For parents, it is very normal to have encounters with cuts, bruises and scrapes. Children usually fall, scrape a knee, or may be cut. In many of these cases, parents disinfect the wound, apply an ointment and put a bandage that is more than enough to treat simple wounds. But it should be taken into account, at what time it is necessary for the wound to be examined by a health professional and apply stitches.
Why is it important to know if a wound needs stitches?
It is necessary to have this prior knowledge, it should be taken into account, that when a wound needs suturing and is not healed in the manner indicated by a health professional, you can run the risk of contracting a large infection, when this happens, the wound can be complicated enough, if this is neglected it can reach a level of quite risk.
That is why doctors have a fairly rigorous methodology when it comes to healing a wound. We think that in some cases it is exaggerated to make the wound bleed, clean deeply and use some quite painful disinfectants. But the reality is that this is something strictly necessary to avoid any infection in both children and adults.
What are the consequences of not placing stitches in the wound?
When someone makes a deep cut in the skin, it is necessary to suture the wound. Usually these wounds are open, in case they cannot be kept sealed, for this it is necessary to add stitches, in this way it will help close the wound and prevent any external contaminant agent from wanting to affect the wound.
Many people are afraid of stitches, so they prefer to leave the wound in its natural state, in some cases the wound can heal on its own, in others, it needs a little help. A wound needs stitches and skips that step, that wound is vulnerable to bruising and infection. When this happens, bruising and infection causes the wound to become inflamed, increasing tension in the wound, this reduces blood supply, which makes healing much slower and can even cause cell death.
Tips for knowing if a wound needs stitch
Everything will depend on certain aspects, usually measured by the size of the cut and the depth of the wound. However, it must also be taken into account that the wound was made.
Deep separation of wound edges
This is a clear sign that the wound needs to be sutured, because the farther the edges are from each other, the less chance there is of scarring.
Incised wounds
This type of wounds are those caused by a sharp object, such as glass, a knife or a tool that is sharp. Usually, these wounds are totally clean and defined. This type of wounds have the quality of being abundant bleeding, of course everything will depend on the depth of the wound and in this way, it will be determined if it is necessary to suture the wound or not.
It has happened to everyone, that when they cook and are using a knife, they can cut off their finger. At best, those wounds tend to be superficial, even though they bleed for a few minutes, are shallow, and can heal on their own. On the other hand, when a wound caused by a knife is quite deep, the wound should be sutured to avoid any infection days later.
Excessive bleeding
If the bleeding continues after you have pressed on the wound for more than 5 minutes, it is a clear sign that the wound needs suturing. In these cases, it is necessary to be very attentive, since, if blood comes out of the wound, it is possible that an artery has been affected. If this is the case, it is important to put pressure on the wound with a clean towel and take the person to the nearest assistance center.
How to act if a wound is suspected of needing stitches?
In this case, the most important thing is to disinfect the wound very well. You should go to your first aid kit and take some gauze, with alcohol or some other disinfectant and clean the wound very well. This should be applied mostly when the wounds are caused in a dirty place or with some object that is dirty. It is also important that you can have a first aid kit for children at times when they have some kind of accident at home.
