I was contacted today by someone connected to direct medical treatment that says peroxide has recently been deemed more damaging that good and provided a link for documentation. My most recent 1st aid training has to be at least 30 years old so I hereby retract my advice.

NO PEROXIDE.

I wish to publicly thank the person who corrected my outdated advice. I'd infinitely rather be right than think I am, especially where safety is concerned.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty,, could you please start a new thread about this (including the link) in the Safety section?

I don't know that I should John, we have quite a few trained and currently certified EMS members on the forum and re-reading the article I was linked to is vague with no clear warning to not use h2o2 as a disinfectant. The main caution was to only use 3% disinfectant grade at half strength for shallow wounds. Using it on deeper wounds CAN cause problems. The real warning in the article was to be sure to be very careful with 35% cleanser strength h2o2. The link I looked at off the Cleveland Clinic site was all dire warnings but upon reading further it appears to be more alarmist opinion.

This is the original link sent to me. https://www.google.com/amp/s/health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-hydrogen-peroxide-good-for/amp/

A web search for "hydrogen peroxide wound care" hits on many pages some with commercial h2o2 products for treating minor wounds. The controversy is relatively recent and there is NO clear consensus. Sites with medical backgrounds alert you to the controversy, caution about not using a strong peroxide and then provide instructions for using it correctly.

I just don't know enough to start a 1st. aid thread, definitely NOT about using hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant.

Frosty The Lucky.

As I understand it, the problem is that hydrogen peroxide will attack anything organic, both good and bad.  So, while it will kill anything bad in a wound it will also attack healthy flesh, etc..  So, by applying it you are cleansing the wound but also doing further damage.  I would think that in a "clean" wound like a cut from a clean kitchen knife it would do more harm than good but something "dirty" or infected the good effect may outweigh the bad.

I generally only use anti bacterial cream like Neosporin.  Does anyone still use iodine or methylate which I recall from my childhood?

GNM

Ah, a classic “The poison is in the dosage” situation. 

Wash out with water. Use little soap if dirty to help clean it out.

That is what they last teached me at my refresment coarse.

The teacher also explained why use of desinfectants (h2o2 or other stuff) is not recomended and in what cases it is recommended, but she was also showing some photo's and i had to walk away (can't see blood on pictures)

Bingo John, toxicity is a matter of quantity not kind.

Frosty The Lucky.

I have used 3% H2O2 since a kid. It's even labeled First Aid Antiseptic.

Looks like it's back to maggots then!

Maggot therapy is massively cool. Ditto medicinal leech therapy for venous congestion.

12 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

I have used 3% H2O2 since a kid. It's even labeled First Aid Antiseptic.

Mercurochrome was also in common use when we were kids.  Cocaine was used to relieve tooth aches as well

20 hours ago, George N. M. said:

Does anyone still use iodine or methylate which I recall from my childhood?

I don't know about methylate, but iodine is one of the active components of Betadine (povidone-iodine), a broad-spectrum disinfectant that's still in fairly wide use. The alcohol-based tincture of iodine is still available and is used for both disinfecting wounds and sterilizing drinking water.

I have a lovely scar from having a scoutmaster use Korean War Iodine on a relatively minor scratch in the late 1960's.  It was not amusing. 

Korean cold Cautery?

Frosty The Lucky.

You still can get Methylate, several drug stores have it here. We call it monkey blood. Makes ya scream when using it and it helps to blow on it till dry.