Joe Walsh shares one of his most recommended books, “The Survival Medicine Handbook – A Guide for When Help is NOT on the Way,” a book by Dr. Joseph Alton and his wife, Amy Alton. – Photo by Sarah Beth Radomsky
LUCK –The Community Preparedness Response Network gathered at Faith Fellowship Church on Saturday, March 8, for a morning of practical medical insights, as former paramedic Joe Walsh, with 40 years in emergency medical services, led Part 2 of a series on doctorless scenarios. Building on January’s session, Walsh dove into emergency wound care and aftercare.
Walsh, referencing “The Survival Medicine Handbook – A Guide for When Help is NOT on the Way,” a book by Dr. Joseph Alton and his wife, Amy Alton, highlighted a key principle from Page 497. He said that although it is often a difficult decision, “It’s often safest to let a wound heal on its own rather than suture or staple it closed,” cautioning against rushing to advanced techniques. He outlined sutures or staples as best for deep, gaping wounds over an inch long, sharing his early career assisting with suturing as an EMS.
Walsh displayed a basic suturing kit, including nylon threads with varying needle sizes, and noted courses where laypeople practice on pig legs. “I’d leave scars,” he quipped, saying he liked simpler methods like wound closure devices with adhesive strips, which he passed around, preferring their ease over staples.
Personal anecdotes were shared throughout the talk. Walsh recounted a chain saw mishap requiring 17 stitches after a lengthy effort at sawdust removal. He stressed cleaning wounds with saline spray or mild soap under light pressure, and avoiding hydrogen peroxide beyond the initial cleaning due to its harshness. For ongoing care, he recommended non-adherent dressings changed twice daily, antibiotic creams like Polysporin for dirty wounds, and petrol gauze for fragile, thin skin, all to keep wounds moist and infection-free.
Some simple items Walsh recommended to keep on hand for cleaning out wounds included sterile water or saline, soap, tweezers, and a magnifying glass to prevent infection. One product he suggested in an on-the-go kit was saline spray. He also recommended abundant 4×4 dressings, a few larger abdominal size dressings, and lots of gauze for wrapping, as the need to frequently change wrappings can also present a problem when trying to avoid infection in after-injury wound care and healing. For keeping dressings moist, Walsh shared that lubricants like Vaseline or Aquaphor are options.
Walsh also emphasized infection signs like worsening redness, an increase in swelling after 48 hours, red streaks, not healing within 10 days, being warm or hot to the touch, pus, or fever. If a person does have diabetes or circulation issues, Walsh shared that healing might take longer for them. Without antibiotics, he admitted herbal remedies might be next, though he was not prepared to share on that topic for the day, prompting a suggestion for a potential third part to address what to do with an infection in the future. The CPRN group also discussed an upcoming bartering event planned for their next get-together in the beginning of April.
