How should you treat open wounds? How to treat deep cuts.

What should you do if someone is injured while outdoors and needs first aid, but you don’t have a first aid kit on hand? Don’t worry, in fact, the wound can be treated with improvised means. However, it is important to remember that by acting in this way, you risk introducing an infection into the wound, so you need to do everything very carefully. Provide first aid without special means only permissible if the victim is losing a lot of blood and cannot wait for an ambulance to arrive. In this case, you can try to clean and bandage the wound using the cleanest material you can find. Once you have managed to stop the bleeding, you should go to hospital as soon as possible as the wound may become infected or require stitches. Remember, the sooner qualified medical care is provided, the greater the chance that the wound will be healed without complications.

Steps

How to treat a wound

If possible, wash your hands. To prevent bacteria from getting into the wound, it is recommended to handle it with clean hands. If you have the opportunity, be sure to wash your hands with soap and water. running water. However, if the injury occurs while outdoors, you may not have everything you need to provide first aid and will have to get creative.

If you have clean disposable gloves with you, put them on. Use only disposable plastic gloves that were in an intact, unopened package. Do not use previously used regular gloves as they are likely to harbor a lot of bacteria.
If you happen to have hand sanitizer with you, use it. With its help you will get rid of some of the bacteria on your hands.

Apply pressure to the wound. It is important to stop bleeding as soon as possible, as large blood loss can cause serious complications. If the wound is minor, bleeding can be stopped by applying even slight pressure to the wound. Apply pressure for 10-15 minutes and then inspect the wound. If bleeding still continues, apply pressure again for 10-15 minutes. In this situation, it is advisable to use a sterile bandage or clean cloth, but if you don't have one on hand, use what you can find.

Once the bleeding has stopped, inspect the wound. Once you have managed to stop the bleeding, carefully examine the wound to assess how serious it is. This must be done to decide whether further medical attention is required. The area around the wound should be Pink colour and normal sensitivity should be maintained.
- Loss of sensation or significant change in skin color are symptoms of a wound infection. If you notice these symptoms, you should seek qualified medical attention as soon as possible. medical care. Be sure to do this before proceeding! If you leave infected wound Without proper treatment, very serious, even fatal consequences are possible.
Clean the wound as best you can. If there are no symptoms of wound infection, the wound must be thoroughly cleaned to prevent infection from developing. Best fit saline, disinfected water or tap water. Do not use stream water to clean the wound.
- IN as a last resort You can use tap water. If you are outdoors, you can clean the wound with bottled water. Do not use iodine, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide as they may cause tissue damage.
- Very carefully pour water onto the wound. Use enough water to flush out dirt, bacteria, and any other foreign debris from the wound, but not so hard that debris gets pushed deeper into the wound.
Dress the wound if possible. Cover the wound with a bandage to prevent the wound from becoming infected. If you have sterile material, then use it. Bandages or gauze from the first aid kit are best. emergency care. If there is nothing else, you can use sterile swabs.

How to get medical help
1. Seek medical help as soon as possible. If the wound was treated using improvised means, it should be examined by a doctor as soon as possible. After providing first aid, the victim must be immediately taken to the hospital. Take advantage mobile phone, to call ambulance. If in the area where you are there is no mobile communications, urgently look for a place from where you can make a call. Do everything possible to ensure that the victim receives qualified medical care as soon as possible.
2. Close the wound with stitches if necessary. At the hospital, the doctor will assess how deep the wound is and whether it needs to be stitched. If necessary, the doctor will properly clean the wound and then apply stitches.
  - If you put stitches on a fresh wound, there will rarely be noticeable scars. This reduces the risk of wound infection.
  - Exist different kinds surgical sutures. How you need to care for them depends on what kind of stitches you received and how many of them. Before leaving the hospital, ask your doctor how to handle sutures and follow all the recommendations given to you.
3. At the hospital, you should have your wound covered with a bandage. If the doctor decides that you do not need stitches, the wound will be dressed properly. This must be done to protect the wound from infection.
  - You can use an adhesive plaster or bandage to dress the wound. You can also use paper tape, a roll of gauze, or an elastic bandage.
  - Depending on the condition of the wound, the doctor or nurse will decide which dressing material is best to use. In any case, the dressing applied in the hospital will be clean and safe.
4. Change the bandage at least once a day. The dressing must be changed to prevent infection from developing in the wound. While the wound is healing, the dressing is changed as it becomes dirty and wet. This usually needs to be done at least once a day. If the wound is serious, you may need to change the bandage more often.
  - Before you leave the hospital, your doctor will tell you how to change the bandage correctly. He can also give you the necessary dressing material, or you can buy it at the pharmacy.

The first thing that is recommended to do when treating an open wound in the leg area is to stop the bleeding, apply a tourniquet or a tight bandage. After the procedure, treatment of the wound borders begins. You will need to thoroughly clean the wound of foreign substances (pieces of dirt or rust from a nail), anoint the edges of the wound with brilliant green, and apply a sterile bandage.

If it is noticeable that the process of infection of the leg has begun, you need to immediately wash the injury, treat it with antiseptic substances, and finally apply a bandage to the sore spot.

An open wound on a human leg must be treated carefully and may cause harm to the patient. If a person wants to treat an injury on his own, it is worth knowing things that absolutely cannot be done:

Treatment of an open wound in the human leg area

At correct handling treatment can be carried out at home. The first step is to stop the bleeding of the injured area of the human leg. There are two types of bleeding: venous and arterial.

The first way to stop bleeding is direct, just take and press the affected area (it doesn’t matter whether the person has cut or pierced the limb). If the blood flows too quickly, beats in a pulsating stream, there is arterial bleeding(there was a puncture, a cut in the artery). In case of such bleeding, it is worth applying a tight tourniquet above the affected area. If desired, a soft base can be placed under it (for further patient comfort). The tourniquet needs to be looked after; it needs to be loosened forty minutes after application. You cannot keep the tourniquet on your legs in one place for more than 2 hours; each time you need to move it a little higher or lower than the previous place. When applying, the main thing is not to squeeze the arteries, this will lead to the death of living tissue.

If the blood has a dark red, burgundy hue, and slowly flows out of the affected area, venous bleeding develops (cut, puncture of a vein). This type requires a tourniquet or extremely tight bandage below the wounded area, you should also not press too hard.

At the second stage, treatment consists of treating the wound. If a person pierces his leg with a rusty nail, you need to remove the object and then disinfect the affected area. Use sterile tweezers. If a foreign body is stuck too deeply, you should not irritate the injured area again; it is better to leave the work to professionals. After cleaning the surface of the puncture, the edges of the wound are treated; it is permissible to use brilliant green or medical alcohol as a preparation, but never iodine. If you use brown antiseptic on an open wound, there is a chance of serious medical burns.

Treatment at the third stage consists of disinfecting the damaged area with antiseptic substances. For example, grind a streptocide tablet into powder and cover the affected surface. In place of the antiseptic, it is permissible to use a three percent solution of hydrogen peroxide, five percent or ten percent synthomycin ointment. If the above is not available, it is allowed to treat the wound on the leg with brilliant green.

If a person pierces a limb with a rusty nail, but does not take timely measures to disinfect the injured area of skin, infection will occur and continue to develop. It's better to try to create the right conditions recovery skin on the legs, phagocytosis and exudation, restoration of the bactericidal and immunobiological state of the human body, helping to cleanse the affected area of foreign substances. The main thing is not to stop treating the wound, preventing complications.

Treatment of various types of open wounds on the leg, their features, how to avoid unwanted complications

If a person has pierced a limb and received an open wound, treatment is carried out with surgery (especially with a deep wound). Signs that surgical intervention is inevitable:

If the wound does not become infected, the object that pierced the limb did not affect the nerves, arteries and vital important organs, the damage along the edges is treated with various antiseptic substances, not sutured, and a sterile bandage is applied on top. If a foreign substance is found deep in the wound, for example, rust from a puncture with a nail, the edges of the wound are widened and the object is removed, then a suture is applied. If the wound is contaminated with soil, the injured person mandatory you need to get a tetanus vaccination.

If a puncture wound reveals greater depth, treatment will be carried out using surgical intervention. During the operation, the boundaries of the wound are expanded, a foreign body or substance is removed, and a suture is applied.

In case of damage to the joint (from a puncture with a nail or other sharp long object), the surgeon opens the cavity to carry out an inspection, cleans the inside of blood clots and foreign substances. The joint cavity is washed with various antiseptic substances and a suture is applied with a drainage tube.

An important part in processing cut wounds is considered disinfection. There are important points in the process:

It is necessary to try as much as possible to disinfect the affected area, avoiding infection.
The medicine should be convenient for the patient and not harm the wound.
The dose of the antiseptic substance should be recommended by a specialist, and not the maximum. This will help avoid side effects.

At chopped wound extremely present big chance damage bones (cut off fingers, ax stuck in leg). At similar cases It is worthwhile to establish the anatomical integrity of the body and bones. This type of wound requires sutures to accelerated healing, but in most cases of a severed wound, restoration and treatment is virtually impossible, to the human body It is not common to restore lost body parts.

If the wound is lacerated, important point treatment involves restoring the anatomical integrity of the skin of the human body; disinfection of the affected area, vaccination against tetanus and gas gangrene are necessary. The suture of the wound on the leg should not be made continuous; drainage is left to aerate the wound. After such injuries, scars remain that require mandatory surgical intervention. cosmetic correction and maximum camouflage of the wound.

Treatment of scalped open wounds pays special attention to the anatomical restoration of the skin and cleansing the affected area of foreign bodies and substances. Typically, overlay cosmetic seam carried out with leaving the drainage tube.

What to do to avoid possible leg injuries

If you want to avoid excruciating pain and complications after an injury, you should be more careful when handling cutting objects. Injuries are not always obtained in the form of a puncture with a knife, awl or nail; damage can be obtained from a fall, normal walking, in short - almost anywhere.

Beware of rusty nails, they are ubiquitous. It happened that a person, not knowing the territory of the seabed or wasteland, accidentally pierced his leg, simultaneously receiving two injuries to the skin - a puncture and a laceration. The first sensation with such a wound is a second of pain, then a feeling of shock sets in, the patient does not feel his feet, cannot walk, the treatment process is also painless. After 3 hours they start severe pain that interfere with normal walking.

Nail wounds are more often of a through nature (if the objects are long), which gives a double degree of danger to the injury received by the patient. The affected area should be treated on both sides. To the man who pierced lower limb, it’s better to lie down for a while and not strain your leg with physical activity.

Everyone has had a cut on their finger at least once in their life, but not everyone knows what to do in this case.

It seems that a deep cut is safe and will heal on its own, but if the wound is not treated, this process will be delayed.

Orthopedist-traumatologist: Azalia Solntseva ✓ Article checked by doctor

Knife wound

Bleeding is not profuse minor cuts, but with deep ones it’s quite difficult. In addition to the upper capillaries and small vessels, large veins are damaged.

If the cut is deep:

First of all, in case of heavy blood loss, it is necessary to take a supine or sitting position and hold the cut finger above the location of the heart muscle.
If foreign bodies or any particles get into the wound, they can only be removed if they are on the surface. Deep must be done by a specialist.
To avoid infection, it is necessary to disinfect the area. Use peroxide or a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
First stop the bleeding, then treat the edges with brilliant green or iodine. It is better to apply them with a gauze swab to avoid particles of cotton wool.
After all manipulations, it is necessary to apply a bandage. To do this, use sterile medical gauze or bandage. Do not use non-sterile tissue to avoid infection.

Video

First of all

In addition to slow tissue regeneration, an infection can get into the deep tissue or an important vessel or nerve extension can be injured, and this leads to undesirable consequences.

In the first minutes, it is important to provide proper medical care.

If there is a severe cut on your finger (down to the meat):

Carefully wash the cut under cold water, this will constrict the blood vessels and stop the blood, and will also wash it away from contaminants.
By pressing the edges of the wound together you will stop blood loss.
To avoid infection, treat the surface with 3% hydrogen peroxide, treat the edges with brilliant green or iodine so as not to burn the tissue.
Apply a bandage or gauze; do not apply cotton wool. There is no point in over-tightening the area; if your finger is cut, there are no large vessels there, and small capillaries should not be pinched.
To reduce painful sensations, after applying a gauze bandage to the cut site, you can apply ice to the pad of your hand, this will help avoid swelling. If your finger is completely numb, remove the ice.
If the bleeding has not stopped 15-20 minutes after applying the bandage, you should consult a doctor. Until the ambulance arrives or you consult a doctor yourself, the area above the cut should be compressed.

Processing means

After stopping the bleeding and after treatment, a bandage is usually applied, but it cannot be worn for a long time. In this condition, the wound will be clean, but it will take longer to heal.

To avoid infection of an open wound and speed up the process of tissue regeneration, use additional funds- healing ointment or cream. Process only the edges.

If the ointment gets into the wound, discomfort and burning will occur, this normal reaction body, but if it does not stop for more than 15 minutes, it is dangerous.

If damaged soft fabrics, then necrosis or allergy develops. Beware if your finger becomes very numb.

It is strictly forbidden to use ethyl alcohol for processing, as this can cause burns. If, for example, a woman cuts her finger, you can use a solution of potassium permanganate or a solution of furatsilin to wash the wound. In case of contamination, only peroxide can cope; it foams and pushes out foreign particles.

Why does it swell

In the absence of an abscess, and proper treatment of the wound and surrounding skin, there is still the possibility of swelling of the finger or swelling (look at the photo).

Relieve swelling with:

cold compresses;
special cooling ointments;
decongestants.

If none of this is at hand, turn to traditional medicine methods. Swelling is relieved with compresses made from potato pulp, applying cabbage leaf or plantain. After compresses, the wound should be treated again.

If the edges have not yet healed, disinfect the area with streptocide powder.

The swelling is caused by a protective reaction of the body, in which case it will go away on its own in 2-3 days. If the swelling does not go away, figure out the reasons. This could be an infection, tendon or nerve damage. When an infection occurs, the area turns red and causes an increase in body temperature.

If tendon damage is to blame, then complete rest and the use of specialized ointments are necessary. fast healing. See a doctor as a harmless cut can cause loss of finger mobility.

Videos on the topic

We treat purulent formations

Even after properly provided first aid, a cut finger may swell and itch. Clots of pus in a wound are a signal of infection or the entry of any particles. This is how the body fights foreign objects and infection.

Timely consultation with a doctor purulent formation will prevent the spread of infection to bone tissue. Treatment of abscesses is carried out on an outpatient basis, if there are no indications for hospitalization and the patient does not have chronic diseases and diabetes.

If after the course antibacterial therapy pus continues to accumulate, the abscess is opened, the wound is treated with local disinfectants, active against common bacteria. If the affected area is wide and deep, a drainage may be placed or the edges may not be sutured temporarily.

There are no large fingers nerve endings, but even small ones cause a lot of inconvenience, and their damage causes temporary discomfort. If sensitivity is poorly restored or positive dynamics no, only a doctor can help.

Numbness is caused by degenerative changes in the nerve processes; complex treatment will be required here.

The main thing is to prevent the inflammatory process, so as not to aggravate the recovery period.

Healing time

How long rehabilitation and healing will take depends on the correct first aid and individual characteristics.

If the wound has been treated and infection is excluded, the wound will heal within a week, and the trace of the cut will no longer be noticeable in a month.

To speed up the tissue healing process, it is necessary to prevent water from entering the affected area.

Varieties

There are several types of cuts:

Caused by blunt objects, they are characterized by torn edges of the wound and can be combined with bruises and flattening of soft tissues, which complicates treatment.
Wounds from sharp objects have smooth edges, which makes healing easier. However sharp objects often applied deep cuts, which may affect, in addition to skin with small capillaries, large vessels, ligaments and even bones.
Punctures - inflicted with sharp thin objects. Treatment of such cuts and punctures is complicated by the fact that the wound channel is usually narrow and deep. The finger quickly swells, but the blood does not stop, it soaks into the tissue around it, because of this, the wound quickly rots, and the finger begins to break out. The finger turns blue.
Often the finger is not just cut, but part of the flesh is cut off. In this case, it is extremely important to protect the wound from getting pathogenic microorganisms, since the open area is much larger than with a regular cut.

Possible complications

Even the smallest, seemingly insignificant cut has a number of complications:

The most common of them is inflammation with suppuration. The edges become red and swelling is noticeable. The patient is bothered by pulsating pain. This complication occurs especially often with cuts with a deep narrow channel. Dressings with Levomekol ointment and its analogues, such as Ichthyol ointment and balsamic liniment according to Vishnevsky. They effectively cope with inflammation and draw out pus well.
Extremely dangerous complication is an infection with the bacterium that causes tetanus. This disease affects nervous system. If you cut your finger with a dirty object, such as glass or a rusty nail. Be sure to rinse the area thoroughly and contact your doctor to administer anti-tetanus serum.

Cuts are very often domestic injuries. They are cut with a knife in the kitchen, with a razor at the mirror, even with a sheet of office paper. The vast majority of damage is not serious. They are treated at home.

What to do if you have a deep cut on your finger

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The basic principle of treating open wounds is to restore the regenerative function of the skin - nature is designed in such a way that skin cells are capable of self-healing under certain conditions. But this is only possible if there are no dead cells at the wound site - this is the essence of treating open wounds.

Stages of treatment of open wounds

Treatment of open wounds in any case involves going through three stages - primary self-cleaning, inflammatory process and granulation tissue repair.

Primary self-cleaning

As soon as a wound occurs and bleeding begins, the vessels begin to sharply narrow - this allows the formation of a platelet clot, which will stop the bleeding. Then the narrowed vessels expand sharply. The result of this “work” of blood vessels will be a slowdown in blood flow, increased permeability of the vessel walls and progressive swelling of soft tissues.

It was found that such a vascular reaction leads to the cleansing of damaged soft tissues without the use of any antiseptic agents.

Inflammatory process

This is the second stage wound process, which is characterized by increased swelling of the soft tissues, the skin becomes red. Together, bleeding and the inflammatory process provoke a significant increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood.

Tissue restoration by granulation

This stage of the wound process can also begin against the background of inflammation - there is nothing pathological about it. The formation of granulation tissue begins directly in the open wound, as well as along the edges of the open wound and on the surface of nearby epithelium.

Over time, granulation tissue degenerates into connective tissue, and this stage will be considered completed only after a stable scar has formed at the site of the open wound.

A distinction is made between healing of an open wound by primary and secondary intention. The first option for the development of the process is possible only if the wound is not extensive, its edges are brought close to each other and there is no pronounced inflammation at the site of damage. A secondary intention occurs in all other cases, including with purulent wounds.

Features of the treatment of open wounds depend only on how intensively the inflammatory process develops and how badly the tissue is damaged. The task of doctors is to stimulate and control all of the above stages of the wound process.

Primary treatment in the treatment of open wounds

Before the victim seeks professional medical help, he must thoroughly wash the wound. antiseptics- this will ensure complete disinfection of the open wound. To minimize the risk of wound infection during treatment, hydrogen peroxide, furatsilin, a solution of potassium permanganate or chlorhexidine should be used. The skin around the wound is treated with brilliant green or iodine - this will prevent the spread of infection and inflammation. After the described treatment, a sterile bandage is applied on top of the open wound.

The speed of its healing depends on how correctly the initial cleaning of the open wound was carried out. If a patient comes to the surgeon with punctured, cut, lacerated open wounds, then he must undergo specific surgical treatment. Such deep cleaning of the wound from dead tissue and cells will speed up the healing process.

Within primary processing In an open wound, the surgeon removes foreign bodies, blood clots, and excises uneven edges and crushed tissue. Only after this the doctor will apply sutures, which will bring the edges of the open wound closer together, but if the gaping wound is too extensive, then the sutures are applied a little later, when the edges begin to recover and the wound begins to heal. Be sure to apply a sterile bandage to the site of injury after such treatment.

Note:in most cases, a patient with an open wound is given anti-tetanus serum, and if the wound was formed after an animal bite, a vaccine against tetanus.

The entire described process of treating an open wound reduces the risk of infection and the development of complications (gangrene, suppuration), and accelerates the healing process. If the treatment was carried out on the first day after receiving the injury, then there are no complications and severe consequences not expected.

How to treat a weeping open wound

If there is an excessive amount of serous-fibrous exudate in an open wound, then surgeons will take measures to treat the open, weeping wound. In general, such copious discharge have a beneficial effect on the healing rate - they additionally clean the open wound, but at the same time, the task of specialists is to reduce the amount of exudate - this will improve blood circulation in the smallest vessels (capillaries).

When treating weeping open wounds, it is important to change sterile dressings frequently. And during this procedure, it is important to use a solution of furatsilin or sodium hypochloride, or treat the wound with liquid antiseptics (miramistin, okomistin and others).

To reduce the amount of serous-fibrous exudate released, surgeons use dressings with 10% aqueous solution sodium chloride. With this treatment, the bandage must be changed at least once every 4-5 hours.

A weeping open wound can also be treated with the use of antimicrobial ointments - the most effective are streptocidal ointment, Mafenide, Streptonitol, Fudizin gel. They are applied either under a sterile bandage or on a tampon, which is used to treat an open, weeping wound.

Xeroform or Baneocin powder is used as a drying agent - they have antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

How to treat an open purulent wound

It is an open purulent wound that is most difficult to treat - purulent exudate must not be allowed to spread to healthy tissue. To do this, a regular dressing turns into a mini-operation - with each treatment, it is necessary to remove accumulated pus from the wound; most often, drainage systems are installed so that the pus is provided with a constant outflow. Each treatment, in addition to the specified additional measures, is accompanied by the introduction into the wound antibacterial solutions - for example, Dimexide. To stop the necrotic process in an open wound and remove pus from it, surgery is used specific means– Trypsin or Himopsin powders. A suspension is prepared from these powders by mixing them with novocaine and/or sodium chloride, and then sterile napkins are impregnated with the resulting product and tucked directly into the cavity of an open purulent wound. In this case, the bandage is changed once a day; in some cases, medicated wipes can be left in the wound for two days. If a purulent open wound is deep and wide cavity, then these powders are poured directly into the wound, without the use of sterile wipes.

Besides such careful surgical treatment open purulent wound, the patient must be prescribed antibacterial drugs() orally or by injection.

Features of the treatment of purulent open wounds:

After cleaning the open wound from pus, Levosin ointment is injected directly into the cavity. This drug has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects.
For medicinal dressings when treating an open wound with purulent contents, Levomikol ointment and Sintomycin liniment can be used.
Baneocin ointment will be most effective in the treatment of open wounds with diagnosed wounds, Nitacid ointment - in the treatment of wounds with diagnosed anaerobic bacteria Dioxidine ointment generally refers to universal remedy– effective against most types of infections, including against gangrene pathogens.
Most often, when treating open purulent wounds, surgeons use ointments based on polyethylene oxide, Vaseline/lanolin modern medicine in the case under consideration refuses.
Vishnevsky ointment is an excellent way to get rid of pus in an open wound - it both resolves infiltrates and increases blood flow in the wound. This medicine is applied directly to the wound cavity 1-2 times a day.
When treating a patient with open purulent wound V medical institution Detoxification therapy must be prescribed and carried out.
Ultrasound or liquid nitrogen may be used in the hospital to speed up the wound healing process.

Creams and ointments for treating wounds at home

If the damage is minor and there is no large cavity, then such open wounds and at home using various ointments. What experts recommend using:

Folk remedies for treating open wounds

If the wound is not widespread and deep, then some folk remedies can be used to speed up its healing. The most popular, safe and effective include:

aqueous solution - excellent for weeping open wounds;
a decoction based on flowers, eucalyptus leaves, raspberry twigs, calendula flowers, St. John's wort, heather, elecampane, yarrow, calamus root and comfrey;
aloe juice remedy, sea buckthorn oil and rosehip oils (mix everything in equal proportions) – effective in the treatment of shallow open and dry wounds.

Note:before use folk remedies When treating open wounds, it is necessary to make sure that the victim is not allergic to any of these medicinal plants.

It is best to entrust the treatment of open wounds to professionals - surgeons will be able to timely determine the onset of the development of the infectious process and select effective treatment. If you decide to do therapy at home, you must carefully monitor the condition of the victim. If elevated temperature body, pain at the site of injury of unknown etiology, it is necessary to urgently seek professional medical help - it is quite possible that a dangerous infectious process is progressing in the wound.

Acute traumatic wound.
Depending on the type and circumstances of the accident, so-called “traumatic wounds” vary greatly in the degree of tissue damage.

Ranging from shallow skin lesions to complex wounds which can affect tendons, muscles, nerve fibers, blood vessels, bones or internal organs. Sometimes the skin remains intact, but the damaged ones are subcutaneous tissue and bones. This is called a "closed wound", as opposed to an "open wound".
A large wound or a small one, serious or not very serious - the more effectively the first aid was provided, the greater the chances of its successful healing.
There are two types of wound treatment, namely: preliminary and prescribed by a doctor. Pre-treatment of wounds includes all first aid measures. Depending on the severity of the wound, the prescribed or primary treatment wounds are performed by surgeons in clinics or hospitals.
Depending on the nature of the injury, the first aid provider may be faced with a wide variety of situations, each requiring an appropriate response. First aid for abrasions, scrapes or cuts to the skin can sometimes take the form of prescribed treatment.

When treating wounds, it is advisable to follow following rules and recommendations:

When providing first aid, if possible, sit or lay the victim down, while the affected part of the body should be at maximum rest.

To avoid possible infection or infection, do not touch wounds and the skin around them with bare hands (use disposable gloves).

As soon as you find a wound, it must be covered with a sterile cloth and secured with a bandage (for example, use a first aid kit) to protect the wound from dust and possible contamination by germs. If you do not have sterile dressing material on hand, use ordinary dry cloth, which, if possible, should be ironed (and thus disinfect the victim).

It is necessary to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible (see section “Hemostasis”).
In emergency situations, there is an unwritten rule: stopping the bleeding is more important than avoiding infection!!!

When treating wounds, you should not use such medicines, such as powders, aerosols or oils, as these may make the wounds difficult to access and may also result in painful debridement.

If foreign bodies get into the wound, they must be removed by a doctor.
If a foreign body protrudes from the wound, it must be fixed before transporting the victim (see section “Foreign bodies”) with a bandage to the bandage.

Wounds must get medical treatment during the first 6 hours.

Recommendation 2:
With the exception of minor scrapes and abrasions on the skin and cuts, wounds should be examined and treated by a doctor.
The purpose of first aid is to prevent further entry of aggressive substances and microorganisms into the wound.

Abrasions and scratches on the skin.

Skin abrasions and scratches occur when the skin rubs against a rough surface.
For example, this can happen when falling.

In this case, the superficial layers of skin tissue are removed, while the smallest blood vessels located in the papillary layer of the skin are damaged. The result is pinpoint bleeding and exudation.

Large abrasions and scratches on the skin are accompanied by very painful sensations, as it is exposed a large number of nerve endings. If pathogens enter a wound and infect it, healing the wound may be difficult.

In general, abrasions and scratches on the skin heal fairly quickly and do not leave scars, since the subcutaneous tissue remains intact.

In the case of small and only slightly contaminated wounds, it is enough to rinse them under tap water and antiseptic treatment and apply a bandage that does not stick to the wound.

In case of more contaminated wounds, they need to be washed more thoroughly.

Depending on the location and size of the wound, there are several ways to do this. For wounds on the hand, fingers or toes, good result gives antiseptic baths. If you have abrasions or scratches on your knee, elbow or torso, we recommend gently applying a damp cloth to the wound. gauze bandage or fabric. After you have dried the wound, you can begin antiseptic treatment.

Regular dressings tend to stick to bleeding abrasions and scratches on the skin. In this case, it is preferable to use dressings and plasters that will not stick to the wound. Such (atraumatic) dressings should be changed daily if possible.

Modern wound dressings, more suitable for first aid due to their hydroactive properties, create and maintain a moist environment on wound surface. As a result, they actively promote the healing process. In this case, there is no need to change the patch every day. You save time and avoid pain.

In case of large (palm-sized) tissue damage or heavily contaminated abrasions or scratches on the skin, you need to consult a doctor who will remove any remaining dirt or foreign bodies from the wound and perform an antiseptic treatment.

Cuts

Cut to the phalanx of a finger.

At home, cuts most often occur as a result of careless handling of sharp objects such as knives or broken glass.

These cuts are characterized by smooth edges of the wound, without damage to adjacent areas of the skin and sufficient heavy bleeding.

This often looks very dangerous, but the bleeding from the wound flushes out any remaining dirt and pathogens. Therefore, small wounds usually heal without any problems. Cuts with a knife that has previously been used to cut meat pose a great threat, since a large number of pathogenic microorganisms accumulate on the knife.

Equally dangerous are deep cuts to the knuckles and fingers. In these cases there is a risk of damage nerve fibers or tendons.

Treating small surface cuts:
- Do not stop the bleeding immediately to wash away any remaining dirt and pathogenic microorganisms.
- Perform antiseptic treatment of the wound.
- Apply a suitable, preferably bactericidal, plaster to the wound.
- Stop excessive bleeding using external compression.
To achieve this, apply a folded gauze bandage or rolled gauze bandage to the wound and hold firmly for a while

Treating larger and deeper cuts:
- Be sure to go to see a doctor!
- Cuts to the fingers that are accompanied by numbness and difficulty moving should also be examined by a doctor. Cuts from a knife or other sharp objects that have previously been used to cut meat also require examination by a doctor.
- Facial cuts should also be treated by a doctor to prevent scarring.

As a rule, cuts are fairly easy to treat. Often there is not even a need for stitches. Instead, the doctor uses special adhesive strips to tighten the wound.

Puncture wounds

Puncture wounds may be caused by sharp glass and contain glass shards.

Puncture wounds are caused by objects with sharp edges. The cause of small puncture wounds, which we often encounter in Everyday life, usually are: nails, needles, scissors, knives or pieces of broken glass.

Sometimes the source of the puncture wound remains in the wound itself.
It must be removed during first aid, or later during a visit to the doctor.

Puncture wounds usually look fairly harmless from the outside, but they can be quite deep.

When receiving a puncture wound, there is a risk of damage to nerve fibers and tendons, as well as internal organs. This may also be accompanied internal bleeding. There is also increased risk infection, even with minor puncture wounds, for example, caused by thorns or splinters, as pathogenic microorganisms penetrate the tissue along with a foreign body.

Remove small splinters stuck under the skin using tweezers. Then disinfect the wound and apply a plaster or sterile wound dressing.

Foreign bodies and splinters should not be removed yourself unless you are able to determine how deep they have penetrated the skin. It can damage blood vessels and cause bleeding.

As a first aid measure, you can cover the wound area with foreign bodies stuck in it with a clean cloth.
With the exception of minor splinters, other wounds should be treated immediately by a doctor.

You should see a doctor if you are unable to completely remove the splinter or if you experience tissue inflammation.
Since the leftovers foreign body can later be localized using x-rays, take pieces of this foreign body with you to show them to the doctor.

Crushed wounds lacerations and gaping wounds.

Fractured and gaping wounds are usually caused by blunt objects, while lacerations are usually caused by unusual sharp objects.

Gaping wounds usually form on parts of the body with minimal distance from the skin to the bones, such as the head or tibia.

Crushed, torn and gaping wounds usually have ragged edges rather than smooth ones. In places of such wounds, as a rule, the skin changes color and a hematoma forms. It is caused by bleeding in adjacent tissues. In the case of lacerations, adjacent tissue is usually not damaged as much.

All three types of wounds have one general property:
high risk of infection through the torn edges of the wound. The risk of infection is higher in the case of lacerations, since the objects used to inflict these wounds are usually heavily contaminated.

Treatment and treatment of all characteristic, more or less serious, crushed and gaping wounds should be carried out by a doctor. You can treat only small superficial crushed and gaping wounds, or not too lacerated wounds, on your own. Treat the wound with antiseptic treatment and apply a bactericidal patch.

Bite wounds

Animal bites are associated with high risk for human health.

The result may not only be serious damage soft tissues. A bite may be accompanied by the ingestion of highly pathogenic microorganisms along with the animal's saliva.

In those places where rabid animals have appeared (as they warn official sources information), there is an increased risk of being bitten by a dog, and less often by a cat. Most often, wild animals suffer from rabies, especially foxes and badgers, which people can fearlessly allow close to them. Not every bite from a rabid animal automatically means that the person bitten will become infected with rabies. If this does happen, and if no action is taken necessary measures, a person develops following symptoms: irresistible attacks of convulsion and suffocation.

Wounds from animal bites and wounds from bites from other people should only be treated and treated by a doctor.
As first aid, you can apply a sterile gauze bandage to stop the bleeding.

If heavy bleeding occurs, a pressure bandage can be used.

Apply a sterile gauze bandage to the wound and secure it with a gauze bandage. Then apply a standard first aid dressing over the gauze bandage, applying some pressure. If necessary, wrap the applied bandages again with a gauze bandage.

With some exceptions (bites to the child's face), these bite wounds do not require stitches. They are treated with antiseptics in open form. Your doctor will decide which treatment options are most appropriate. You should also discuss your risk of contracting rabies and the need for appropriate vaccinations with your doctor.

If you are bitten by an animal suspected of having rabies, you should be vaccinated immediately. In principle, preventive treatment with antibiotics can be carried out, and if protection against tetanus is insufficient, appropriate vaccination should be carried out.

Children are susceptible to bites from rabid animals in much to a greater extent, since they are not yet able to adequately assess the behavior of the animal. As a result, when children find themselves close to an animal, they often simply forget that it can bite or scratch. Therefore, adults have a responsibility to teach their children how to behave in the presence of animals.

Signs of wound inflammation

How do you know if a wound is inflamed?

When pathogenic microorganisms enter the wound, inflammation begins.

The inflammation that has begun in the wound is indicated by the following:
redness, swelling, fever and pain.

To be more precise, characteristic features Signs of wound inflammation include the following:

The edges of the wound swell and thicken;

The area around the wound gradually begins to redden and become inflamed;

A yellow or purulent coating forms on the wound;

Applying pressure to the wound becomes increasingly painful;

Sometimes it comes to fever and chills.

A wound infection may not spread beyond the wound itself. However, it can spread to deeper tissues and lymphatic vessels.

When occurs in the lymphatic vessels inflammatory reaction, a red stripe forms around the wound. On the hand it can spread up to axillary area, and on the leg it can reach the groin area. In common parlance, this infection is mistakenly called blood poisoning. However, the correct name for this process would be inflammation of the lymphatic vessels (lymphangitis) or nodes (lymphadenitis), that is, inflammation of one or more lymphatic vessels caused by the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into lymphatic capillaries. This process may regress under the influence drug treatment. If such injury or damage occurs, the most great attention should be given to proper treatment of the resulting wound. Choice proper treatment will prevent infection.

If you are in any doubt about the steps to take, consult your doctor.