New Skin Antiseptic Liquid Bandage 1 floz

Here at The Weyr, minor cuts, burns, and abrasions are fairly commonplace.

In the spring and summer we have foaling and breeding season coinciding with gardening season no lack of potential injuries there, take your pick, rope burns, skinned knees, elbows, and knuckles plus the ever-popular broken blisters from over-enthusiastic gardening.

With summer come hornet stings, grass cutting accidents, hammered digits, and the usual sprains, strains, contusions, and scratches resulting from too much fun or getting tangled in the briars whist gathering berries or pruning the roses. And least we forget, the grilling season and the ugly burns that can occasion.

Come autumn and the wood gathering season is upon us; chain saws, axes, and wedges, oh my!

Then comes winter a fire in the woodstove and more wonderful opportunities for burns not to mention the additional hazards of hunting season with knives, guns, and arrows.

Wound Protection Pros and Cons

Adhesive Band-Aids, the old standby for minor injuries, are great as long as the injury is not on a moving part. However, when skinned knuckles are involved or abraded elbows those sticky strips soon fall off. The same goes for body parts that are frequently placed in water. A sopping wet Band-Aid soon ceases to prevent infection and becomes a fertile breeding ground for bacterial growth.

What s needed is something that will protect the injury from further wear and tear while still allowing it to heal. Something that is flexible and waterproof and relatively durable at the same time.

Crazy Glue immediately comes to mind but trust me, you don t want to be using Crazy Glue on your skinned arm or scratched leg

A Band-Aid Alternative

There is a new product in the wound dressing aisle of your local drug store or mega-mart, it goes by the catchy name of New Skin and it is an ideal solution for some minor cuts and abrasions. Alas, it is not good for every application. If you need stitches, for instance, this stuff won t hold a gapping wound together. Burns are another problematic area. First and Second Degree scaldings don t really require much in the way of a dressing and Third Degree scorchers really should be left to the open air after the blister breaks.

But, that still leaves an awful lot of uses for New Skin. For instance, I recently got my arm caught between a fence post and an amorous mare in season, New Skin covered the abrasions nicely and kept out dirt. It also provided me with endless hours of fun picking and scratching at the stuff as the scratches healed.

A not-so-successful application of the stuff came about after catching my index finger on something sharp and neatly slicing into the pad. This is one of those spots where a Band-Aid is no good and a type of wound where New Skin is equally unsatisfactory.

Where the Band-Aid would become quickly wet and then fall off, the New Skin burned like the devil when it came into contact with the deep, tender flesh and it never formed a proper coating.

The Downside to NEW SKIN

Which brings me to a major problem with New Skin, the stuff burns, not a little bit, like iodine or alcohol either. This stuff really stings for quite a long time, until it is thoroughly dry. This makes it a poor choice for kiddos and many husbands as well.

There is also a strong odor of cloves that lingers long after the product has formed its clear coating. This is no surprise as oil of clove is one of the inactive ingredients that constitute 99% of the product. The active ingredient, I assume this is the plastic part, is 8-hydroxyquinoline. The other two inactive ingredients are pyroxylin solution and alcohol.

It should come as no surprise that this stuff in flammable and will also damage the finish on your coffee table or linoleum.

Correct Use of NEW SKIN

Dab a little on your well-cleansed minor abrasion or skinned knee. Fan affected body part vigorously until the stinging stops. Go about your business smelling strongly of cloves for the rest of the day. Reapply as needed or if you want something to pick at. Don t use any ointments or creams in conjunction with this product, as it will fail to adhere to your skin if you do.

Do not use on weeping or infected wounds, over sutures, or on punctures. Don t get it in your eyes or mouth and don t breathe the vapors if you value your brain cells.

In Conclusion

This is a useful item to have in your first aid kit but it is not for everyone or every wound. It comes in a spray container for the same price (Drugstore.com $5.84 for one ounce) but the liquid has more stars. I also suspect the liquid will last longer and generally do a better job than a tiny spray can.

? 2004 Pamela Matlack Klein