SI Question - Infection? Advice Needed. -SI trigger-

Well, having had a friend or two i'm usually the one giving them advice in regards to cutting. However, i'm slightly baffled with my own, so i thought i'd ask here.

On thursday before i went to my usual 2 week doctors check up, i had a turn for the worse, and cut my right arm. Now, having only ever done surface wounds before (I've never felt the need to go "deep") i've never had a reason to worry.
Having lifted my sleeve ever so slightly to show him, he agreed the wound was superficial. However, on closer inspection when i got home and once my jacket was removed, i noticed the upper end of my cut was much deeper than i intended.
The doctor wouldn't have seen this, as the cut measures from the crease in my arm down to my wrist, so he only saw the wrist part which is just a normal surface wound.

Now, i believe it's not deep enough for stitches. It seems to be somewhat healing on its own. As i'm looking at it right now, i see yellow, which i'm presuming is the fat underneath the skin?
My arm actually hurts to bend, and if i didn't put something like Vasaline on it to keep it moist, it just feels like it will split open. It feels like i'm being stabbed everytime i touch it.
Could it be that i've damaged a muscle? Or could it be an infection?
I have trouble getting out of the house, so i don't want to go down the doctors unless its really necessary.

Should i wait a few days to see how it goes? It's red around the actual wound, but that could just be from "soreness".
I can never tell if it's actually oozing a bit of puss, or whether its from the healing process.
Hm. I'm slightly clueless.

I hope i explained that properly.

Thanks in advance.

I actually just replied to lots of threads, so i'm just bumping this up to the top.

[Animad]

Yellow stuff that looks like it's a bit bubbly is fat yes. It would be better if you used an anti-bacterial cream on it rather than vaseline as this isn't really designed to be used in cuts and has not mechanism to reduce the risk of infection, if anything it will do opposite and introduce it into the wound. It could be that it's sore just because it's not healed yet and it does take a while for it to reduce or you could have caught a muscle (which would tend to cause some constant aching and pain when you move it) or a nerve (which would cause shooting pain, maybe some loss of coordination or sensation further down your arm, 'pins and needles' in your fingers. It may not cause all of them). From the sounds of it however I think its probably just a bit sore because its still healing.

Signs of infection are heat (compare to the same area on the opposite arm), swelling, redness around the wound, increased pain to what you'd expect and a pussy/ smelly discharge. Pus is quite thick and a yellow/green colour and often has a smell to it. If possible put anti-bacterial cream over the wound and cover it in a dressing (as it is so long you can put several dressings together to make it the desired length to cover the who wound). The dressing should be changed daily, more than that if it's infected. If you still suspect infect it may be a good idea to get a doctor to look over it.

KimA

[l'il esky]

hey,

also, might be good to salt water washes on it to keep it clean plus a sterile dressing. hope it starts feeling better soon