Abrasions, bruises, cuts and broken knees are those troubles that no one, neither an adult nor a child, is immune from encountering. Adults often inadvertently cut their fingers while cooking, but children generally manage to get minor injuries everywhere.
Therefore, everyone should know what first aid should be for cuts, abrasions and other injuries, so that, if necessary, they can help themselves or another person, and not stand at a loss or be hysterical from not knowing what to do.
What do you mean by a cut?
A cut is a violation of the integrity of the skin, muscles, blood vessels, etc., using a sharp object, such as a knife, blade, fragment of a bottle or window glass, etc.
Damage affecting only the dermis and the fat layer underneath does not require any special treatment. For example, first aid to a victim with a shallow cut of a finger will be limited to washing the injury site, treating it antiseptic and stopping the bleeding.
Deep injuries, often also called lacerations, involve tendons, nerves, large vessels and ligaments. First aid for deep cuts, in addition to washing the wound, treating and stopping the bleeding, must include special surgical procedures, so it is impossible to do without the participation of doctors.
What are they?
In medicine, it is customary to classify injuries according to the objects that caused the injury:
- chipped - they are left by thin and very sharp objects. For example, one of the most seemingly insignificant damages is caused by an ordinary needle. Its diameter is small, but the depth of penetration can be significant;
- cut - such damage is usually caused by sharp objects. TO this species cuts include glass damage. In this case, the wound is narrow and can have different lengths and depths;
- cuts with torn edges – most often result from the impact of blunt objects on the skin. Such wounds often occur as a result of a strong blow to the bone area; they swell very much and take a long time to heal.
In addition, damage can be combined, for example, when falling on a concrete floor after a collision with a glass display case: glass fragments will leave cut damage, and a fall on the floor can result in abrasions and wounds with torn edges on the knees and elbows.
What to do first?
Providing first first aid for cuts, it consists of cleaning the injury site from contaminants, if any, and stopping the bleeding, as well as treating it with an antiseptic and protecting it external environment by applying a bandage.
If this is possible, the damaged area must be washed under cold running water, which will not only remove contaminants, but also narrow down blood vessels and reduce bleeding. Next, you need to squeeze the edges of the wound with your fingers so that bleeding becomes minimal, and treat it with hydrogen peroxide (3%), and then only lubricate the edges with brilliant green or iodine.
It is important to ensure that these solutions do not get into the cut itself, especially if it is very deep. After this, it is necessary to place a piece of sterile bandage or gauze folded several times on the treated area and secure it with a plaster or bandage.
When applying a dressing, it is important to consider the type of bleeding, which can be arterial or venous. If the bleeding is arterial, i.e. the blood is bright scarlet in color, you need to tie a knot above the injury.
If venous bleeding is observed, i.e. flows out dark blood from a nearby and damaged vein, the node should be located below the damage.
You can apply an ice pack over the bandage to help reduce pain, stop bleeding, and prevent swelling. In addition, there are special moves to reduce bleeding. For example, when providing first aid for a cut on a finger, simply lifting the limb up above your head will help to significantly reduce the amount of bleeding.
If, for a cut, first aid did not produce any results, and you were unable to stop the bleeding within 10-15 minutes, you must definitely call an ambulance or go to the emergency department of a nearby hospital yourself.
Loss of consciousness
Sometimes, with severe bleeding, as well as when a person is afraid of the sight of blood, the victim may lose consciousness. Women and young, impressionable children are especially likely to “switch off.” What to do when, when providing first aid to a victim with a cut vein, he loses consciousness?
First of all, you can try to prevent this condition by:
- provide the victim with unhindered access to fresh air;
- make sure that he breathes deeply and that nothing is constricting his chest.
If this does not help and consciousness gradually “goes away”, you need to massage the earlobes with large and index fingers and also massage the space between upper lip and nose. The second way is to vigorously rub the victim’s cheeks with your palms. If this does not help, all that remains is to use a cotton swab soaked in ammonia.
Wound healing
First aid provided for bruises, abrasions and cuts is only the first stage on the path to restoration of the affected area of the body. This should be followed by careful and regular wound treatment and care. Healing small household cuts, such as a finger kitchen knife, in most cases, occurs within 7-12 days, provided that the wound is regularly treated and dressings are changed.
In order to make changing dressings, which have the unpleasant property of sticking to a healing wound, as painless as possible, before removing it, it is recommended to moisten the entire surface of the dressing over the wound with a special solution or ordinary hydrogen peroxide. This will allow you to painlessly remove the old bandage.
After removing the old bandage, the wound must be re-treated with hydrogen peroxide, blotted with a napkin, and applied wound healing ointment and cover with a new sterile bandage.
What to do if you have cuts?
Rule #1. The earlier the better
Immediate assistance to a person, immediately after a cut, plays a huge role. Initially, you should examine the site of the cut: determine the degree of bleeding and the presence of possible fractures.
With a minor cut, blood oozes from the wound for several minutes and quickly clots. Along with the blood, a certain amount of bacteria is washed out of the wound.
If we are talking about a shallow cut or slight damage to the skin, then after stopping the bleeding, the damaged area is washed.
Rule #2. How to treat a cut? Liquid for washing the wound
Never wash a wound tap water, nor water from reservoirs, in order to avoid blood poisoning, but only boiled water. If this is not possible, for example, on the street, then you should use hydrogen peroxide (3%). You can buy it at the pharmacy, and you need to take peroxide on hikes - without fail.
Rule #3.
When disinfecting with brilliant green or iodine, it is necessary to treat the skin around the cut, and not apply them to the wound itself, as many mistakenly believe.
Rule #4. Protecting the cut site
The cut site must be protected from careless touches and from all kinds of contamination. In this case, use a bandage or adhesive tape. If the damaged area is large, then special sterile squares of gauze are used, and they are fixed with a bandage or plaster.
The bandages must be applied so tightly as not to disrupt the flow of blood to the damaged area. It is not recommended to change bandages frequently to avoid causing additional damage. If the bandage is loose or dirty, a new bandage should be applied over it.
On the first day, the sensation of pulsation and itching at the cut site is quite normal. But if this continues for several days, then there is a possibility that an infection has entered the blood. The cut site will become swollen and red. In this case, treatment of the cut should be continued by a specialized specialist.
What to do if you have a serious cut? Let's consider a number of cases when you definitely need to see a doctor:
- if the bleeding is intense and pulsating;
- very deep cut (possible damage to muscles and nerve endings);
- any cut on the head, face and, especially, in the mouth;
- the edges of the wound diverge so much that there is a need for sutures;
- located in the wound foreign body(pieces of glass, etc.).
In the first two cases, the result will depend on how quickly the person is provided health care.
Everything needs to be done promptly, the main thing is to try to stop the bleeding. You can use both a tourniquet and improvised means (a piece of clothing, fabric). A tourniquet is applied above the wound and tightly tightened. To such an extent that the bleeding stops. The wound should be treated with peroxide and a bandage tightly applied to it. The damaged area should be in an elevated position relative to the entire body.
Two hours is the maximum time for which a tourniquet is applied. Then the tissues begin to die. If after two hours the person has not received medical assistance, the tourniquet should still be loosened. Bleeding will be partly prevented by bandages.
If the damage described above is not so significant, do not worry. No more acceptance simple measures, and the wound will heal in a few days.
Oleg Orlov, doctor
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A cut is damage to the skin caused by a sharp object. Not deep cuts, which affect only the dermis and subcutaneous fat layer, do not need special treatment: it is enough just to stop the bleeding and treat the damaged area with an antiseptic. But there are also deep cuts, which are called incised wounds: in this case, you will probably need the help of a doctor, since sometimes tendons, muscles, nerves, ligaments and blood vessels are damaged, which cannot be restored without a specialist.
Types of cuts
In medicine, cuts are classified according to the objects that caused the injury:
- Sharp and thin objects leave puncture wounds. For example, the most minor damage puncture wound leaves a needle: its diameter is small, but still, the depth can reach several centimeters.
- Sharp objects are left behind cut wounds. This type of damage includes, for example, a cut from glass: the wound in this case is narrow, but can reach different lengths and depths.
- Blunt objects leave jagged edges. Typically, these wounds occur when strong impact in the bone area. In this case, the wound swells and takes a long time to heal due to uneven edges.
- Sharp and blunt objects are left, respectively, combined wounds. They occur when many parts of the body are injured: for example, from a fall, accident, etc.
How to help the victim: first aid
First aid for cuts consists mainly of cleaning the wound, stopping the bleeding, applying an antiseptic and covering it to protect it from the external environment.
How to clean a cut? If the wound is dirty, then it should be washed before treatment. If your skin is clean, you can skip this step. Take a sterile bandage or cotton wool, moisten it with water and soap (preferably baby soap), lather the wound, and then rinse it with water.
How to treat a cut for disinfection? Treatment of cuts is necessary to avoid suppuration. After washing the wound, take sterile cotton wool and soak the piece with one of these antiseptics:
- Group of halogens: sodium hypochlorite, chloramine B, plivasept.
- Group of oxidizing agents: potassium permanganate, hydroperite.
- Group of phenols: vagotil.
If none of these medications are on hand, then 96% alcohol can be used for treatment.
How to stop bleeding from a cut? Severe cuts are accompanied heavy bleeding, and in this case, the help of doctors is necessary, but if for some reason the receipt of medical care is delayed, then first aid consists of pressing the wound with a piece of sterile bandage or tightly bandaging the wound site.
For a minor cut, it is enough to treat the damaged area with 3% hydrogen peroxide.
How to close the cut? When the bleeding has stopped, you can begin to close the wound. A bandage or plaster is applied to the cut site and replaced several times a day. This should be done if the injury is on an arm or leg (especially if it is on the fingers or feet). In other cases, with minor cuts, it is better to keep them open: this way the wound will heal faster.
Healing cuts
The day after the cut, you can start applying ointments to avoid cut scars and also speed up healing.
Today, ointments for cuts are also used:
- Calendula ointment. It relieves inflammation well and helps with long-term non-healing wounds.
- Etonia ointment. Helps with purulent wounds, has antiseptic property and speeds up the scarring process.
If a scar remains after a cut (this occurs due to deep wounds), then contractubex ointment is used, which helps the scars disappear.
A cut is an injury from which no one is immune - neither an adult nor a child. Most often, such a wound occurs at home when working with a kitchen knife was not very careful. It is important to know what first aid should be for cuts so that the wound heals faster. After all, if you do not follow all the processing rules, there is a risk of developing an infection that requires long-term treatment.
Cut - what is it?
A cut means a violation of the integrity of the skin, but sometimes blood vessels and muscle tissue are affected. The reason is careless handling of sharp objects (knife, razor, glass container, etc.). If skin covering If the damage is minor, no special treatment will be required. First aid when the wound is small will consist of treating it with an antiseptic and applying a medical plaster.
But sometimes the wound is so deep that a sharp object even damages tendons and ligaments. In this case, conventional antiseptic treatment is not enough. The victim must be provided with qualified surgery.
Types of cuts
Depending on the object that damaged the skin, in medicine it is customary to divide cuts into the following types:
- Puncture cut. Most often, the cause of such an injury is careless handling of a sewing needle. A seemingly harmless object, but sometimes it penetrates very deeply and leaves behind a serious injury.
- Cut cut. The reason is careless handling of sharp objects (glass, knife, blade, etc.). The wound appears narrow, but the length may vary. The depth of the cut depends on the degree of pressure of the object on the skin.
- A cut with jagged edges. Serious injury resulting from a fall on blunt object. Most often this concerns children who, while playing outside, fall and injure their knees and elbows.
The cut can be combined. Such an injury can result from a fall or collision with glass. In this case, there will be wounds varying degrees gravity.
Help for the victim
First aid for cuts should be provided immediately. Cleaning the wound with water is the first thing to do. It is better if the water is boiled, but extreme conditions Just a clean one will do. Pour hydrogen peroxide over the cut. The wound must be thoroughly examined to assess the depth of the damage. You should also check to see if there are any stuck foreign objects(often happens after glass injury). Blot the cut with a clean bandage or cotton wool to remove moisture.
Treat the edges of the wound with iodine and brilliant green, under no circumstances allowing the product to come into contact with the damaged tissue. Apply a sterile bandage on top. Sometimes a small adhesive plaster is enough (if the injury is minor).
When bleeding
If there is bleeding, it must be stopped. When a finger or toe is injured, the limb should be raised slightly upward. This will stop the bleeding faster.
First aid for cuts heavy bleeding requires a lot of effort. To do this, you will need to press well on the wound, but at the same time apply a clean bandage on top. The pad should be pressed until the blood stops protruding strongly. But this should not take more than 20 minutes.
Once the bleeding has stopped, apply a sterile bandage to the cut. It should fit snugly to the body. If you are unable to stop the bleeding on your own, you should immediately seek medical help. The victim can be taken to the nearest trauma center. On the way, the wound should be covered with a clean cloth.
It is important to know:
- Do not use a bandage to wrap a wound to stop bleeding;
- if after bandaging the limb swells, this means that the bandage is tightened too tightly;
- if the cut was made very dirty or rusty object, then you need to go to the emergency room immediately to prevent the development of an infectious disease;
- if the bleeding is profuse, the blood is pulsating or spurting out, then you need to immediately call an ambulance (until the doctors arrive, apply a tourniquet above the wound and record the time);
- when the blood is dark, flows slowly, but there is a lot of it, then you should not hesitate to call an ambulance.
Urgently see the doctor!
There are cases when first aid for cuts requires immediate doctor intervention:
Stitching
Sometimes first aid for cuts requires stitches. The doctor assesses the extent of the damage and decides what to do in this situation.
Sutures are placed in the following cases:
- if the edges of the wound do not close;
- if the cut is too deep (more than 5 mm) or long (more than 20 mm);
- if the edges of the wound are torn;
- if you can see through the wound muscle tissue or bone.
How to speed up the healing of a cut?
If the treatment for cuts was correct, the wound will heal quickly. But this process can be accelerated! To do this, you can use healing ointments and creams. They contain special substances (dexpanthenol, vitamin B) that accelerate regeneration. To prevent the development of infection, antibiotic ointments are used. They are applied to the wound no later than 4 hours after injury.
Proper care of the affected area is the key Get well soon. It is necessary to regularly apply dressings, carefully treat the cut, and avoid contact of contamination with this area of the skin.
It is better to prevent than to treat! This rule also applies to cuts. You need to be careful when working with sharp objects. After all, sometimes inattention is the reason for getting a cut wound. But if this happens, you should take first aid seriously. Your future health depends on it.