Man treats self-inflicted gunshot wound to head with Neosporin, waits 5 days to seek help

ANCHOR POINT , Alaska, May 16 (UPI) -- Alaska residents are known to be very self-reliant, but one man took that to the extreme by waiting five days to seek medical attention for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Instead of going to the hospital, an Anchor Point man treated his "serious but not life-threatening" wound with Neosporin and other supplies he had on hand.

Workers at South Peninsula Hospital alerted Alaska State Troopers when the 43-year-old man came in for treatment on Thursday.

"Investigation revealed (the man) had shot himself in the head on (Saturday) while negligently handling a firearm," AST troopers wrote. "(He) did not seek medical attention until (Thursday)."

The gun the man accidentally used on himself was a .22 long rifle.

"He was playing around with it when he shot himself," AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen told KTUU Thursday. "Nobody else (was) there at the time."

"No treatment before today other than he put Neosporin on the wounds," Ipsen said.