Survival Skills: 4 Survival Uses for Gauze

Sterile gauze is one of the cornerstones of a well-stocked medical kit. It serves as a dressing and binding for all kinds of wounds, but there are many more roles that it can play. To the creative survivor, gauze is a raw material with plenty of versatile applications. Sure, you’ll want to save plenty of gauze pads and rolls for their intended use – as a first aid supply. But if you have enough to spare, try these four tricks on your next outing and you’ll see that gauze isn’t just a one-trick pony.   

Water Filter  Is your raw water source muddy or full of debris? A simple gauze pad is a great filter to clarify dirty water. Of course, it won’t remove pathogens, salt or chemical pollution from the water, but it will clear the water – making some of the common forms of disinfection (chemicals and UV light) more effective. Gauze can also act as a “pre-filter” to reduce the rate of clogging in ceramic and charcoal purifying filters.

Fire Starter  Cotton gauze (and its paper wrapper) can be great fire starters. Once frayed, the gauze will even ignite from just a spark. This can be enhanced by smearing a little oil or petroleum jelly on the material. A Vaseline soaked gauze pad will burn for 5 minutes or more, and even in wet conditions.

Candle Wick  Improvised lighting is just a twist away when you add a twisted gauze wick to a fireproof container of wax, oil, grease or lard. Make sure you use cotton fiber gauze for this, since natural fibers are the best choice for lamp wicks. And use a heat resistant container like a canning jar or metal can, for safety.

Improvised Cord  Need a short length of cord? Stretch out some rolled gauze, twist it into a tube and use it as an improvised cord. It’s stronger than it looks!

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Written by Tim MacWelch First published on outdoorlife.com