Liquor on Wounds

Treating Bleeding, Open Wounds
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Readymom
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Liquor on Wounds

Post by Readymom »

Hat Tip: Image 'Little doc' @ American Preppers Network:

Image

Saucy Saucy!
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

Danny62 asked:
(snip) Can brandy be use to on wounds, I read someplace that it could be with honey but don't know if it was a fiction story or not now.

First, let me start with the booze. I'm not an alcohol drinker, I think the stuff is Satan's urine. But besides giving liver cirrhosis to practically all of my patients, it does have it's purposes... . (I'm still bitter over seeing my patients vomiting blood and then asking for a "drink" to tide them over. Sorry. Not going to happen.)

Okay, stepping off my soap box and getting back to the point at hand.

Myth Busters: Bring on the sauce!

There are better forms of disinfection than cracking out a cocktail, but to some extent, it is true that certain liquors do in fact treat wound infections. They burn like a monkey beating, but they do work.

It is true, there have been actual cases where men have been mauled and bitten by wild animals, such as bears, and icing them with Toddy saved their lives. So it is definitely not a myth that spirits saves lives.

So while in the field and there is no other source of disinfectant available, liquor is a great alternative to field water. Granted, your buddy will want to kill you as you pour that firewater on his open wound, but think on the bright side... he's injured and you can run faster.

There is one problem though. Alcohol can, unfortunately, work too well and cause tissue damage due to its ability to penetrate and lyse cells. Hence, the reason for its effectiveness against bacteria.

You pour moonshine on an open wound... bye bye bacteria, but also many good cells go down with it. : It's like Rambo saying, "I'm taking you all down! And your little dog too!"


The 'Proof' is in the Pudding.

Anyway, I had to look up the alcohol content of some liquors, because it is the alcohol content that determines the hooch's antiseptic abilities.

When you see an old drunk in a western movie down some diesel fuel and make a face like he's dying. Then he chokes out a barely audible gasp with satisfied smile, "Now, that's the good stuff." You know he's talking about at least 35% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 70% proof. See and you thought old westerns weren't scientific.

And that type of liquor is the "good stuff" . In order to cleanse a wound, the drink must be at least 35% alcohol (ETOH) or it's disinfecting capabilities are practically nil. Not at least 35% ABV then you might as well pour juice on the wound.

ANyway, let's see how some sauce's measure up:

Beer 3-12% ABV. Sorry guys, your beer isn't worth Jack.

Wine9-16% ABV. Ladies, the romantic films where the woman pours a bottle of wine on her dying hero's wound to save his life, are liars! She pours wine. The bacteria remain. Hero dies, end of story.

Next!

Fortified wines. (aka port, madeira, sherry, etc.) 15.5-20% :glare: Only good for cooking.

Brandy 36-60% Brandy does do well against infections.

Pure vanilla extract. The poor man's ponto. >35% ABV. What do you know! You can totally heal a wound and smell like vanilla at the same time.

Vodka. I understand the Nazi German's used this substance to turn Russian prisoners into human flame throwers. Potent crap? Rating in at 32-80% ABV, yes it is! (Pure Russian brands coming in at closer to 80%).

Rum and Gin 40-80% ABV.

Whisky. 40-55%

Raki. 42-86% I have never heard of this paint before. I wonder if it is related to Saki, on it's mother's side?

Poten. 60-95%. I love this one's name, especially because it is one of the most potent.

Neutral grain spirit or moonshine 95% ABV. We have a winner. That's practically isoprpylalcohol! It might as well be sold in the pharmacy section of Walmart with a sign on it saying, "Moonshine, it's medical grade."

So now all you have to do is open up moonshine businesses in your back yards and when the cops come to bust you, you can tell them that you're running a medical supplies company.
Last edited by Readymom on Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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