How Can I Perform First Aid on a Wound?

Getting a cut is painful and scary—especially if the wound is deep. Most cuts can be adequately treated with basic first aid, but deeper wounds will likely need stitches to properly heal. No matter how deep the wound is, though, it’s important to know how to perform basic first aid on any type of wound to help it heal!

Our AFC Urgent Care Bronx Webster Ave. team provides some helpful info on stitches and cut wounds below, so keep reading.

What Should I Do If I Suffer a Cut?

If you’ve been cut and you’re bleeding, the first thing you should do is apply pressure on the wound. Then, rinse it under running water and put a bandage or gauze on it to keep the bleeding under control.

Like we said earlier, most cuts won’t need stitches to heal properly, but some will. We’ve listed some signs to be on the lookout for below.

Signs Stitches Could Be Necessary

  • Wound looks very deep, even if it’s not especially long or wide
  • Wound is more than a half-inch long
  • Wound opens so wide that you can’t get the edges together with just a little pressure
  • Wound has ragged edges
  • Wound has debris in it such as dirt, glass, or gravel

How Likely Is It That My Wound Will Become Infected?

Truthfully, it depends on what you’ve been cut by. Cuts caused by dirty, more unfamiliar objects have a higher risk of becoming infected.

Even if your wound was caused by a clean, familiar object, it’s still important to be aware of the common signs of infection, which we’ve listed below. If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to visit our AFC center to get treatment ASAP!

Common Signs of Infection

  • The surrounding area becomes red, and this area gets larger over time
  • The area surrounding the wound becomes swollen, tender to the touch or painful
  • The wound weeps off-color or odorous fluid; this pus may be yellow, greenish or cloudy
  • Red streaks spread out from the site of the wound
  • You develop a fever above 100.4° F
  • Lymph nodes become enlarged

Not sure what to do after you’ve been cut or have sustained a concerning wound? Don’t wait to visit our AFC Urgent Care Bronx Webster Ave. team today!