Let’s start with this:
Movies have it wrong.
In just about every movie ever, first reaction to getting shot is to pull out the bullet, at any cost.
This is nonsense, and if you try that, it can kill you.
First aid for a bullet wound is to stop the bleeding and protect the wound. This usually involves applying a dressing and putting pressure on it. Then, get to a doctor.
Doctors will often remove the bullet, but this is because it is in the way of something they are doing, like repairing a blood vessel, or because it’s pressing on something vital. Other times, they will just leave it where it is, give you some antibiotics to prevent infections, and then you get to have interesting conversations with X-Ray technicians and, maybe, airport security for the rest of your life.
Lots of comments ask about lead poisoning.
Most of the time this is not an issue. Lead needs to be dissolved to spread through the body. Common ways to get lead poisoning are to digest or inhale lead as fine particles, and even then it takes a long time to happen. Most of the time a bullet isn’t going to dissolve. There will be some scar tissue forming around it, and it will just sit there. Exceptions to this are bullets in contact with cerebrospinal fluid or in a joint. That said, if you have a bullet in such a location, you definitely need a good surgeon to deal with it if you don’t want death or severe disability to be the end result.
It’s the first aid field manual.
The Army knows a thing or two about gunshot wounds.
Movies never cease to get on my nerves.
#1 Alcohol while sterile is also harmful to cells and hurts like hell. In the old west, sure. In modern times during a zombie apocalypse? No way.
#2. Soaps like betadine solutions, or even an antiseptic like original Listerine are less harmful to cells and won’t cause agony. Listerine was invented by a doctor and used in surgery for many years until someone came up with something better. (but you don’t need minty fresh guts…just use the original kind)
#3 Hydrogen peroxide can cause damage to cells cause more scarring, and if a wound is DEEP, cause pressure inside. Some soaps have corrosive properties…for getting out oil and stuff…that are not good to put on flesh.
#4 Many doctors will leave a bullet in depending on where it is, the size and number of fragments, etc. Do your basic first aid, stop bleeding, then get to a DOCTOR to find out about removing it. This is not 1700.
#5 Digging around can damage organs that were NOT damaged. In some cases, just like with a knife, removing the object may release a broken artery or vein and cause bleeding that can’t be controlled. Digging around can introduce foreign matter and molecules which may lead to more infection than just the bullet might cause.
I hope you are asking this question because you are writing a movie or book.
