agh!!
 

okay well i just cut my arm inside near elbow and its down to fat. its like a centimeter wide and im not really sure what to do... its bleeding a bit and i stuck a plaster on it.. but yeh need help please? except er etcetera...

im scared

Hi dear.
How is it feeling? Anything strange (numb, tingly, etc)? If yes, A&E=mandatory.
A cut of that size could most likely be stitched so if you can, go have that done. It's not as bad as you think, it's just scary to work up the courage to go. If anything, they can clean it up and bandage it properly.

If you refuse to have it seen, clean it and keep pressure on it until the bleeding becomes light enough that you can tape the edges together with steri-strips (you can make your own with sliced up bandages or little squares of gauze and tape). Then cover it in a big bandage, or a few small ones, or gauze, or whatever works and is clean.

Take care.

kk ill make some steri strips and hope they hold. i cant go to AandE cos i cant just wake up my parents and tell them ive been lying to them for a year. its not bleeding much now so ill do that. cheers.

ive done the steri strips and they appear to be working okay. i stuck a plaster on it and ill put a bit of gauze over that just to be safe. thanks. ive calmed down a bit now. sorry for bothering you.

honey that is a tough place to heal, near the elbow, because the skin moves so much when you move your arm so be careful and make sure it stays clean and doesnt get infected

if it is gaping that much you probably do need stitches and need it looked at professionally, especially since that part of the arm moves so much, to make sure that it stays closed and can heal properly and also to minimize scarring as much as possible

you may want to pm a first aid advisor - they actually know what they are talking about and can give educated advice

if you wont wake up your parents, is there a friend you can call or a way you can go tomorrow? i know that after a certain number of hours/days the window for getting stitches done closes (something to due with skin integrity I think?), so you need to go ASAP to a doctor so that if you do need stitches they can get them done in time

be safe and take care of yourself

sorry I rambled :)

cheers everyone. i havent gone to the docs or anything.. but it has got steri strips which still seem to be holding okay. so yeh. i texted a friend last night and stuff and yeh.. im fine now jsut a bit shacken. cheers.

okay I wish i got stitche snow. the steri strips fell off and now everything sticks to it which sucks.. so yesterday i jsut put clingfilm on and taped it on... but then i had to get a reactiong to the tape so now i have like hives all around it and it canes. i managed to steal a big plaster from work and so far thats okay.. but yeh any advice would be greatly appreciated.

if its still open..chances are its still fresh...so stitches still aren't out of the question..u can still get them done

You can probably still get stitches with it being on the elbow and harder to heal there. That would reduce the risk of it being open and getting infected as well.

okay the plaster from work made the hives even worse and i have a new plaster on it (hypoallergenic) but it still itches like crap. i have some hydrocortisone cream for my eczema so i put that on the hivey things and it makes it a bit less itchey. cheers guys.. and its kinda hard and i really dont think i can get stitches in it now..

A&E, Stiches, i know it's hard, but it's most certainly needed, take care, please get it sorted :(

It is probably worth getting it looked at so that it can be cleaned properly, and they can do what they can to reduce scarring etc.

You wont be able to get sutures now, but you should still go to have the wound checked out if you are concerned about it in anyway

I think its okay now. I got some new plasters with sliver or something in the padded bit.. and so far they don't appear to be sticking to it.. I think I'm gonna leave it a few days and not paly around with it and if its no better go to the docs or something... thanks everyone.

ive found neasporin helpful in preventing infection and it seems to help with the healing process. as Aaron has said, its too late for stitches, they really should be done within 24 hours. I've never had good luck with butterfly bandages or steri-strips, they rip out too easily for me. it will probably be open for a good long while probably minimum of 3 weeks if it hadn't been held closed in the first week or so, so try to keep it clean and stuff cause it will want to get infected.
good luck, i hope it gets better soon.

-brian

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I'm still a bit concerned and stuff.. but who wouldn't be?

ooh how much are they... *is not very rich* and can you get them in like boots in the good old uk??

The best thing to do is to ask your pharmacist if they can order some in which they are normally happy to do they will be able to tell you how much they cost the normal cost is around £5-7 depending on size and where you get it from.

Pharmacist is def the best bet to get a hold of it. =)

Ohhh cheers. ill see if i can get any... I mean the silver ones workign so far though.. so only if it goes manky and wont start healing by the end on this week.