Parenting - Prenatal to preschool/Parenting_PrenatalToPreschool.bin/dp/0005/00050.txt

Text File | 1993-06-14 | 6KB | 127 lines

$Unique_ID{PAR00050}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Cuts}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{cut Cuts skin Break Breaks Bleeding antiseptic adhesive bandages
gauze bandage abrasion abrasions scrape scrapes puncture punctures laceration
lacerations stitches}
$Log{}

Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Cuts


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     - Break in the skin
     - Bleeding

     HOME CARE
     - First, stop the bleeding.  Apply firm pressure directly on the cut for
       ten minutes with sterile gauze or a clean cloth.
     - If the bleeding will not stop, get medical help immediately.
     - If the bleeding has stopped, wash the area with soap and water.
       Examine the cut to decide if a doctor should treat the wound.  If so,
       call your doctor.

     If the cut can be cared for at home:
     - Apply a nonstinging antiseptic.
     - Draw the edges of the wound together with adhesive "butterfly"
       bandages.
     - Cover the wound with sterile gauze and a bandage to prevent infection.
     - Inspect the wound daily for signs of infection.
     - Remove the butterfly bandages only after the cut has completely healed
       (seven to ten days).

     PRECAUTIONS
     - Do not use a tourniquet to stop bleeding from a cut.
     - If a cut needs stitching, it must be done within eight hours to avoid
       infection.
     - If a wound shows signs of infection (tenderness, swelling, discharge of
       pus, or red streaks spreading out from the wound), see your doctor.
     - Be sure your child receives tetanus boosters as recommended by your
       doctor.


     Wounds of the skin are classified as abrasions (scrapes), punctures, and
lacerations.  A laceration is a cut of any size and depth and can be located
anywhere on the body.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     A cut is obvious from its appearance and the bleeding that occurs.
However, there are signs and symptoms that you should look for to help you
decide whether the cut needs a doctor's care or can be treated at home.  Major
cuts with serious bleeding obviously need a doctor's immediate attention;
emergency control of bleeding is the only possible home treatment.  For less
severe cuts, consider the following characteristics:
     First, look at the depth of the cut.  If a cut is more than skin deep, it
should not be treated at home.  Deeper structures (such as muscles, tendons,
and nerves) must be repaired with stitches.
     Second, look for dirtiness or raggedness in the cut.  A cut with ragged
edges or with deeply embedded dirt needs professional care to avoid infection
and to reduce scarring.
     Third, look at the width and location of the cut.  A small cut rarely
needs stitching to control the bleeding, but stitching may help reduce the
amount of scarring.  A cut heals leaving a scar the size of the opening of the
skin.  There is no treatment that will reduce the length of the scar.  But the
closer the edges of the cut are to each other during the healing process, the
narrower the final scar will be.  If a homemade bandage can hold the edges
together for the seven to ten days required for healing, there may be no
advantage to a doctor's treatment.  However, if the cut is in an area that
moves, such as near a joint or on some parts of the face, it is nearly
impossible to keep the edges from gaping unless the wound is stitched.

     HOME CARE

     First, stop the bleeding.  Apply firm pressure directly on the cut for
ten minutes (by the clock).  Use sterile gauze if it is immediately available.
If not, any reasonably clean cloth (for example, a handkerchief, towel, or
shirt) will do.  Even bleeding from large arteries can be controlled by
pressure applied directly on the wound.  You rarely need so-called pressure
points.
     Do not use a tourniquet to stop bleeding from a cut.  The only time a
tourniquet is necessary is when a limb has been partially or completely
amputated.  In such a case, the tourniquet may be placed anywhere above the
wound.  The current thinking is that once the tourniquet has been put on, it
should be left on--not released and tightened as was once suggested.  Then
immediately rush the person to the nearest medical facility.
     Second, once the bleeding has stopped, wash the area with soap and water
so that the cut is clearly visible.  Look at the depth, width, dirtiness,
raggedness, and location of the cut to decide if a doctor should treat the
wound.
     If it seems reasonable to care for the cut at home, apply a nonstinging
antiseptic.  Draw the edges of the wound together with adhesive butterfly
bandages.  Then cover the wound with sterile gauze and a bandage to prevent
infection.  If the cut is near the joint of a finger, splinting the fingers
can keep them from moving until the cut has healed.  If the cut is between two
toes, the area can sometimes be kept from moving by bandaging together those
toes.  Inspect the wound every day for signs of possible infection.  Remove
the butterfly bandages after seven to ten days.

PRECAUTIONS

  -  If the cut requires stitching, it must be done within eight hours to
     avoid infection.
  -  If a wound becomes infected (characterized by increased tenderness,
     swelling, discharge of pus, or red streaks spreading out from the wound),
     see your doctor.
  -  Be sure that your child receives tetanus boosters at the ages recommended
     by your doctor.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     Your doctor has the skill and equipment to handle most cuts that cannot
be cared for at home.  Your doctor will clean a dirty wound and decide if the
wound needs stitching.  In some cases, the services of a general surgeon or a
plastic surgeon will be required.

RELATED TOPICS:  Animal bites; Blood poisoning; Immunizations; Puncture
wounds; Scrapes; Tetanus