Choosing the appropriate adhesive can make a significant difference when it comes to treating cuts and wounds. Super glue and skin glue may sound alike, but they are really different. Super glue is supposed to fix objects, but skin glue is made for medical usage. If you use the wrong one, you could have big difficulties.
We’ll discuss the distinctions between skin glue and super glue in this post and why it’s crucial to apply the proper one on your wounds. If you’re a parent, a first-aid enthusiast, or just curious, knowing the distinctions can help you make better and safer choices when it comes to caring for wounds.
The key difference between skin glue and super glue
Medical skin glue and super glue are cyanoacrylate-based compounds. However, minor changes in molecular structure make one safe for skin and the other harmful.
Consider it like construction bricks: the length and kind of the blocks influence how the glue behaves on live tissue. Medical skin glue employs carefully crafted, longer chains. Superglue has significantly shorter, more reactive chains.
This seemingly minor alteration has a significant impact on how hot they become, what chemicals are released, and how your body reacts. This is the main reason why they cannot be used interchangeably.
Medical Skin Glue (Cyanoacrylate Derivatives)
Medical skin glues (like PerfectSeal® or Dermabond®) use cyanoacrylate molecules with longer chains, the main ingredient being butyl cyanoacrylate (chemical formula: C8H11NO2) or octyl cyanoacrylate (chemical formula: C12H19NO2). These longer bands connect the edges of your skin like bendy bridges. That’s important because:
- Gentle Reaction: When they touch skin moisture, they respond (polymerize) more slowly. This slow reaction generates only mild, safe heat.
- Safety: The glue film peels off naturally in 7-10 days as the wound heals; no harmful substances are produced.
- The long-chain molecules form a flexible bond that bends with the skin’s movement. This bond acts like a secure, waterproof scab that keeps out bacteria and promotes wound healing. This design has been accepted by the European Commission as safe for medical use.
Super Glue (Home or Industrial Cyanoacrylate)
Household or industrial super glue (like Hopson Glue®, Krazy Glue®, or Gorilla Glue®) typically has as its main ingredient short-chain cyanoacrylate, like ethyl-cyanoacrylate (chemical formula: C6H7NO2). This structure makes it strong for fixing objects but dangerous for skin:
- Hot & Harsh Reaction: These short chains react instantly and violently with skin moisture. This rapid polymerization reaction creates a lot of heat, potentially causing thermal burns inside the wound.
- Toxic Breakdown: As super glue breaks down, it releases formaldehyde and other strong chemicals at high concentrations.
It is well known that formaldehyde is a colorless irritant and toxic substance that damages surrounding skin cells, causing significant inflammation and tissue damage. - Rigid & Brittle: The bond is stiff and cracks easily under skin movement, trapping bacteria and promoting infection.
Cyanoacrylate super glue seems to be a quick fix, but it lacks the medical-grade safety features required for human tissue. It creates multiple risks that can turn a minor injury into a serious medical problem.
They are, therefore, quite different from superglues and much more expensive to produce.
The real case of using cyanoacrylate super glue to seal wounds
Super glue may not feel hot to the touch, but it can still cause burns on your skin. When cyanoacrylate superglue comes into contact with anions in the air or moisture on the skin, it instantly polymerizes in an exothermic reaction.
This reaction can cause redness, blistering, and burns on the skin.
An eight-year-old boy was brought to the hospital with a laceration near his right eyebrow.
His father had attempted to treat the wound with household superglue.
The father had used the same method to treat a wound on his forearm years earlier and believed it was a safe and effective solution.
However, upon examination, doctors discovered the wound edges were misaligned, and traces of glue had seeped inside the injury.
Due to the severity of the situation, the medical team had to perform an exploratory procedure under general anesthesia. They found that the glue had spread deep into the wound, reaching the periosteum (the thin layer covering the bone), and had triggered active inflammation. The doctors carefully cleaned and debrided the affected area before properly suturing the laceration in layers.
Meanwhile, the father was educated on the key differences between medical-grade skin glue and household super glue—especially that the latter could cause tissue damage, infection, and delayed healing. Fortunately, the boy made a full recovery with proper medical intervention.
FAQ
Can you use superglue to glue skin together?
No. Household super glue (like Krazy Glue® or Gorilla Glue®) should never be used on skin or wounds. While it might seem like a quick fix, super glue is not safe for medical use and can cause serious harm.
You can use medical superglue for cuts to seal wounds. They are wound adhesives developed specifically for medical use.
What kind of glue is skin glue?
Medical Cyanoacrylate
One of the most widely used types of surgical adhesive is medical cyanoacrylate, commonly known as surgical super glue; the main types are enbucrilate and ocrilate.
How long will medical super glue hold on a wound?
7-10 days.
After medical glue is applied to a wound, it forms a special protective film on the wound surface. This film is not only waterproof, breathable, but also effectively blocks bacterial invasion.
Typically, this protective film will fall off naturally after 7 to 10 days, at which point the wound is essentially healed.
Why do surgeons use glue instead of stitches?
Surgeons are using medical skin glue (also called tissue adhesive or surgery glue) instead of traditional stitches (sutures) often due to its special advantages. Here are the key reasons:
- Reduced Risk of Infection
- Improved Patient Comfort
- Better Cosmetic Outcomes & Minimal Scarring
- Faster Application and Time Savings
- Waterproof and Low-Maintenance Care
- Specific Surgeries: It’s commonly used in laparoscopic procedures (where incisions are small) and in areas like the face for better cosmetic results
References
Cyanoacrylate Burn Injuries: Two Unusual Cases and a Review of the Literature
Cascarini L, Kumar A. Case of the month: Honey I glued the kids: tissue adhesives are not the same as “superglue”. Emergency Medicine Journal. 2007 Mar 1;24(3):228-9.
Coover HN, Joyner FB, Sheere NH, et al. Chemistry and performance of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive. Surgery. 1968; 63:481-9.
Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Glue Exposures. By Dr. Grant D. Lackey, PharmD
