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- You can take care of most minor cuts and scrapes yourself. How can you tell you don't need medical help? Home treatment is OK if the wound isn't very deep and it's not in a spot where scarring is a problem, like your face.
- In the first of four healing stages, your body swings into action to stop the flow of blood. Your blood vessel walls narrow to let less of the red stuff through.
- Your blood platelets release special chemicals that cause inflammation. You might see some swelling and redness around the wound. White blood cells head to the scene.
- Now your body's healing process kicks into gear. Blood cells arrive to start building new skin. They give your wound the oxygen and nutrients it needs to heal and grow new blood vessels.
- Overview
- First Aid
- Hygiene and Dressing
- Infections
A scrape is a wound that generally does not go all the way through your skin, unlike a cut, which generally goes through your skin to the muscle below. Regardless, deep scrapes can be painful and bloody. If you have sustained a deep scrape, you can try treating your injury at home, or you can head to the doctor’s office. Deep scrapes that are not quite that deep can generally be compressed, washed, and bandaged at home.
Wash your hands with soap and water before you rinse the wound with warm water to clean it out.
Apply pressure with a clean cloth to stop any bleeding and apply an
change your dressing at least once every day until the wound heals.
If the scrape is more than
inch (0.64 cm) deep, it won’t stop bleeding, or you see signs of an infection, do not hesitate to go to an emergency room.
Examine the wound to determine how deep it is.
Sometimes, a scrape and a laceration can appear similar. Before you treat a scrape, you need to make sure you have one. This is important because lacerations, or cuts, may require sutures (stitches) or glue for treatment if they are long or gaping open. A scrape is a shallow skin abrasion that is over a portion of the skin.
If you have a wound that is over .25 inches (0.64 cm) deep, seek medical help to treat the wound and stitch it up.
Wash your hands with soap and water.
Before you take care of your wound, make sure you have clean hands. As long as your wound is not bleeding excessively, take the time to wash your hands with antibacterial soap. If the deep scrape is on your hands, try not to get the soap on the wound because it will hurt.
If you don’t have access to soap and water, wipe any obvious dirt off your hands and then rub them with hand sanitizer until they feel dry (usually 20-30 seconds).
Remove any stuck in debris.
Sometimes, pieces of debris may be lodged in the skin that did not come out with rinsing, especially with scrapes. Once the bleeding has stopped, look at the wound for extra debris in the skin. If you see any debris, use tweezers to gently remove it. If the debris will not come out, see your doctor to have it removed.
Do not dig the tweezers into the wound. You don't want to injure yourself further.
If you don’t find any debris, you can move on to the next step.
Apply antibiotic cream to the scrape.
Even if you think you have removed all of the dirt and debris, there is still a chance that your wound could become infected. Because of this, applying some antibiotic cream to the wound is always a good idea. This ointment will also keep your scrape moist so it won’t crack and get worse when you move around. A thin layer of antibiotic ointment or petroleum jelly covering the area of the wound should be enough.
Go to a doctor if you suspect an infection.
If you think your wound might be infected or if the bleeding will not stop after applying pressure, seek medical attention. If you have had the wound for a while and have noticed that it has gotten infected, you should also go see a doctor. Letting an infection linger can lead to blood poisoning and other life-threatening situations.
Call your doctor immediately or go to urgent care if your skin is warm around the wound or the scrape is leaking yellow or greenish discharge.
If you notice bright yellow or black discoloration around your wound, go to the hospital immediately.
Get a tetanus shot if you haven’t had one in the past 5 years.
If you have a wound that’s especially deep or dirty, your doctor might recommend a tetanus shot. This is especially important if you haven’t had a tetanus shot recently (within the past 5-10 years).
People also ask
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Dec 19, 2019 · Stage 1: Stop the bleeding (hemostasis) When you get a cut, scratch, or other wound in your skin, it usually starts bleeding. The first stage of wound healing is to stop the bleeding. This is...
How long it takes: Usually about 4-6 days. Signs it’s working: During this stage of healing, you may experience swelling, redness or pain while your wound heals. Your skin may also feel hot to the touch, and you may see a clear liquid around your wound. These are all signs that the inflammatory stage of wound healing is well underway.
Injured scrapped bleeding elbow. Close up of bloody scrape on child's arm after bicycle accident. child with a wound in his arm. Children injury. Deep scratches on the skin of the children's elbow hand. Wounds, scratches, abrasions on the child's arm on a white background. Boy injured at elbow. Feel pain in the wound.
Jul 9, 2017 · What are the symptoms of cuts and scratches? The symptoms of cuts and scratches include: bleeding. redness or swelling around the wound. pain or irritation at the skin surface. What are risk...
Fisher says, “Scarring can come from cuts — these are the most common injuries. But scrapes and burns can leave scars as well. Scars are more likely in injuries where the skin is not just cut but also crushed or otherwise damaged. Clean cuts can heal very well if they’re washed out and treated to avoid infection.”
