Almost embarrassed to ask

[Just another Cinderella]

OK back to the post.
Would avoid alcohol [on the wound], hydrogen peroxide, betadine on open wounds. They all change the tissue Ph, destroy cells and do not promote healing.
Wounds that occur in the water, like Brat above, can be more dangerous then old [surface] open wounds that you take into the water. Deep puncture wounds around and in the water can be the most serious.

 

[momliz]

just saw this thread - as someone with a communicable, blood borne disease - hep C - I would have to say do everyone else a favor and stay out of the water unless you can guarantee that you are clean, or that none of your blood will get in the water, to infect anyone else.

What you do to yourself is your problem, but infecting others is not cool.

 

[Just another Cinderella]

While Hep C is a blood born pathogen you will not transmit it, or contract it by contact with the ocean. Hep A and B can come from contaminated water but I am pretty sure not through an open wound. Again the open ocean is unlikely place to contract A or B unless it is heavily polluted.
I will defer to my internist or hematology colleagues.

 

[tomboyy]

There are alot of things that affect transmission rates of blood born pathogens.

1. How the pathogen was introduced to your body.
a) were you stuck by a needle or sharing.
b) did some known infected blood get in a open cut.
c) was someone "leaking" alittle from a wound in the ocean/lake.

2. The time or amount of exposure.
a) was it a drop of infected blood.
b) was it washed right away.

3. how heavily infected was this person, meaning how much of a viral load did this person have.

 

[wedivebc]

I suppose there's always the chance that increased partial pressures of oxygen could help speed along the healing process...

Actually the PPO2 in the water is ~0.21 regardless of depth. Maybe lower in deeper water.

 

[Thalassamania]

But the PPO2 in your internal ocean rises with depth. I think that is what he meant.

 

[wedivebc]

But the PPO2 in your internal ocean rises with depth. I think that is what he meant.

Yeah, I don't know how hyperbaric wound therapy works but I assumed it was the external effects of oxygen on the wound that was making the difference so I may be making a wrong assumption.
If it is the PPO2 in the circulatory system then his answer makes sense, but I'm not sure

 

[Just another Cinderella]

wedive
For the record hyperbaric O2 works at the molecular level of healing. The "topical" effect of O2 is minimal. Patients breath 100% O2 at 2-3 atm which not only saturates hemoglobin but plasma as well. It is this plasma O2 that helps drive the molecular response to healing. O2 at this saturation also has some antibacterial effect and oxygen can be thought of as a prescription drug. Not surprisingly O2 toxicity is a real issue with hyperbarics.
Breathing air at pressure does not achieve the same plasma levels, nor I suspect the commercial Nitrox mixes.
Probably more than you wanted to know!

 

[Riger]

Post pictures of the open wound, let's see it in the flesh !!!

You know you want to .....

Regards
Richard