It's going to hurt, no mistake about that. Most sterile dressings and suture material have expiration dates on them and a lot of times that date has to do with the sterility of the item and how long the manufacturer can ensure function (ie suture material might not have the strength it once did). I wouldn't worry too much about the instruments. Instruments can be sanitized (probably not actually sterilized) by heating or boiling. The de-briding is going to be painful. The dead tissue isn't going to hurt but Owen's going to have to cut back until he sees blood flowing and that IS going to hurt.
I'm a veterinary nurse and a kind of bandage that we use often is something called a "wet to dry" bandage. We use it on infected wounds that are draining a lot of nastiness. It needs to be changed often (once a day but in your situation twice a day would probably be better). Sterile gauze is soaked in sterile saline. It's packed against the wound and then dry bandage material is used around it. The dry material will wick away the draining fluid. I do not know about the usage of this bandage in human medicine though. It may be considered antiquated and not used anymore. If you decide not to use the medicines, it may be a good option. Owen pulling a rabbit out of his hat and using a piece of old fashioned field medicine to save Jack?
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-02-23 02:06 am (UTC)I'm a veterinary nurse and a kind of bandage that we use often is something called a "wet to dry" bandage. We use it on infected wounds that are draining a lot of nastiness. It needs to be changed often (once a day but in your situation twice a day would probably be better). Sterile gauze is soaked in sterile saline. It's packed against the wound and then dry bandage material is used around it. The dry material will wick away the draining fluid. I do not know about the usage of this bandage in human medicine though. It may be considered antiquated and not used anymore. If you decide not to use the medicines, it may be a good option. Owen pulling a rabbit out of his hat and using a piece of old fashioned field medicine to save Jack?