Hi James,
I’m sure you’ve heard of this–but on the off chance you haven’t, you definitely need to: The miraculous wound-healing benefits of a goop made from sugar and betadine (povidone iodine–available cheaply everywhere). You mix together and make a paste, which can be packed into deep wounds and gouges. Some people refer to it as “sugardine.”
Not everyone knows that sugar alone has been used for hundreds of years as an effective gunshot wound treatment. The high osmotic gradient it promotes attracts and traps bacteria–and animal cells are better able to withstand high osmotic conditions than bacterial cells. The addition of the povidone iodine makes it even more effective.
There are countless stories of near miraculous saves of horses with bad wounds that wouldn’t heal, using this paste. I’ve used it to great effect on myself and on my dogs–sometimes with deep canine puncture wounds.
Ideally, it should be packed in and covered, and rinsed out and replaced everyday. But any application, under any circumstances, is a lot better than nothing. Granulated (or powdered) sugar and lots of povidone iodine are very valuable additions to prepper medical stores, in my opinion.
Here are a few medical journal articles on the topic:
- Use of sugar and povidone-iodine to enhance wound healing: five year’s experience.
- Mixture of sugar and povidone-iodine stimulates healing of MRSA-infected skin ulcers on db/db mice.
- Mixture of sugar and povidone–iodine stimulates wound healing by activating keratinocytes and fibroblast functions
And here’s a very practical video on using sugardine, from a veterinarian.
Stay Prepared! – Steve N.