~1.5 mm grief

Thanks for sharing, Bob...

 

Hmm, thought you were talking about something else...

I keep a few hypodermic needles around, they cost around 50 cents and work fantastic for teasing out thorns, splinters, etc. The slightly beveled tip is the key. Buy them at the farm store.

Also work great for various repair jobs, such as jetting lubricant into locks, or electronic cleaner into switches. Even use them in crack/crevice pesticide treatments.

As for another option for peroxide, several years ago, my dog had an eye infection. Went to the farm store to buy Pfizer Terramycin Opthalmic Ointment. But there was none to be had. Apparently, on infrequent occasions Pfizer has trouble with the production process and has to shut down manufacturing.

One of the clerks is a local character, but knows animal health. He suggested I try Vetericyn, which was a new product. He swore by it. Said his wife got a nail through her foot and instead of going to the clinic, he sprayed it down with Vetericyn and no infection and it healed quickly. Said it was used widely in Germany for humans (under another name, of course), but had not been approved for human use by the FDA.

I was pretty skeptical. The ointment is around $5 for a tube. The 16-ounce Vetericyn was $27 for a spray bottle and reading the ingredients it looked like nothing but glorified bleach.

Plus; it was going into an eye. I did not want any eye damage to the dog.

But, he convinced me (otherwise, it would have an $80 trip to the vet, plus the waiting, driving time).

Stuff worked wonderfully. Terramycin takes a week or more to work, applying three times a day.

This stuff, I used twice and dog was cured.

Several months later, same dog sneezed full-bore in my face. Next morning, both my eyes were crusted shut with the usual goo. I HAD to go to work at 5 a.m. and could not spend time at a clinic. I reached for the Vetericyn and applied it liberally to both eyes some four times in an hour and by the time I had to leave, my eyes were clearing up. Took bottle with me and dosed several times during the day. Next morning, all was fine.

Have used it several times on various skin wounds, both animal and human and it works fantastically.

Since then, they have received FDA approval for a human product. Puracyn Plus, which I have not used and have not researched, but I assume is the exact same as the animal product. Apparently, it is widely used in Europe, hospitals, medical offices, etc. and is part of the German military first-aid supplies.

Ingredients:
Electrolized Water (99.97%)

Sodium Chloride (NaCl) 0.023%

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) 0.004%

Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) 0.003%

Much more expensive than peroxide, but the eye infection results convinced me.

kris

BTW, friends and family think I am really "crazy" to use this....

 

Just quick scanned a thread on a horse forum, and it seems dilute bleach(1cup:1gal water) works just as well as Vetericyn. Consumer available bleach is 5% to 6.25% sodium hypochlorite for the extra strength stuff; industrial products are up to 12%. The hypochlorous acid forms when the hypochlorite salt is dissolved in water.

In short, Vetericyn is bleach water with a little salt, and maybe pH adjusted, to reduce it irritating any tissues.

Peroxide shouldn't be used for treating wounds. Research now shows it damages healing tissue and delays healing. Who'd have thunk that to be the case with all the bubbling and fizzing.

 

As I mentioned, the whole bleach thing was my original thought.

I did quite a bit of web poking around and ran into conflicting information about that whole issue.

What it came down to is that I wanted something to use for eye infections that was not going to do any harm. I don't trust anything I would mix up in my sink when it comes to the eye (mine or the dog's).

Yes, it seems overpriced, very overpriced. But, it works. As one vet told me: There is no placebo factor in animal treatment. The pink eye takes seven days of Terramycin, three times a day for the dog. .

Or a spray in the morning and another in the evening. Worth the inflated price, considering I still had some 15+ ounces left.

This is propaganda from the company. FWIW:

Bleach is a highly toxic corrosive liquid that will cause extensive damage if accidentally ingested or applied in the eye. Vetericyn is very different from bleach, in that it does not bleach or stain clothing, does not require gloves or other equipment to use, and does not have harmful, toxic vapors. Vetericyn is pH neutral, and as safe as water to use. Vetericyn may even be applied directly in the eye, and is 100% non-toxic and biodegradable. Vetericyn will not cause injury if accidentally licked or ingested. When a harmful pathogen enters the body, the immune system naturally engulfs the cell with neutrophils. The neutrophils generate an oxychlorine compound which destroys the cell structure of the pathogen. This process is called the oxidative burst. Vetericyn works by imitating the body’s own immune system. Our products contain no steroids or antibiotics, and tests free in all performance animals. Vetericyn promotes the growth of healthy tissue by increasing oxygen to the area it’s applied. No rinsing is required after application, and there are no known contraindications or drug interactions. Vetericyn is clinically proven to be 70 times more effective as an antimicrobial than diluted bleach.
If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to call our toll free number (866-318-3116) or visit us online

 

I agree with them that bleach is nasty stuff; full strength. Straight chlorine is even nastier. Yet both are used for treating drinking water. Bleach is also the most common chemical sanitizer used in cleaning food processing equipment, and low doses(500ppm I think) doesn't require a rinsing after use.

Sodium hypochlorite can be made by electrolyzing a brine solution, which is how those saltwater pools get by without added chlorine. It will decompose back into salt and water over time.
Sodium hypochlorite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The salt in Vetericyn might actually be there as a by product from sodium hypochlorite production.
Of related interest, Hypochlorous acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, that is the active agent.

I get being careful with eyes, but if the bleach is strong enough to kill infective agents in the wound, it will kill the stuff in the tap water. The Vetericyn's advantage appears to be stability. Diluted bleach doesn't keep, and it would have to be made up each day.

Did their site happen to have easy links to the research?

 

I remember my parents used to use an eyedropper to put hydrogen peroxide in my ears, for what reason I don't know, but this was back in the day when family portraits were scratched onto cave walls.

 

I'd say to clean out the wax. The OTC products another type of peroxide in glycerin.

 

"walking around barefoot"@1. That's the whole story. Bare feet always, and you develop quite thick protection. Shoes almost always, and the dead zone is just thick enough to interfere with post-oops surgery. Having chosen shoes, it seems better to be consistent.

Does somebody know of kevlar-bottom slippers?

For me, peroxide and hypochlorite are 'front-end' same. There may be interesting accessory ingredients or micro-engineering to get the cell disruption effects deftly placed.

"Electrolized Water"@3 may merit separate discussion, because Wth?