Why “Drying It Out” is the WORST Way to Heal

Going to therapy is a sign of strength, not weakness. My paid partner BetterHelp makes therapy simple, with 10% off your first month to help you get started: https://betterhelp.com/andrewlam We’re all taught outdated myths about treating wounds with air and alcohol. This is my attempt at helping you heal better with science. --- BANDAGE RECOMMENDATIONS Tip for Hydrocolloid bandages: warm them up for 30-60 seconds in your hands before and after applying. This helps it bond better with your skin. 1️⃣ Best Bandage: Bandaid’s HydroSeal All Purpose Long lasting, comfortable, versatile. I will always keep these on me and I’ve given these as gifts. Also available at Walmart or a pharmacy. Amazon: https://geni.us/BandAidHydroSeal 2️⃣ Bandage Runner Up: Amazon Hydrocolloid Slightly cheaper and the shape I find better on arms and legs - less ugly too! Not as good for fingers. Made in the USA, packaged by a Japanese company ASO Corp. They also own Care Science, All Health and sell to CVS. https://geni.us/AmzHydroBandage 3️⃣ Big Scrapes: ConvaTec DuoDERM Extra Thin Thin enough that it won’t bother you but thicker than the super-thin versions that are better for acne or very light wounds. Great for scrapes to your knees, faces and burns. https://geni.us/DuoDermET Backup: Dimora and Niceful Hydrocolloids are from one of the big 3 Chinese Healthcare companies. I bought one, they seem good. https://geni.us/DimoraHydro 4️⃣ Stops Bleeding Better: Calcium Alginate Better than cotton at stopping nosebleeds and bad cuts as calcium ions encourage clotting. MedPride is the one I used, BleedCease is the name brand. From what I've seen there isn't a huge difference in performance Med Pride: https://geni.us/MedPrideAlginate BleedCease: https://geni.us/BleedCease If you keep it on for more than a few hours you need to use a covering like transparent film to keep it from drying out - I use a roll of tegaderm which is also a cheap way to keep small wounds protected. Note the above are affiliate links and if you click them a portion may go to me at not cost to you. --- 🩸 FIND BETTER WOUND CARE 🩸 Wound education is one of the lowest priorities and many surgeons doctors and nurses are unaware of the latest practices. 1) Search up “wound care” + “your city / town” these might be clinics, or hospitals and in many cases you can self-refer. Sometimes these are run by a trained nurse, other times a full department 2) Look up your local telehealth line and ask to be referred to a wound care clinic 3) Desperate for a second opinion: https://www.reddit.com/r/woundcare/ There are some great professionals there. --- 💡 SOME SOURCES / INTERESTING LINKS 💡 Tap Water vs Saline: Still heavily debated here’s the source I referenced https://wounds-uk.com/journal-articles/cleansing-of-acute-traumatic-wounds-tap-water-or-normal-saline/ This one compared saline vs soap for cleaning open fractures (bones sticking out of bodies). Huge study and it shows the power of just washing out wounds https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1508502 Why One Surgeon Never Uses Gauze: https://youtu.be/vVJb5fBNt8Y Natsuki Makoto - 1000+ Photographed Moist Healing Cases: http://www.wound-treatment.jp/next/case/tokyo/ Warning some are incredibly graphic and it’s only in Japanese https://www.20crw.org/ Burn Yourself? The new standard is 20 minutes of cool running water and it gives the science behind it. --- 0:00 You’ve Been Healing Wrong Your Whole Life 2:09 Moist Healing Works 50% Faster—Here’s the Proof 3:39 Scabs Slow You Down (Here’s Why) 6:19 The Best Bandage Uses Jello?! 9:54 Why Tap Water Beats Rubbing Alcohol 11:59 How Bacteria Hide Like Terrorists in Your Skin 13:55 The Best Bandages I Actually Use