Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Warfarin, Anticoagulant and General Mess Maker

One downside of warfarin, the anticoagulant that I am taking, is that you bleed real good if you cut yourself.  Tonight, I managed to get a drill bit in the drill press through a piece of plastic and into the end of my finger.  Not very deep (reflexes are wonderful things), but even a little nick when you are taking warfarin bleeds impressively.  I managed to get everything to stop, but maybe I will stay away from power tools until I no longer need to take this stuff, sometime in October.
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8 comments:

  1. SebastianAugust 27, 2013 at 10:49 PM

    Yeah, that's a big downside. My grandfather had his heart valve replaced with a biomechanical valve, so he was on them for the rest of his life, and that was a complaint he had.

    He was about the same age (65) my father is now, who has not yet had to have the same kind of surgery. Maybe statins really do something.

    Of course, this means I should probably be more vivant than I have been.

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  2. Clayton CramerAugust 28, 2013 at 7:53 AM

    Statins definitely reduce death rates from heart disease. They just have other unpleasant side effects in some (memory loss, and what was the other one? muscle pain).

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  3. clark myersAugust 28, 2013 at 8:25 AM

    Do you have some clotting gauze on hand just in case? Puncture wounds call for just the powder with a risk of clots traveling for strokes and such. The clotting bandages are pretty safe and useful.

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  4. Rob CrawfordAugust 28, 2013 at 8:53 AM

    Superglue. Seriously -- hemophiliacs carry it to stop bleeding, and it's used in surgery. I've slashed my thumb with an X-Acto knife, washed and cleaned the wound, then super-glued the wound shut. Lasted until the cut healed, no more bleeding. Better than a bandage, faster, too.

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  5. Clayton CramerAugust 28, 2013 at 10:12 AM

    Superglue -- I've got that. Maybe I will stay away from dangerous tools and sharp objects until I am off this stuff.

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  6. SigivaldAugust 28, 2013 at 11:50 AM

    I always forget that warfarin isn't just for killing rats...

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  7. BFRAugust 28, 2013 at 12:42 PM

    Be very careful with wound closure. Insufficient cleaning can create bad infections and abscess formation.

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  8. ArthurAugust 28, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    Watch for bruising as well. Bashing your shin on an endtable can be a big deal if you are on anti-coagulants.

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