Cuts are a violation of the integrity of the skin with pointed objects. If cuts affect only the skin and adipose tissue, they go away on their own. In case of damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels, you should consult a doctor. Such injuries are considered common occurrences in everyday life. They are available to adults and children. To avoid the negative consequences of cuts with a knife, blade or glass, you need to know the basic rules of first aid.
What danger do cuts cause?
Injuries with pointed objects: with a knife, blade or glass are dangerous damage to the artery, nerve, large vessels. If cuts on the hands with a blade or other pointed object are not immediately treated, dangerous microorganisms will enter the wound. Gangrene may begin or a trophic ulcer may form, which cannot be healed. The infection can be life-threatening
If the cut becomes inflamed, complications are possible in the form of purulent streaks and phlegmon. This is a condition when pus does not flow out, but remains inside and spreads into the surrounding tissues. With an increase in temperature and general weakness, an urgent need to call a doctor
First aid for cuts
Any person can get hurt with a sharp object. You can also deal with a small cut yourself if you know how. What to do if you cut your hand in the first minutes after injury? First of all, don't panic. If a person himself is afraid of the sight of blood, first aid should be provided by someone who is not afraid of it. It is as follows:
- The cut is carefully examined to determine how serious the injury is.
- After examination, the wound is well washed with running water. If this is not possible, you can use bottled water, which is sold in every kiosk.
- To prevent the spread of infection in the wound, do not touch it with your hands. If necessary, you can wash the cut with soapy foam, which should be washed off immediately after treating the wound. Do not use laundry soap. For this purpose, baby is better.
- Everything that is described above is done very quickly, in a matter of seconds. Most importantly, to stop the bleeding, for which the hand, finger or leg is raised so that the cut is above the level of the body. The cut should be squeezed with fingers wrapped in a bandage or a clean cloth. In a few minutes the bleeding should stopif the cut is shallow.
- If an artery is affected, which can be identified by a stream of bright scarlet blood, a tourniquet should be applied above the wound. And if the bleeding is venous - lower. From the vein, the blood flows calmly, no jet, and has a dark color. When a tourniquet is applied, blood circulation in the arm will stop. Therefore, in order to prevent necrosis of the limb, you should immediately consult a doctor.
- After all measures are taken to stop the bleeding, the cut should be decontaminated. To do this, treat it with an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. But if the wound is deep, the solution should not get inside, as small vessels can become clogged with air. The area around the wound is treated with alcohol solutions. For this, iodine or brilliant green is suitable.
- The last thing to do when providing first aid, if you get a cut on your hand with a knife or other pointed object, is to apply a sterile bandage or just a clean handkerchief to the wound, constantly moistening the bandage with disinfecting aqueous solutions. This is necessary so that the bandage always remains wet and does not stick to the wound.
If more than ten minutes have passed after first aid and there are no positive results, that is, the blood does not stop, you need to call an ambulance.
Glass injury
Glass cuts most often a person can get at home or at enterprises associated with its release. Glass is a very brittle and brittle material that often breaks. The slightest carelessness leads to injury.
Cuts on arms and other partsbodies obtained from glass have their own characteristics. They are incised bleeding wounds. Their edges are smooth and even, so they do not crush or crush the fabric. This is more conducive to healing than lacerations.
Cuts on the arms and hands are the most common. As a rule, their back surface is damaged. Hot glass injuries are the most dangerous. It has the peculiarity of quickly cooling down and disintegrating in the skin and muscle tissue into many small fragments that are not visible even on an x-ray. Such fragments are difficult to remove, and migrating in the tissues, they cause pain, new damage and bleeding. Sometimes the fragments remain in the tissues for years. Hot glass injury can be aggravated by thermal burns.
What should I do about glass cuts?
- To toilet the wound, that is, wash it with 70% alcohol solution or chlorhexidine.
- Make local anesthesia with primary sutures.
- For shallow injuries, Michel's brackets are used. The victim does not need surgical assistance. It is enough to apply an aseptic bandage to the wound after washing the wound.
- If cuts on the hands are accompanied by burns, the wound does not need to be sewn up. It should be treated and a bandage lubricated with ointment should be applied.
- If glass fragments visible to the eye are found in the tissue, you need to remove them and consult a doctor for further treatment.
During the cut, the man lost consciousness. What to do?
Sometimes even small cuts on the fingers can lead a person to faint. To prevent this, you need:
- Provide fresh air if victim is indoors. To do this, open windows and doors, but exclude drafts.
- Take deep breaths several times.
- Massage your earlobes and upper lip.
- Rub your cheeks vigorously.
- If this does not help, moisten a cotton ball with ammonia and let the victim smell it.
Knife and blade cuts
Most often a person gets a cut on his hand with a knife, as he uses this cutting object all the time: at work or at home. Carelessness leads to injury. There are times when stab wounds are deliberately inflicted. This happens during a fight or a robbery attack on a person. No less rare are cuts on the hands with a blade during shaving or creative work associated with its use. The cuts are different. It depends on how they were applied.
- Injury caused by a sharp object - a knife, blade, glass, is characterized by incised wounds.
- If the injury is caused by a blunt object, then the cut has torn edges. Such wounds most often occur on the hands and fingers.
- If you simultaneously act with a traumatic object on an arm, leg or any other part of the body with blunt and sharp objects, then the wound will be of a combined nature.
- Sharp and thin object: the awl leaves a stab wound.
Venousbleeding from cuts
During an injury, a vein in the arm may be cut. This is easily determined even visually. Blood from the wound flows calmly, without pulsing, has a dark color. In this case, a person loses a lot of blood. Of particular danger is the fact that air is sucked into the vessels and can enter the heart. If this happens, death ensues.
A pressure bandage is applied to stop bleeding from a vein. The wound is covered with clean gauze and pressed on top with an unfolded bandage. If it is not at hand, you can fold a handkerchief or a clean cloth several times. Then the applied means should be pressed against the wound. The blood must stop. If nothing is at hand, then the cut of the vein on the arm or leg is immediately pressed with the fingers, and the limbs rise up.
When should I see a doctor for cuts?
- If the cut is deep and more than two centimeters long.
- When you can't stop the bleeding quickly.
- If during first aid it was not possible to remove fragments of foreign objects from the wound.
- When cuts on the hands or other parts of the body are caused by a contaminated object. It could be a shovel or a rake.
- If the victim is a child or an elderly person.
- When, on the second day after an injury, the skin around the cut becomes an atypical color, pus oozes from the wound and numbness occurs at the site of the injury.
- If there is an increase in body temperature and general weakness.
- When latera week after the injury, the wound does not heal.
The victim is obliged to tell the doctor what actions were taken to provide first aid and how the wound was treated. Then the specialist will decide how to treat the cut.
Consequences
- Cuts on the hands (photo above) can result in irreversible consequences if they are applied to the wrist area. In this case, nerves and tendons are damaged.
- Often during an injury, the victim receives a deep cut on the arm. What to do? Seek immediate medical attention. The fact is that the treatment of deep wounds is carried out by suturing immediately after the injury. If this is not done eight hours after the cut, in the future it is impossible to sew up the wound at all, since bacteria will have time to get into it. When closing a wound, they can cause festering.
- If cuts on the hands are accompanied by heavy bleeding with bright scarlet blood, then the artery is damaged.
- Remember, even a minor cut, especially on the face, leaves a scar.
- If fragments of a foreign body are not removed from the wound, it becomes inflamed and pus may ooze from it.
- To ensure that a serious cut injury does not cause complications, a tetanus shot should be given.
