Cuts and scrapes are a big part of life, especially if you are around children a lot. The process of cleaning a wound is a straightforward one and something that everyone should know. Below is a practical guide for anyone who wants to brush up on their knowledge or learn a few new tips on how to clean a wound.
Wash Or Sanitize Your Hands
Before doing anything, make sure that your hands are clean. If you are at or near home, wash your hands thoroughly in the sink with soap; if you are outside, use hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes. This extremely important step cannot be skipped when dealing with open wounds.
Clear The Area
When an injury happens, the first thing you need to do is clear the area. This means you may have to remove clothing, bracelets, watches, or anything else that may be obstructing your view of the wound. If the injury is a bad cut on the knee, you may have to cut your pant legs, so make sure that your first aid kit always has a pair of scissors.
Grab Your First Aid Kit
The best way you can clean wounds quickly is by having a first aid kit nearby at all times. If you are hiking or camping in the woods, you should have a travel-sized kit for your car or backpack. The kit should always be loaded up with wet wipes, water, tweezers, bandages, antibacterial ointment, and anything else you think you and your family will need in an emergency.
Once you grab your first aid kit, open it up and begin the procedures listed below.
Wash The Wound With Distilled Water Or Saline
Another essential item to keep around is distilled water. Distilled water is water that has been boiled into vapor and then condensed back into liquid form, purging the original water of any bacteria. If you don’t have any on hand, normal water is fine, but make sure to sanitize the wound very well after using it.
Distilled water can be found in any grocery store and can be purchased by the gallon, so it is always good to keep some in the house for instances like this.
If you don’t have any water on hand, saline solution works in the same way. Saline solution is a mix of salt and water and is used as a disinfectant. It will work just as well as distilled water for clearing out the area of a wound.
Remove Any Debris
Once the wound has been washed out with water, shine a light on it to ensure nothing is left inside. If the wound occurred from a fall on the ground, there is likely to be gravel or small rocks lodged inside.
The best way to remove these pieces of debris is to take a small pair of sterilized tweezers while someone else holds a flashlight. Once you are sure that everything is out of the wound, re-sterilize the tweezers and put them away. Never put medical equipment back in the first aid kit without cleaning it first.
Sanitize The Area
Once you have checked to see that there is no more foreign debris inside the wound, it is time to make sure that the area is sanitized. To do this, you can use iodine or Neosporin on and around the affected area. If you are using iodine, it usually comes in the form of wipes or liquid. In liquid form, you can put a few drops on the wound before wrapping it in a bandage. If you have iodine wipes, you can gently dab the wipe on the wound to evenly coat the area.
Neosporin, on the other hand, is more of a gel, so it can be administered by squeezing out a strip of gel that is the length of the wound. You can rub it in a little bit or just let it sit and wrap a bandage directly over it. Neosporin is an antibiotic, so it will get to work right away on killing any remaining bacteria in the wound and preventing infection.
Another common product used to clean a wound is hydrogen peroxide. This comes in liquid form and can be used to saturate a cotton ball or swab and then applied to the wound. It can also be gently applied by being poured over the wound.
This substance is known to sting when it comes in contact with an open wound because the hydrogen oxidizes the area. When poured into an open wound, the catalase converts the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, causing it to bubble and kill cells, so make sure to warn the patient beforehand about the stinging sensation.
Before using any of these products on a wound, make sure that the person is not allergic to any of the ingredients.
Bandage The Area
Depending on the size of the wound, you may need a small adhesive bandage or a large wrap-around dressing. It is good to keep a wide variety of bandages on hand in your home and travel first aid kits, as you never know when you’ll need them.
Scrapes and cuts to knees and elbows can be sealed up with large rectangular or star-shaped bandages, while long, skinny cuts on arms or legs may need a few butterfly closure strips in order to close them up. When trying to prevent infection, any wounds closed up by butterfly closure strips should also be covered up by a breathable gauze or adhesive bandage.
Continued Care
Once the wound is clean and bandaged, make sure to change the dressing every twelve hours or so. This will allow the wound to breathe every once in a while. Every time the bandage or dressing is changed, the wound must be cleaned and sanitized once again before replacing the bandage.
Conclusion
This comprehensive guide to cleaning a wound and making sure that it stays clean is helpful for anyone who may deal with injuries often. Parents who have active children, teachers, and other childcare professionals, who are often around children should keep this guide on hand just in case of an emergency. Cleaning a wound doesn’t need to be stressful, so long as you have the right instructions.
