Cuts and puncture wounds:
A cut is a hole or fissure in the skin. It is also known as a laceration. A cut could be smooth, deep, or sharp. It may be farther away from the skin’s surface or closer to it. A deep incision can damage blood vessels, bone, nerves, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and even bone.
How do you tell whether a cut is infected?
In contrast to an infected cut, which becomes worse over time, an uninfected cut will progressively get better until it heals entirely.
Skin around cuts is typically red and may feel heated to the touch. The affected area will likely be enlarged. As the infection progresses, pus, a yellowish fluid, may begin to leak.
Get prompt medical assistance if you display any of these signs of infection:
The infection frequently leaves streaks of redness in other areas.
- You have widespread malaise;
- You feel uneasy or feverish.
These symptoms suggest that the illness is spreading.
Causes:
Cuts are typically made by something pointy, as a knife or a razor blade. However, anything with a thin edge, such as a piece of paper or a cardboard box, can slide open the skin? Falling, particularly onto hard, uneven surfaces like asphalt or concrete, is the most frequent reason for scrapes. A wooden pallet or another hard object can be struck and cause a scrape.
Symptoms
The following are signs of scrapes and cuts:
- Bleeding
- Edema or redness around the wound
- Surface stinging or pain on the skin
You can experience the following signs if the scrape or cut becomes infected:
- Puffiness, warmth, and rashes
- More discomfort from the wound
- Pus or wound-related drainage
- Fever
- Red lines encircling the wound
Treatment
You can learn how to take care of cuts at home. As long as they are not too severe, scrapes and minor cuts can usually be treated at home. Blood loss from cuts and scrapes can be stopped by applying pressure. A bandage applied over the wound will help keep it clean.
Antibiotic ointment available over the counter can aid in infection prevention. Acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), or naproxen (Aleve) are examples of painkillers like Tapsmart 200mg and Etadol 100 mg that can both lessen pain and inflammation.
It is advised to clean the wound with water, ethyl alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide before putting the bandage to keep it clean. It should take a few weeks for the wound to heal if it is kept clean and untreated.
What problems might arise?
The infection will start to spread into the deeper tissues under the skin if an infected wound is not treated very away. It is known as cellulitis. Through your blood, the infection may spread to other body organs. You will start to feel generally bad as the illness spreads and start to get a temperature.
Sepsis is a serious infection that can result from cellulitis. Another possibility is that an infected cut won’t ever heal completely. It can develop into an abscess and cause skin diseases like impetigo.
Very rarely, necrotising fasciitis can result from an untreated infected cut. More often, this is referred to as the “flesh-eating disease.” Large regions of the skin are painfully injured.