Make Your Own Chitosan Bandages

Why Make Some?
These specialty bandages are super easy to apply, easy to use, and could possibly save your life.  If this technology was around in the civil war it would have saved nearly 460,000 soldiers.  These are extreme days we live in and the next disaster could strike any time.  These bandages can replace suchers if a hospital is not around.  Hemophiliacs can use these bandages to easily stop external bleeds.

How It Works: 
Chitosan Is a positively charged polysaccharide that attracts blood cells which are negatively charged. This attraction causes an extreme adherence when in contact with blood.  The red blood cells form a very tight coherent seal over the wound as they are drawn into the bandage. 

Applications: 
If you suffer from hemophilia you can use these bandages to stop bleeding quickly.  
These bandages can be useful in many situations such as: hiking, biking, construction worksite, over seas missionary work, or any other dangerous activity.  


Disclaimer
I am not responsible to any damage you may cause yourself or any other when use of any item in this instructable. Chitosan is a bio product from shell fish and I am not responsible if you have an allergic reaction to the substance. You must be 18 or older (or under adult supervision) to complete this instructable successfully

Step 1: Supplies

For this Instructable you will need:
Gauze pads (your choice in size)
Vinegar 4% acidity (its usually the cheaper stuff)
Small Containers such as Rubbermaid
Chitosan Tablets
Dry ice (3-5 lbs depending on amount of bandages)
Small Cooler or Medium Plastic Container
Food Plastic Wrap

You can get the Chitosan Tablets at a low price here:
astore.amazon.com/chitsosan-20
I like this brand because it is in a gelatin capsule which makes for easy removal of the powder.
These tablets also contain chromium which is another benefit to the bandage

Equipment:
Cookie Cooling Rack or Chicken Fencing
Cooking Sheet
Latex Gloves
Dust Mask
Heavy leather Work Gloves
Deep Freezer
Needle Nose Pliers or Surgical Forceps
Drill or Sharp Knife
Hammer

Comments

[mrguy19187]

We used these in the Army and I just wanted to add a note. If you have a serious gash or really deep cut or puncture and blood loss is a serious issue to the point that life may be in danger, don't mess around putting these guys on the outside of the wound. Stuff them in there as far as you can without doing more damage. Break them or tear them or fold them to get the bandage in there deep, because if an artery is damaged, just clotting the surface won't immediately stop that bleeding and their life could still be in danger. The closer you get that chitosan to the source, the faster it will stop the bleeding.

[DavidCDean]

I think I might just get some Celox and sterile gauze off of Amazon for this kind of thing.

An interesting instructable though!

[kage_no_mozaiku]

how about using a vacume sealer after sterilizing the bag in boiling water and treating it with alcohol afterwards. that will *definetly keep out moisture as well as providing a waterproof package.

*i know its spelled wrong but spell check gives me crap answers like definitively and defiantly so i said screw it and left it as it is.

[illeagle]

HAD BEEN A INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID ATTENDANT WORKING FOR LOGGING COMPANIES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND I FIRMLY BELIEVE THROUGH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND EXTENSIVE TRAINING THAT THE USE OF PRESSURE POINTS AND DIRECT PRESSURE TO THE WOUND IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND SAFEST WAY TO CONTROL HEMORRHAGING. ANY METHOD USING CHEMICALS WILL GET YOU INTO A WHOLE LOT OF TROUBLE (THE LEGAL TYPE). JUST BE AWARE AND USE GOOD JUDGMENT.

[ERCBIENG]

The bandages are only meant to be used on yourself and family/close friends. Unlike you, most people caught in an emergency don't know specific pressure points to stop bleeding. The bandages work just as well.

[AK47sForAll]

Absolutely no experience here, but strictly from what I've been reading, the consensus seems to be that using pressure points isn't terribly safe either if you are untrained, which is kind of the audience here.

[AK47sForAll]

Thanks much for this; putting together a library of improvised medicine for personal use and this looks like it will be a useful addition; never seen this before which is surprising.

[McMoogie]

 At the very least - being a vegetarian I also avoid products made from animals.
Why not just carry bandages.  And vinegar on an open wound?  I use vinegar a lot for cleaning & if I get it on cuts or cracked hands...YOUCH!

[punkhead58]

Usually, avoiding animal products classifies as Veganism, and not Vegetarianism.

Yes, there is a difference: one is a political movement, the other is a radical diet.

[sonywaluya]

vegan is not politic, it's considered religion. vegan people cannot shut up and keep their belief to themself, but they need to shout it and force people to join them too, like religion.

[punkhead58]

I suppose some people are Vegans for religious reasons, but Veganism in general is a practical concept, not spiritual; I don't see how it can be related to religion. By the way, strong supporters of certain political groups love spewing out their ideals like a broken faucet...like Liberals! Ironically, most Vegans are Liberals. But, anyway, my point was that there is a severe line drawn between Vegetarianism and Veganism. Vegetarians choose their lifestyle for personal benefits; Vegans do it for the greater cause. (i.e. Someone who has a diet consisting of vegetables and nuts would be wrong in labeling themself as a Vegan if they go around wearing fur coats, wool sweaters, and leather shoes.)

[generator]

political movement?

i'm vegan cause i dont want to cause any suffering in other animals.
(you know, not killing and not taking milk from any babies, not wearing dead animal skin or hair, etc. mine are buddhist reasons, important only to me, no biggie to others)

i never thought i'd be labelled 'political' for my choices! ha ha

[mad magoo]

              Not trying to start an argument here, but:

    These sound far better than normal bandages.  Normal bandages are really hit-or-miss--it's generally just an "apply direct pressure and pray" type of thing.  That usually works, but on big, deep cuts, the blood just keeps coming.  I had a really bad encounter with barbed wire when I was twelve--I received medical attention within ten minutes of being injured and even so it took several butterfly and ace bandages just to slow the bleeding down, and I had to wait another fifteen minutes or so for it to really stop. These definitely would have helped.  The only thing I can think of that seems to come close to these bandages in their (apparent, as I have not yet made them) ability to staunch bleeding is super glue, which works well for scratches but is impractical and dangerous on anything more than skin deep.

   And about the vinegar--it hurts, but it's very good at cleaning and disinfecting not only kitchens but cuts as well.  It will help with the sterility of the bandages and might help disinfect the cut they're used on.  It's also very good on fish and chips :)

                 I'm not a doctor, so feel free to dispute anything here, and don't treat it as extremely sound medical advice. 

[Zimminger]

Good observation about the super glue.  Researchers living in the Antarctic are plagued with deep non-healing cracks that form on their hands because of the extreme low humidity.  Super glue was a desperation move; nothing else worked.  Now it's being used for some surgical closures, at least externally.

[EarlyGrayce]

In 2009 I had an operation to remove a tumour in my pancreas which left me with a wound roughly half the length of my belt.
The funny thing is that it was covered with a type of thick rubbery sticky tape which came off after a couple of weeks to reveal that the doctors had somehow attached the sides of the wound together in a way that looks like it was stuck for an inch followed by an inch gap followed by being stuck together again for another inch all of the way across the wound.

[McMoogie]

 I;m sorry - I didn't read this carefully or thoroughly enough..  My son had a head wound once & the blood was non stop,,much like you report - this would prob'ly be good for that.
Sorry.

[Thundertydus]

2.bp.blogspot.com/_t-IRn7ir9W4/Sc-BjthWZsI/AAAAAAAAAN0/xZADftMlcXo/s400/hey+vegetarians+explain+these.jpg

[bettbee]

I'd like to see you leap upon the back of an elk and bring it down with those. We have nothing like the teeth of truly carnivorous animals. Also our intestines have more in common with herbivores than carnivores. That we are able to be omnivorous does not mean that we must be - we, at least in the more affluent societies, have the luxury to choose what we eat and use.

[Thundertydus]

Our brain's have evolved to high intelligence, we may choose to be herbivores; but we're omnivores, from birth, we grow up omnivores by ourselves. We have canines, yes, but we also have knives, now don't get me wrong here, i'm attempting to state that we cant quite judge our diet nowadays, we've evolved past that, don't you think. However common sense itself dictates eating meat, the food chain revolves around us. Sure, we are able to live on beans, but it's not natural, like tofu, it's artificially, we're build to eat meat, sorry for ripping on your beliefs, but it's completely incorrect if your dragging human nature into the picture.

[EarlyGrayce]

"we're build to eat meat," you may mean we're built to eat meat
In other posts you have attacked other peoples spelling.

[mad magoo]

         Don't worry about it.  Hope these work if you try them!

[wenpherd]

Just curious but, whats your reason for being a vegetarian.

[patrick258181]

These do work great. I remember when the military stocked up and swore by them. Now they are used with extreme caution. They were found to cause lots of deadly blood clots. Been awhile since I last did any med. training I'm not a medic. I do know that there is a limit to these being used. They have a high enough risk that they only trust a medic to know when to use them. There are people alive now that wouldn't be if not for this. On the other hand there's people that are dead because of this. Do not use as a powder. They used to for extremely deep wounds. Only use as bandage and only if necessary. Please do thorough research on them. It's also called Quick clot. I love the instruction just want to express caution.

[ERCBIENG]

Thanks for the redundancy. I would hope that anyone with a deep wound or gash would be going to a hospital. In the Army they primarily use these when the wound is on an artery, not a vein, so the blood that may get clotted doesn't go to heart causing C.A or A-Fib. Hospitals, however, are starting to use Protein-13 sprays for heavy bleeding and such. The chitosan bandage itself is almost out of date now.

[reinlar]

I'm trying to understand the conversation here between microz and the author, and a lot of other Instructables I'm reading. Is EVERYONE texting comments from their cell phones, using some new kid code I'm not aware of??? I'm hearing seemingly intelligent people using words like (wud ???, gud?, mkng?, etc) You took the time to show your scientific acumen, so how about not dumbing down your speech. That would go a long way towards reinforcing your credibility. Truly, I'm not trying to be provocative here, I just want to understand. Or am I just being a loathsome old toadie, totally out of the loop???

[Saturn V]

Text... The murderer of the English language.

[illeagle]

I GES U CAN CAL IT THE NOO SHRTHAND, EVR TRY 2 READ A DOCTRS NOTZ?

[misteravocado5]

PEOPLE WILL LISTEN TO YOU IF YOU TURN OFF THE CAPS LOCK

[ERCBIENG]

I agree. I think that its especially sad when someone uses poor language while claiming to be a biomaterial researcher. It makes a credible article look unbelievable.

[m3harri]

If I can figure out how to make Chitosan I will be ready for Armageddon

[tabi]

Now we just need an instructable on making the chitosan from shrimp shells! That´s something I´d love to be able to do... Who knows if civilization, as we know, ends tomorrow that´s knowlledge that would be very handy-

[slowcooked]

WARNING:  those of us allergic to shellfish should avoid Chitosan.  It has been claimed to be hypoallergenic, but such is not the case.  This allergy can also be found with the use of Triclosan (an anti-bacterial substance).

http://is.gd/czah7

Despite what they say, the meat of shellfish is not the source of this material, but the shell *is*.  I can (almost) eat a raw, shelled, de-veined shrimp, but not a cooked one as the proteins in the shell denature into the flesh.

Just be careful, O.K.?!

[ERCBIENG]

 For a substitute I have heard (but not sure) that you can use equal amounts of cayenne pepper, crushed black pepper, and cream of tartar for similar results.

[Audiyoda]

I certainly hope that was a joke. slowcooked is very much correct - Chitosan is not hypoallergenic. I almost died when a Chitosan wrap was applied to a deep gash I received working on our house. Thankfully it was applied at the hospital and they were able to work quickly once the reaction was noticed. Unfortunately the medical 'professionals' did not heed my warning in the first place that I was allergic to Chitosan before applying the wrap simply giving me the line that it's hypoallergenic. So instead of a few hours in the emergency room I spend two days in ICU.

[dumbluck13]

Yeesh! Sounds like a malpractice suit to me! Hope you're doing ok these days.

[keng]

wait...so what you're saying is a medical professional almost killed you giving you a medical device that you expressely forbade them to use? Sounds like a pretty strong case for 'home-made' remedies to me.

[ERCBIENG]

Do not make them if you allergic. You can use substitutes such as cayenne pepper and cream of tartar. The measurements would such: 1 tablespoon Cayenne, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar. You can make larger batches based of that mixture ratio. The cayenne will not sting when you place it on your skin. Not to be a doubter but general public hospitals are not allowed to carry chitosan bandages because of the military's cap on hemcon. They might have used another type of shell based bandage. (I have insiders in a couple hospitals)

[trike road poet]

"use equal amounts of cayenne pepper, crushed black pepper" I hope the tartar reduces the effect of the pepper oils, or that patient is going to beat you to the hospital by out running the ambulance! Seriously, this is a great instructable and it sets forth a question which you have addressed, what other things around us are usable in the medical aspect? This concept is interesting, as is the idea of using pepper in several forms in a way that might be effective and possible in a emergency. Anyone know more about this pepper and tartar mix? We could do a whole thread on unique medical products made from the things around us, it would be fun to see what we could discover. Keep up the good work, this is where 'Instructables' shines!

[alwaysworks]

Its an interesting instructable but I wouldnt put my health at risk by using them. Yes they are only bandages and you wont poison yourself with them but don't expect your wounds to heal very good with these!
Do this strictly as a fun project! You should never make your own medicine or any medical supply. This is not like cooking! Even small mistakes will drastically alter your results!
Again DO NOT PUT YOUR HEALTH AT RISK BY USING HOME MADE MEDICAL SUPPLIES!

[Eureika]

Yeah but... 100-200 years ago "Home Made" was all we had.  He mentions natural disasters and that's a super good thing to keep in mind.  What if the worst were to happen and we could only rely on what we had with us/on hand? 

It's presumptuous to rely solely on what we can get at the drug store when there are people all over the world still who have to rely on "home made" remedies.

In a case of an earthquake or other natural disaster where help is delayed, I'd much rather take the risk of using a home made bandage, than of bleeding to death because all I had were bandaids and gauze.