Country house! What could be more beautiful for adults and children, especially in summer. Nature, vitamins and lots of outdoor games. But caring mothers always remember that in the country you need to be on the alert!
At the dacha, people regularly fry kebabs, kindle fires and bake potatoes, which means there is a danger of getting cuts or burns. And men also take up carpentry tools and begin to create masterpieces with their own hands – and here, too, you can get hurt.
And who among us has not fallen off the bike and peeled off his knees and elbows? Outside the city, we are happy to transfer to a two-wheeled transport and fly like birds, the wind with midges in our faces, to the first pothole …
Wounds can be different, but doctors and hospitals are far away.
In the midst of the summer season and the holiday season, you need to update the contents of your home first aid kit – and remember the rules for first aid.
Often, incorrect actions in the first minutes after an injury complicate subsequent treatment. Most often, people with burns are wiser. But with other wounds there are overlays. What are the most common mistakes in first aid for various wounds?
First aid for various wounds and wounds
If you cut yourself
A child in the country can get hurt – he helped dad or grandfather carpentry – and cut himself. Adults can get hurt too. Situations are different. But we must remember that if the wound is deep, first of all, it is necessary to stop the bleeding by applying a pressure bandage, and urgently go to the doctor. Remember that the pressure bandage can be applied for no longer than 30 minutes.
If the cut is not severe, you need to wash the wound and bandage it. They peeled off the skin on the knee when falling from a great – again, start with the treatment of the wound, because all the wounds received at home are dirty. A clean wound heals faster. Put Levomekol ointment under the bandage – an antibacterial and wound healing agent. The bandage should be changed 2 times a day.
lacerations
The reason may be a fall, including from a bicycle, scooter, fence, tree, etc. You can accidentally get hurt while working on a summer cottage, during repairs. If the wound is minor, you can try to cope on your own.
The main mistake that experts point out is that you can’t pour alcohol, vodka, iodine, brilliant green directly into the wound.
First, it hurts. Secondly, you will burn the tissues, and instead of healing, the walls of the wound will begin to scar. And instead of a small scar, you risk getting a hefty scar.
A lacerated wound must be treated with special means – a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate (the powder must be filtered through gauze when dissolved), 3% hydrogen peroxide or a weak solution of furacilin (2 tablets per glass of water).
Any of the above remedies should be used to treat the edges of the wound – but only after the bleeding has stopped.
Put Levomekol ointment on the wound, apply a bandage on top, preferably from a sterile bandage.
If bitten by a dog
Outside the city, cases of dog attacks are not uncommon. What to do if someone close to you, God forbid, was bitten? First of all, calm the victim. And then it is necessary to wash and treat the wound, even if it is a small damage to the skin.
Experts advise rinsing the bite wound with plenty of warm water for 10-15 minutes. If possible, you can gently wash with laundry soap – alkali from it acts as an antimicrobial agent. And in the dog’s mouth there are many microbes that can lead to inflammation, and to sepsis, and to tetanus.
Next, treat the wound with hydrogen peroxide or a pink solution of potassium permanganate, and its edges with iodine or brilliant green. Apply a sterile bandage with Levomekol ointment on top.
Do not bandage the wound too tightly – dangerous bacteria will also come out with the blood.
Did you bite your arm or leg? To reduce pain – raise the limb as high as possible – this will weaken the blood flow.
A dog bite is a reason to see a doctor. You may need a tetanus vaccine.
When is it necessary to see a doctor?
If the wound is deep or the bleeding does not stop, see a doctor – you may need stitches from the doctor and the appointment of special therapy.
When exactly is it necessary to seek qualified help?
- For lacerations and cuts, if the wound is larger or deeper than 1,5 centimeters.
- If there are several wounds.
- When bitten by animals, including not only dogs, but also foxes, rodents and even hedgehogs, promptly contacting a doctor is generally a matter of life and death, because we can talk about infection with rabies or tetanus.
- If the wound is accompanied by bleeding of a pulsating nature.
- The bleeding does not stop within 20 minutes.
- Deep cuts on the arms: hands and wrists, wounds on the face, neck, head.
- If the victim is sick, he will feel dizzy.
- If the wound is dirty, caused by a rusty object, and you are not sure that you have been vaccinated against tetanus for the last 5 years.
- If the wound is inflamed, it does not heal well, there is redness and swelling around it.
- During the day and later after the injury, a high temperature rose and persisted.
- A small child is injured.
Wound treatment agents
Iodine of all the “usual” antiseptics – the most effective in terms of protection against germs. But it has disadvantages: it burns, causes allergies (if there is hives, it is better not to use it), it can leave scars, as it forms a crust. If a small wound is completely filled with iodine, then it will heal slowly.
Zelenka It doesn’t leave any marks behind, but it does smudge a lot. Some people are also allergic to it. Yes! And it’s green too!
Hydrogen peroxide helps to clean and stop the blood in the wound, there are no “adverse reactions” to it. But it disinfects worse than brilliant green and iodine.
Маргацовка. A universal remedy, but when diluted, it stains hands, furniture, plumbing, etc. etc. You can dilute the powder in advance, pour it into a tightly closed container – and store it that way.
Other means. There are modern means of first aid for wounds. These are ready-made antimicrobial wipes, hemostatic wipes with nanosilver, draining sorbents (powders that stop blood), gel dressings, and others. They should be stocked up in advance.
How to properly treat wounds
Before providing first aid, you must wash your hands, use a sanitizer, alcohol solutions, or treat your hands with an alcohol wipe. Hands should be as clean as possible.
How exactly to treat a wound depends largely on its type – see above. Some recommend rinsing with water, some do not.
Dirt must be carefully removed from the wound, while it is advisable not to touch the wound itself.
Procedure:
- Examine the wound, assess the nature and extent of damage.
- Try to stop the bleeding.
- Rinse the wound with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide or a pink solution of potassium permanganate, 0,5% solution of chlorhexidine or furacilin and dry with a napkin.
- Put on a bandage. Treat the skin around the wound with an antiseptic, apply a sterile bandage. After a few hours, be sure to do a dressing.
- Give a pain reliever. Quickly make a decision about contacting doctors.
How to speed up wound healing at home (country) conditions
Keep in mind that the bandage on the wound should be changed twice a day. In the first week, a wet-drying bandage is applied, then they switch to ointment, for example. Antiseptic preparations are used in wet dressings.
What to do if the wound does not heal?
Sometimes even small wounds do not heal for a long time. Why does it happen? The most common cause is an infection in the wound.
Therefore, it is so important to provide first aid correctly and do not forget to take care of the wound daily: change bandages, keep them clean, use ointments that promote wound healing. If the skin around the wound turns red, the wound itself hurts, becomes wet and festering – this is definitely an infection. You need to revisit your doctor.
Sometimes the reason that the wound does not heal is a foreign body left in the wound. It also requires the help of a doctor.
The rate of wound healing is affected by the general condition of the body, immunity.
There are several diseases in which wounds do not heal well.
This is for example:
- Anemia. You need to take a blood test.
- Diabetes. If the wound does not heal, see a doctor and have your blood sugar checked: diabetes can go unnoticed.
- Depletion of the body, including due to diets.
When healing wounds, it is important to eat right (more meat, fruits and vegetables), get enough sleep, give up tobacco and alcohol, if possible, do not limit physical activity: they increase immunity.
Popular questions and answers
We talked about wounds and how they are treated, treated and possible complications with traumatologist Andrey Kobyzev.
What are the most dangerous wounds?
The danger of cut wounds depends on the place where the cut is made. The most dangerous is a deep cut in the area of the hand – bleeding and loss of movement if the tendons and nerves are damaged.
Lacerations are dangerous due to the volume of affected tissues, which, in turn, leads to impaired blood circulation and the duration of the healing process.
The most dangerous are primarily infected wounds, bitten and contaminated. In the depths of the bitten wounds, the flora of the oral cavity remains, which begins to actively multiply, causing inflammation. The bite of an animal with rabies can lead to the development of this serious disease. Contamination of the wound with earth is fraught with infection with a tetanus bacillus, which causes a serious disease of the nervous system.
What are the complications of wounds?
Is it possible to use folk remedies to treat a wound?
In case of skin injuries, especially with injuries penetrating deeper than the subcutaneous fat, it is urgent to seek qualified medical help.
The use of folk remedies for treating a wound (plantain, urine, etc.) is highly discouraged – this can lead to the development of various complications, up to the purulent-septic ones described above.