Treatment of minor wounds

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to wrap the finger in a dirty shop towel, clenching it tightly with my other fist, while hopping around with my eyes closed shouting profane words.

Everyone does it, the question is what do you do after it.

Superglue and man-up!

The recommendations at

closely match what several well-informed doctors have told me recently, for example when I had a nevus removed or a cut thumb stitched or biopsies.

In particular, the sections "How should I clean a wound?" and "Should I use a bandage?" seem informative and correct. The section "Should I use an antibiotic ointment?" [which says antibiotic ointments help keep out infection and keep the wound clean and moist; that "a bandage does pretty much the same thing"; and that "most minor cuts and scrapes will heal just fine without antibiotic ointment"] is more neutral than the advice I received, which was to not use antibiotic ointments on small cuts, even if other doctors recommended it. For example, using petrolatum (petroleum jelly, Vaseline) was recommended instead.

The warnings in

to not 'let a wound "breathe" or air out' and to not 'leave a wound uncovered' do not reflect what I think I was told.

This is exactly whY I was asking. A lot of conflicting recommendations.

I close my boo boos with masking tape for a couple days and they heal quite nicely. I am quite sure it is not the scientifically correct way but it is handy and quick and I don't drip blood all over my work. Steve

Call Obama and demand help.

Bleed it, clean it, super glue it.

I think it depends on the kind of wound. As an example a puncture wound it is important to let it bleed a bit even to the point of squeezing so that any crud gets flushed out.

Small slices I like to first clean in fresh running water, then give a quick douse with some sort of disinfectant and then bind the wound back together and cover with a band-aid to keep any crud out.

On thinks like saw blade nicks where you are missing a chunk, here is where I think that the antibiotic ointment is helpful. It does two things IMO, one it keeps the moist hamburger sealed away from the bugs until you can grow some skin back, and it keeps the bandage from sticking to the scab forming under the bandage. Once these have skinned over, I first go to dry bandages and then as the scab becomes tough enough, I forgo the bandage and give it some fresh air and sunshine.

On small scratches I usually just give them a quick wipe with some antiseptic and let them dry up and crust over.

I worry more about slicing myself cutting up a raw chicken, than I do about getting whacked by a bit of spinning swarf.

So, Iggy, how bad DID you cut yourself? And how?

i have yet to see a scientific answer, so here's what i do:

Deep cut, if otherwise clean, I let it bleed freely long enough to wash out the wound, then I wipe the blood off and quickly wrap it with a bandaid. Speed is of the essence.

If it's dirty and must be cleaned, I prefer to use antiseptic liquid soap, again quickly. I would prefer to keep it bleeding after i have washed and dried, again to cleanse, then wrap.

If there is a skin flap, I treat it like a regular cut, very much prefer not to clean except with blood, and bandage with flap in place.

Obviously the key to me is to not wash or dress with anything unless there is a likelihood that bacteria were introduced, i.e. cut on a jagged piece of rusty metal outside. I'd rather let the natural processes work as intended. Alcohol and peroxide dry it out too much, and salves block oxygen.

Works for me.

Iodine & a piece of paper towel wrapped with electrical tape, 40 years & no problems yet.

That's pretty much it, once clean if you can close the wound, super glue really is basically the same as Dermabond. Just make sure it really is clean first lest you just give an infection a nice place to fester.

Even if there are a few germs in the wound, if you can get some super glue down to them - they aren't going anywhere!

It has to be the best way to treat a cut.

Real men dont worry about such minor things.....

Andrew VK3BFA

If it is small enough to not need a hospital visit, I use the electricians first aid kit.

Several wraps with black tape work wonders.

technomaNge

Neosporin is my best friend. If I worry that it may be worth a trip to the ER then then off I go. Keeping the Neosporin on it with a really good cloth bandaid for a week will normally not even leave a scar.

I don't have any experience with super glue. But, I've used triple antibiotic (with pain control) to advantage. Sterile bandages are good.

The greasy shop rag and dancing around hollering profanity, I can relate to that approach.

Call Obama, and be ready with your social security number, medicare number, and be prepared to wait for several weeks.

I've heard that hydrogen peroxide and alchol do tissue damage. Though, I have used peroxide on very small wounds.