Wound Care & Infection
The whole skill in one line
Clean the wound well once, keep it covered and moist-but-not-soaked, then watch it daily. Most wounds heal on their own when cleaned properly at the start.
At a glance
- Flush with clean running water, let it run through — do not scrub raw tissue.
- Change dressings daily, or whenever soaked through.
- Bites, deep punctures, dirty wounds: do not close — high infection risk.
- Red streaks, fever, spreading redness = professional care fast.
- Dirty or deep wound within five years of your last tetanus booster warrants a new one when care is reachable.
Cleaning, step by step
- Wash your own hands first — soap and water, or sanitizer if that is all there is.
- Stop bleeding with direct pressure (see Severe Bleeding for heavy flow).
- Flush the wound itself with clean running water — boiled-and-cooled or treated if your water is suspect. Let it run through, do not scrub the raw tissue.
- Wash around the wound with soap and a cloth; keep soap out of the open cut, it stings and irritates.
- Lift out debris you can see with tweezers cleaned in alcohol or flame. Anything deeply embedded stays put — pack around it and get help.
- Pat dry around it, apply thin antibiotic ointment, cover with a clean dressing.
To close or not to close
| Situation | Closure strips? |
|---|---|
| Edges fall together cleanly, wound is fresh (< 8 hours), not gaping | Yes — pull edges snug, strip across perpendicular, keep dry 5 days |
| Gapes open, ragged, or has visible dirt/debris inside | No — pack lightly with clean gauze and let it heal from the bottom up |
| Animal or human bite, deep puncture, rusty/dirty object | No closure — high infection risk; professional evaluation matters here |
Daily life rule: reopen a closed wound only if infection signs appear under it — trapped pus is worse than a slow-healing gap.
Dressing changes
- Change once a day, or whenever it soaks through.
- If it sticks, wet it with clean saline or boiled-cooled water instead of tearing.
- Re-clean gently, re-ointment, re-cover each change.
- Keep it dry in the shower: plastic bag taped over it beats a soggy dressing.
Infection: catch it early
Check every day at the dressing change. Normal healing shows mild pinkness right at the edge, fading day by day. Infection marches outward:
- Redness spreading beyond the wound edge or a red streak tracking toward the heart
- Increasing pain, warmth, and swelling after day two instead of decreasing
- Cloudy yellow-green pus, or a bad smell
- Fever or swollen glands near the wound
Escalate now for
Red streaks running from the wound · fever with spreading redness · rapidly increasing pain · pus under a closed wound · any infected bite · diabetes or immune problems plus any infection sign. These need professional care fast, not more home treatment.
Abscesses and splinters
A pocket of pus wants to drain, but squeezing pushes infection inward. Warm, moist compresses several times a day let small abscesses open on their own. Deep or painful ones belong with a professional. Tetanus boosters last about ten years — a dirty or deep wound inside five years since your booster also warrants a new one when care is reachable.
Grounded in public-domain CDC/USPHS/military wound care guidance. Educational only — antibiotics need a professional; hygiene does most of the work.