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Here in Florida from January to the middle of April I have a lot of time to think (no shop here--sigh). I started on a blood thinner in November after a few days in the hospital with my first bout of A-fib. My A-fib is controlled by meds now but my cardiologist kept me on the blood thinners because of my age. All the info on these meds say to avoid dangerous activity. Based on pictures that show up here, I think there may be others on blood thinners. Do you think it is safe to work in the shop and are there specific precautions you take to prevent blood letting injuries? Some of the medical sites even discourage bicycle riding. Ken
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I'd say be extra careful and make sure the first aid kit is well stocked with things to staunch a bleeder if necessary.
The issue is that if you do cut yourself, your blood wont clot as well as normal. If you come off a bike and get some serious gravel rash and start bleeding from 100 small cuts it can be serious.
Slicing your finger on a chisel might mean more blood than normal, and some stitches at the ER, when a band aid might have done in the past.
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As always, the task is to work safely. While I might have pooh-poohed and done some questionable things with edge tools in the past, now I take the time to make things safe.
From the EMS side, pressure is great to staunch almost all, while a persistent ooze, which shouldn't happen at INRs of 2-3, and locations where pressure is awkward, benefit from some cornstarch or even a styptic pencil.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
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Loml's sister mom is and her dad was on rat poison too. Her sister kept riding walking glue factories and was nearly killed twice by them, the first time riding the seccond feeding them. This last time she finally listened to everyone and started getting rid of them.
Course woodworking is immensely safer and I would ask your doc if there is a vitamin k shot or pill or something you can keep handy like having an epi pen for allergic reactions. That way if you do something bad you get a head start on neutralizing the rat poison and getting your blood to clot.
That stuff is a pain as there are allot of things you can't eat because of the vitamin k in it. We were going to get romaine lettuce at sams when visiting her mom and for some dumb reason the stuff they get from dole has k added to it. You will be OK if you just pay attention.
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Ken
My boarder has A-Fib and is on blood thinners. I do turning and he does other craft work, but uses things like my bandsaw and table saw. Really, extra care and caution is mostly what is required. He has had no serious problems, a few small cuts but nothing serious. Continue with your woodworking just be a little more cautious.
Mel
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I was on Xarelto for 6 months last year. I didn't tell the doctor I did woodworking. I suspect he may have frowned upon it. He did tell me though that the external bleeding wounds are generally less of risk than internal bleeding from some sort of fall or trauma. He was more concerned about that because internal bleeding may not be noticed and you may not even think you need to seek medical attention. He said, with a cut it's obvious you need to take action and most folks won't bleed out (provided you don't sever an artery). However, if you take a fall or hit something hard, you might not see any external symptoms and may not even realize you are bleeding to death, internally, until it's too late. I was a little tentative at first, but after awhile I gave it little thought. Take sensible precautions and you should be fine.
If you are going down a river at 2 mph and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to shingle your roof?
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Ken,
They would probably suggest you wrap yourself is a Kevlar bubble if they thought they could. I think of it this way. How much does woodworking improve your quality of life? I honestly think that the health benefits you get from woodworking far outweigh the risk of getting a cut. If I had to stop woodworking more than likely my blood pressure would probably skyrocket and I would slip into a mild depression. Many people get a lot of stress relief in the shop not to mention the mental stimulation that keeps your mind sharp. I would suggest getting some type of clotting solution like Herb recommended and go on with a little more caution with hand tools and sharp edges.
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I'm on a blood thinner...Brilinta. I haven't changed anything because of it, either in the wood shop or doing work around the place...sawmilling, gardening, lawn care, etc. Occassionally I'll get a cut and it bleeds a lot more than usual but eventually stops. I have ugly bruises on my arms and legs all the time because of the thinner but it doesn't bother me much.
If I had to stop doing the stuff I love, life wouldn't be worth living anyway. Besides, I believe in "a time to be born and a time to die." When it's my time, it's my time no matter how careful I try to be.
If I had 8 hours to cut down a tree, I'd do it in 15 minutes with a chainsaw and drink beer the other 7:45 hrs.
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Ken, I've been on blood thinners since I was 16... long before I started woodworking.
No real problem its just that a cut puts more blood on your work
