Cleaning wounds - help please?
 

A while back I posted a question on another forum about cleaning my wounds and got told that using cotton wool 9with wound wash) wasn't a good idea, because the cotton wool pad falls apart.

Had alook in Boots and couldn't really find anything suitable. So, what is good to use? I don't need antiseptic wipes as I've got wound wash, which works great.

Quite often i pat the blood over the wound and blow on it, so it drys, and be lazy and let it dry, since i usually cut at night and then i go to sleep, i get showered every morning, by then it's pretty much closed.

Obviously that's a terrible way of doing things, but i don't have many supplies, you'l have to wait for AD or Bitter or any other First aiders to come give you proper advice, take care. x

Ok it is correct that cotten wool does tend to stick to a wound and can leave bits of thread in the wound. (which is generally not a good idea)
What you need to get are non stick gauze. Boots does sell them. [Link]

Hope that helps.
Kim
First aid Advisor

Thank you. I've had a look in Boots in town and couldn't find it there.

Hmm strange. Maybe try another chemist. or else you could ask in boots, they might be able to point you in the right direction.
Although, one of my friends works in poundland (or one of them type of shops) And apperntly they now sell a lot of first aid stuff. The bandages are good from there. Might be worth a try to see if they have them.

Take care

poundland have loads of firstaid stuff.

I always first use an alcohol pad and hold it down on the wound for about a minute before carefully removing it (this helps clotting) then I place a band aid on it. the adhesive cloth ones with a pad are the best since they let your skin breathe and you can heal faster.

Hydrogen peroxide is awesome. It stings a bit and will fizz in the wound, but don't be alarmed, that's just what it does.

NO HYDROGEN PEROXIDE!!!!!

NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER! USE IT!


Hydrogen peroxide dries out the wound and kills off all of the good bacteria, and a bunch of extra cells to boot. IT IS NOT GOOD FOR WOUNDS!

The best care you can do is to clean it out with a proper wound wash and non stick gauze, then put antibiotic cream with a band aid or a non stick gauze pad on it and wrap it up. Change this dressing every 24 hours, or if it gets wet and dirty.

The goal is to keep the wound clean and moist, to mimic the environment it would have if it was still covered with skin.


AD

Everything I've ever read about hydrogen peroxide or heard from my doctor says that it's good for minor cuts...not gaping wounds mind you...in order to clean them and kill off bacteria.

No, wound wash is ALWAYS better. Hydrogen peroxide will dry out the wound, no matter what the size, kill good bacteria and it will also kill off healthy cells and inhibit the healing process.


AD

Thanks. I've also been told that cool boiled water is a good thing to use - it? I've used it once and had no problems at all.

Alcohol also cleans wounds well, and it doesn't kill skin cells.

Alcohol is good as long as it is a shallow wound or scrape, and you get rubbing alcohol, and don't dump vodka in a cut or something like that. The thing with alcohol is that it will dry out the skin, so you need to make sure that when you bandage it up you are using an antibacterial cream to keep it moist and prevent infection.


AD

(for cuts on your arm) As long as it's not really deep, I wash the area gently with cool water and then rinse it out with antiseptic wash. Then, since I don't have many supplies, I cut the top off a clean sock and put it around my arm over clean tissue/smushed cotton balls so that it keeps the cotton close to the skin. You could use ace wrap, too. Just make sure you don't wrap it too tight

I am closing this thread due to the age.