Took my dog to the vet
 

and she tried to rape me. $400 to stitch up a cut above my dog's eye. I said no thanks paid the $50 exam fee and went home. I took some crazy glue and applied a little to one side of the cut and squeezed it together and voila, "stitched." That was 4 days ago and it is healing up nicely.

This isn't quite the same thing but when I had my appendix taken out the surgeon heard that I was a competative swimmer. So, rather than having normal stitches (which you can't get wet) he actually glued me shut with a compound that's basically super glue.

Super glue is fine for cuts so long as it isn't toxic (it's usually not). In fact, they recommend using glue if you don't have needle and thread available (maybe you're out camping or something).

Good idea, though!

I had a scalp wound (didn't duck far enough when getting something out of a car) that was glued by the ER.

Healed nicely, but itched like a bastard after 3 days.

Next time just use skin glue that they sell at the store in the bandaid isle. Make sure you clean the area VERY well also. Peroxide will do.

Good thread. Hate going to the doctor so always looking for do it yourself medical help. Seems like they want to charge me 3 prices for 1 job. I have heard of the super glue repair but have never used it on me or my dogs.

Probably better to get the adhesive sutures they sell at most drug stores. Sterile and easier to remove I think.

Not sure if it's sold OTC, but at my office, we use Dermabond.

I've heard that crazy glue was developed for surgical use. I took the rest of the tube and stuck it in my first aid kit.

There's also nu-skin for srapes. Makes a protective coating.

Many superglues that are not meant for medical use have harmful chemicals in them. Rather than using hardware-store superglue, I would recommend you take Nikki's advice and get a tube of skin glue.

This is true, but misleading. More specifically, the compound known as super glue was tested in Vietnam as a fast response treatment to stop bleeding by sealing a wound. It was effective, but FDA issues kept it off the market for a while.

However, normal super glue (or krazy glue, if you prefer) has a slightly different formula, which makes for a stronger bond but can also be irritating on skin to the point of burns. It can be used as a substitute for the liquid bandage stuff, but I wouldn't recommend it myself.


Straight Dope supporting article

Yeah something just wrong about using Krazy Glue to keep wounds shut. No doubt if it was appropriate for such a use it would be marketed that way. There are plenty of other liquid wound closers on the market that I wouldnt even go near putting that stuff on an open wound. Kind of irresponsible if you ask me.