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Have you ever removed your own stitches?

Discussion in 'Tilted Life and Sexuality' started by snowy, Sep 5, 2011.

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  1. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    So I have seven interrupted stitches in my knee. It's getting to the point where they are going to have to come out. I'm considering removing them myself. My mom always took out my brother's stitches--after the second time bro got stitches, the doctor just showed her how and gave her forceps and scissors. I have forceps and scissors as part of my first aid kit, I have alcohol to sanitize everything, I have butterfly closures, and I've read up on how to remove interrupted stitches in a nursing handbook. I figure if Cameron Diaz can remove Jon Stewart's stitches on the Daily Show, surely I can remove my own.

    Have you ever removed your own stitches?
     
    snowy, Sep 5, 2011
    #1
  2. amonkie

    amonkie Very Tilted

    Location:
    Windy City
    I had my stitches in my shoulder accidentally pulled out by a 3 year old I was holding who grabbed them and yanked. It hurt. It was 3-4 days before they were supposed to fall out so I just let the wound heal on its own.
     
    amonkie, Sep 5, 2011
    #2
  3. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I just finished putting my bandage back on. It stung a bit, but it went fine. I was definitely glad for my little first aid forceps. They're tiny but they're very well-made.
     
    snowy, Sep 5, 2011
    #3
  4. lionrock

    lionrock Getting Tilted

    Location:
    Out here
    I've removed other people's stitches. As long as you have common sense about it, it is not a problem.
     
    lionrock, Sep 5, 2011
    #4
  5. SuburbanZombie

    SuburbanZombie Housebroken

    Location:
    Northeast
    I have removed my own sutures and staples. Nothing to it.
     
    SuburbanZombie, Sep 5, 2011
    #5
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Zen

    Zen Very Tilted

    Location:
    London
    Eh ... well done. I'm glad it went ok :)
     
    Zen, Sep 5, 2011
    #6
  7. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I've removed my own as well as my kids. I removed mine with a pair of sterilized nail clippers.

    It's no big deal.

    Glad to hear your healing is progressing well!
     
    Charlatan, Sep 5, 2011
    #7
  8. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Almost every time. Sterilized tweezers and scissors, a bit of peroxide, and a $100 saved = simple home remedy.
     
    Borla, Sep 5, 2011
    #8
  9. Poetry

    Poetry Totally Sharky, Complete

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Had to pull out a few on one of my various things. Don't even remember which one. Might have been the external stitches for my appendix. Seems most likely. I love the way it feels when the thread comes out.
     
    Poetry, Sep 6, 2011
    #9
  10. Freeload

    Freeload Getting Tilted

    Location:
    Norway
    No, my wife usually (luckily not THAT often) does that for me. (She's trained for wound treatment and such)
     
    Freeload, Sep 6, 2011
    #10
  11. streak_56

    streak_56 I'm doing something, going somewhere...

    Location:
    C eh N eh D eh....
    I have removed my own, interesting sensation as I think I lost partial feeling in that finger as well...
     
    streak_56, Sep 6, 2011
    #11
  12. Craven Morehead

    Craven Morehead Very Tilted

    Location:
    third rock from the sun
    The only time I had stitches the Dr. grabbed the wrong end with the forceps and pulled the knot through the skin. Wasn't expecting that.

    Next time I'll do it myself.
     
    Craven Morehead, Sep 6, 2011
    #12
  13. Seer666

    Seer666 Getting Tilted

    Never removed my own. Though I almost did my own on my leg when I was younger. One of my buddies walked in an freaked out when he saw me with the sewing kit and got his step dad to force me to go to the hospital.
     
    Seer666, Sep 6, 2011
    #13
  14. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    On my knee, my first set of stitches burst due to a sporting accident so the doc finished taking those out, but on the second set, my mom cut those out. (mom's a nurse)

    On my leg, stitches from a knife wound were taken out by me. It was definitely a queasy situation. They were a little stuck, and it felt weird pulling them out.
     
    Fremen, Sep 6, 2011
    #14
  15. Daniel_

    Daniel_ The devil made me do it...

    Location:
    The United Kingdom, naturally
    My father is a medic, and as a kid he always took out stitches for me, my brother, anyone we knew. It wasn't to save money (we have the NHS after all), but to save time - who wants to wait in the queue at the doctor's surgery?
     
    Daniel_, Sep 6, 2011
    #15
    • Like Like x 1
  16. Grasshopper Green

    Grasshopper Green Getting Tilted

    Location:
    Tiptoeing through the tulips
    The last couple of times I've needed stitches they were the dissolving kind and no removal was necessary. When I was 15, I had a lumpectomy; the stitches were inside the cut. On my followup visit a couple of weeks later, the doctor snipped the knot, told me to go to town, and left the room. I basically just had to tug on the string. It hurt a little, but it wasn't too bad. My mom and I thought there would have been more to the visit than that, we could have done it ourselves at home.
     
    Grasshopper Green, Sep 6, 2011
    #16
  17. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    It was good that I did it myself--today was a crazy day at work, and they wouldn't have had time for me to take time off to go to the doctor and get my stitches out.
     
    snowy, Sep 6, 2011
    #17
  18. Cayvmann

    Cayvmann Very Tilted

    Location:
    Central North Carolina
    Yep. Nothing to it, really.
     
    Cayvmann, Sep 7, 2011
    #18
  19. EventHorizon

    EventHorizon assuredly the cause of the angry Economy..

    Location:
    FREEDOM!
    nail clippers and a quick tug is all it took for me
     
    EventHorizon, Sep 7, 2011
    #19
  20. the_jazz

    the_jazz Accused old lady puncher

    I had the doctor take them out of my right pinkie finger because I couldn't do it with my left hand. He laughed.
     
    the_jazz, Sep 7, 2011
    #20
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