Egg Membranes to Stop Bleeding and Heal Wounds

"Who knew? If emergency occurs... While the blood is gushing - hold pressure and crack open an egg. Peel that membrane off and put it on the wound (continue holding pressure) The membrane will harden and keep the wound closed until you can get to the ER for stitches. My grandma taught my mom this and it works!" 

I don't even know where to start with this one. I guess I'll start with - gush? If you have a wound that is gushing, you need stitches, not an egg. But does it work? Well, yes apparently it DOES work; the membrane is so thin that when applied it will stick to your skin, and when dry it forms a tough glue-like barrier. But whether it works or doesn't isn't the problem -- Salmonella is. You see, most people think you can only get things like salmonella through eating contaminated foods, but you can in fact also get it via open skin and wounds. It's not a common form of contracting salmonella, but adding a possibly infected egg membrane to your cuts is just asking to gamble with statistics on this. Yes, you are more likely to get it from eating contaminated foods, but why risk being one of the few who get's it from an open cut because you couldn't bother to find a bandage?

There has actually been studies done on this (source: Pubmed), which is what a lot of people who swear by this bring out every time this idea is debated. It was used and compared to other forms of skin grafts for burn patients. However, the study only contained 18 patients and anyone who studies research will quickly point out that 18 is a VERY low number for a study. This study was also done in a controlled environment of a hospital with irradiated eggs with gamma radiation to kill off things like salmonella and other bacteria - not just your basic eggs from the supermarket. I know some people might think "What are the risks really?" But an estimated 142,000 Americans a year come down with salmonella - is it a risk you really want to take just to heal a wound?

All in all, unless it's the end of the world and zombies are rising up and there is a bizarre shortage of band-aids and medical professional arounds, you can do this, but something as simple as Super Glue would work JUST as fine, without the risk of introducing bacteria to the wound. In fact they even make skin glue for this purpose. It comes with it's own set of risks - as it can trap in dirt, foreign objects, and bacteria into the cut, causing infection - so use at your own risk. And if you have a wound that is "gushing" as the pin states, you're better off getting yourself to the nearest Urgent Care or ER then you would be sticking raw egg to your wounds.