 14y agoYep. Emergency responders use the mnenomic "ABC" to guide their actions in a life-threatening situation: Airway, Breathing, Circulation. Infection is not on the list. Military sometimes uses "CABC" - Catastrophic Hemorrhage, Airway, Breathing, Circulation. This gel would address the "C"'s in an emergency situation.
- danielweber 14y agoUnfortunately antibiotics are becoming less and less useful. In 50 years we could be back to where a cut on your toe is life-threatening. :(
- stevenameyer 14y agoI don't know if it'll ever get so bad that a small cut could be life-threatening but it certainly is a large issue. People need to learn that they need to take the antibiotics for as long the doctor told them to, deciding to stop taking them cause you don't feel so bad anymore is the main reason for drug-resistant bacterial strains.
- lilsunnybee 14y agoAnd the use of antibiotics in food production: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtherapeutic_antibiotic_use_in_swine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtherapeutic_antibiotic_use_i...
- learc83 14y agoFrom what I've read the antibiotic resistant strains of bacterial are outcompeted by non-antibiotic strains when not in the presence of antibiotics. So if antibiotics become completely ineffective and people stop using them, the resistant strains will die off eventually, possibly quickly.