How to treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide? What is this medicine? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article. In everyday life, the treatment of wounds with hydrogen peroxide has been practiced for a long time. It is difficult to find a girl or boy who would not be cleaned by caring grandmothers or mothers with this disinfectant, which has become really popular. How to treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide, we will find out below.
What is this?
Not everyone knows how to treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide. In everyday life, this drug is called hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). It is a disinfectant with hemostatic and deodorizing qualities. Hydrogen peroxide is used for rinsing and washing with inflammatory ailments (tonsillitis, stomatitis), stopping nosebleeds, treating wounds and other things.
Todaythis antiseptic in home first aid kits is the most popular. When it is used, a chemical oxidation reaction is carried out, as a result of which atomic oxygen is formed. This substance is a powerful antiseptic, but it is very rare to find it in nature.
Hydrogen peroxide, in contact with living matter, decomposes in a matter of seconds, destroying all microorganisms in its area of action.
When to apply?
Hydrogen peroxide solution is one of the most inexpensive antiseptics today, which are sold in pharmacies. It can be bought without a prescription and is used in the following cases:
- for treating sore throats;
- for disinfection of purulent wounds;
- for areas with dead tissue;
- to eliminate dried blood clots;
- for nosebleeds;
- for disinfecting areas of cuts, burns, scratches;
- when treating stomatitis, periodontal disease;
- for gynecological ailments;
- with open capillary bleeding.
Technique of use
How to properly treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide? It is known that a high concentration of this drug can cause burns to the mucous membranes and skin. That is why in medicine they use a 3% solution that is odorless and colorless, or tablets in which peroxide is used in combination with hydroperite (urea).
In order to disinfect a superficial wound, the damaged area is washed3% hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the concentration of the solution has no age restrictions, that is, for babies and adults it should be identical.
So how do you treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide? To do this, moisten a cotton swab with the solution and lightly blot the damage with it. In this case, you need to ensure that there are no untreated areas left. Do not pour peroxide directly from a bottle onto an open wound, especially if you have to treat a deep wound.
The fact is that when the drug is decomposed into components, atomic oxygen is actively formed, as we said above. This substance is white effervescent bubbles. They are the ones who disinfect and clean the wound. But with deep cuts, these bubbles can enter the circulatory system, which is a great danger to the life of the patient. Many people ask: "Do they treat wounds with hydrogen peroxide?". Oh sure. Now you know what is being processed.
If peroxide is used for rinsing the mouth (when treating stomatitis, tonsillitis, and the like), they usually make a 0.25% solution. To do this, dilute a tablespoon of peroxide with a glass of water.
Side effects
You still don't know if hydrogen peroxide can treat a wound? We have previously given an affirmative answer to this question. Very often, peroxide is used to soften and easily remove cotton swabs and bandages that have dried to wounds. To do this, you need to draw a peroxide solution into a syringe and inject it under a bandage. When will it startreaction and bubbles appear, feel free to unbandage the wound.
Hydrogen peroxide, unlike most of the current healing and disinfectant drugs, has practically no side effects. Its use is not accompanied by painful sensations, with the exception of the rarest cases of allergic reactions. But here everything is limited to a painful burning sensation during cleaning of the wound, and when rinsing the mouth - swelling and redness of the papillae of the tongue.
Nursing mothers and pregnant women can safely use hydrogen peroxide. Pediatricians treat the umbilical wound in newborns with this drug. Very often, doctors clean their wounds before applying brilliant green (brilliant green).
Cons of peroxide
Many doctors say that you can treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide. Previously, it was believed that this medication has the only drawback - a short disinfection time. But this shortcoming can easily be foreseen and a proper antibiotic treatment schedule can be followed. However, scientists have recently conducted research and found that the use of hydrogen peroxide slows down the healing process.
No one doubts that this drug destroys bacteria and dirt that got into the wound. However, opponents of its use argue that hydrogen peroxide is highly abrasive, including in the form of a solution.
Therefore, there is a certain paradox here: peroxide perfectly disinfects and cleans the wound, butprevents natural cell regeneration. Such a slowdown is externally manifested by itching and color transformation of the tissues in and around the wound, their excessive dryness.
In this regard, he alth workers have somewhat transformed their view on the safety of using peroxide to cleanse wounds. They advise washing the wound with soapy water if possible, and using antibiotic ointments for disinfection, as they moisturize the skin and gently affect it, accelerating the wound healing process, rather than slowing it down.
With this method of wound decontamination, it should be washed with soap and water at least twice a day until complete healing. When using antibiotic ointments, you must strictly follow the recommendations outlined in the instructions for them.
Pros of antiseptic
However, do not rush to throw away peroxide from your first aid kit. A complete rejection of this drug is a premature and reckless step. Soap and clean water are not always available, and hydrogen peroxide may be the only drug available. They can reliably clean the wound from bacteria, earth and foreign bodies. Also, peroxide will be indispensable if you need to scrape dried blood from a scratch.
How often do you need to treat a wound with hydrogen peroxide? In emergency cases, a one-time cleansing with the preparation will not cause significant negative consequences for the damage, but will allow it to be kept clean until other disinfectants are used. In any case, only smallscratches and wounds.
Can hydrogen peroxide treat an open wound? Yes, you can. But if it is large and its treatment does not give any effect, within 1-2 days the infection cannot be completely removed from it, you should immediately seek help from a doctor.
Immediately you need to visit a doctor even when you have received a stab wound, for example, a leg or hand has been pierced with a nail. Despite the tiny external damage, such wounds are very dangerous, as they are usually very deep. In addition, they are always infected.
Hydrogen peroxide is an inexpensive and compact disinfectant. But still try not to get hurt and be careful.
Are there any usage restrictions?
There are no contraindications to the use of hydrogen peroxide. The only localization is the prohibition of peroxide drops on occlusive dressings and mucous membranes of the eyes. The use of the drug does not cause pain (we wrote about this above).
Why is peroxide a great choice?
Hydrogen peroxide has been used since the 1920s as an antiseptic, as it is an effective bacteria killer. An antiseptic is a substance that stops the growth of pathogens.
When a wound is washed with peroxide, pain and discomfort appear due to the fact that the drug activates pain receptors when it kills bacteria in the wound. It is much more effective and safer than wiping scratches with alcohol, which is often used and leaves no residue, unlike iodine.
Importance of treating abrasions and wounds
If you need to treat an open wound with hydrogen peroxide, you can now handle it easily. Regardless of the type of wound you have - be it a cut, scratch, abrasion, burn or puncture - it is necessary to clean the injury immediately after it occurs, otherwise it will become infected and blood poisoning may occur. The fastest healing is those injuries that, after the appearance, were treated no later than 2 hours later.
Especially it is necessary to carefully treat those open wounds that have got dirt or any foreign object. In order for the infection to penetrate into the blood, the injury does not have to be large and deep. Infection can occur through a splinter, a small cut, a puncture, an animal bite, cracked skin on the heels, a burn wound, and so on.
If contamination enters the wound, the person may develop gangrene or tetanus.
Virus Elimination
To treat wounds, many people and doctors use antibacterial drugs. This is wrong, since antibiotics only fight bacteria, and fungi and viruses can also be present in the wound. That is why antibiotics are ineffective for wound disinfection.
Antiseptic also affects both the bacterial flora and the fungal and viral. In addition, over time, bacteria develop immunity to antibacterial drugs, and remain sensitive to antiseptic solutions.
Hydrogen peroxide healing itselfdoes not accelerate, however, it kills pathogenic microorganisms that slow down regeneration. If an antiseptic is not used correctly, this situation can only aggravate and healing can be slower.
Only a 3% solution can be used to treat wounds, as a large concentration can lead to burns. A 6% peroxide solution is typically used to store sterile medical instruments.
Processing rules
Experts recommend the following:
- It is better to water the wound surface with a jet, and not blot with gauze or cotton. If you wipe the wound with cotton wool soaked in peroxide, you can bring even more viruses. However, if the wound is more than 20 cm deep, do not pour peroxide on it, as the solution will get inside.
- If the wound has already begun to heal, do not treat it with peroxide, as it can burn young skin. As a result, healing will slow down.
- It is forbidden to use peroxide on too deep wounds and pour it into wounds.
- If you use peroxide at the same time as iodine, then a reaction will occur, as a result of which free iodine will appear. As a result, a person will receive a chemical burn with iodine.
- It is forbidden to combine peroxide cleansing with penicillin, alkalis, acids.
You should also know how to save the antiseptic so that it does not lose its qualities. If the jar has never been opened yet, you can store it for 2 years at 8-15 °C in a dark place. If you have already opened the bottle, savekeep it in the refrigerator for no more than a month.
Remember that peroxide is not a medical drug and cannot replace therapy. Usually, the injury is washed with soap and water, treated with peroxide, and then an ointment is applied to the damaged surface and a sterile dressing is applied. Wound healing drugs are prescribed by a doctor. Stay he althy!
