Fact or Fiction: Is Super Glue the super healer?

Most memories involving Super Glue consist of gluing fingers, hands and lips together. However, Super Glue may also be useful in your first-aid kit. \nUseful for fixing more than a broken handle or an old chair, Super Glue was once recognized as a lifesaver during the Vietnam War. The sticky substance seals wounds and contains the chemical cyanoacrylate, which controls bleeding. With these benefits, it seems like people should jump for the tube after a cut, but is Super Glue really an effective way to heal wounds?\nDeveloped accidentally in 1942 when searching for materials to make clear plastic gun sites for WWII; it was rejected because it stuck to everything. It was eventually rediscovered by Dr. Harry Coover. Super Glue soon became a household necessity. The military soon sought its use to form a barrier for a soldier’s wound, said Ann Carmichael, director of the IU Center for the Study of the History of Medicine. \n“The two reasons to seal wounds are to stop bleeding and to not let them get dirty,” she said. \nHowever, the military abandoned the use of Super Glue in 1966 due to burning of the skin that sometimes left an additional wound, Carmichael said.\nAlthough the idea of healing wounds with glue might make sense to some, experts agree that doing so could lead to many problems. \n“You normally want to keep wounds as sterile as possible,” said Trent Applegate, an expert in injury care from the Department of Applied Health Science. \nInfection can occur if glue is placed directly on the wound, causing “significant problems,” Applegate said.\nToday, the medical field uses a glue-like substance called Dermabond to seal minor wounds, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site. Approved by the FDA in 1998, Dermabond, an antibacterial glue, closes wounds almost instantly to stop bleeding, said Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center. Jessop said a problem arises when people choose Super Glue over a trip to the doctor’s office. \n“Super Glue is not interchangeable with Dermabond,” Jessop said.