Yesterday evening after school, I found my daughter with two band-aids on her knees.
She said she was playing with her classmates on the playground during recess and ran too fast without braking, and the students behind her didn’t brake either, knocking her down and putting both knees on the concrete. She then went to the school infirmary, where the teacher gave her treatment and applied a band-aid.
1. The correct procedure for minor scrapes
I removed the band-aid and found that the wound was still oozing out. Then I took out the iodine swab and started to give my daughter the correct wound treatment.
The wound was disinfected by gently wiping from the center of the wound to the periphery; the larger abrasion on the left knee was wrapped thinly with sterile gauze in order to absorb the exudate and block outside contamination; the abrasion on the right knee was smaller and was not bandaged after disinfection, so it was more conducive to scabbing when exposed directly to the air.
2.Wound disinfection, iodophor or alcohol?
After treating the wound, my daughter asked, “I didn’t cry when I fell, but I cried in pain when the teacher disinfected the wound in the infirmary. Why didn’t it hurt when you disinfected it, but it stung when the teacher disinfected it?
I explained to my daughter that this was probably due to the use of alcohol swabs when disinfecting. Alcohol can irritate the injured skin, so it hurts. Iodine contains alcohol, which can also irritate the wound.
For skin abrasions, it is more recommended to use iodophor swabs to disinfect. Iodophor does not contain alcohol and is very gentle. In addition, iodophor swabs are more hygienic.
3. When do I use alcohol for disinfection?
My daughter asked, “When should I use alcohol swabs to disinfect? I told her two common scenarios.
(1) Before giving an injection or infusion
In this case, there is usually no wound on our skin, so we need to use alcohol swabs to kill the bacteria on the surface of the skin first, so that they won’t be brought into the blood vessels and cause infection when we give the injection.
(2) Outdoor cleaning
We can’t find clean water to wash our hands outdoors, you can also use disinfectant wipes containing alcohol or hands free hand sanitizer to wipe your hands.
4.Wound dressing, band-aid or gauze?
After the disinfection was figured out, my daughter asked, “Mom, why did you dress my wound without Band-Aids but with gauze? I explained to my daughter the difference between Band-Aids and gauze.
(1) Band-Aids are not breathable
When the weather is hot, Band-Aids are not breathable, so if you keep them on, sweat will not evaporate, which will easily cause infection.
(2) Gauze is more breathable
Gauze is thin, both breathable and sweat-absorbing, but also to block external foreign bodies, more conducive to wound crusting and healing.
5, the pain is unbearable, you can try painkillers
Before going to bed at night, my daughter said the wound was a little painful. I said if it hurts too much to sleep, mom will give you some painkillers. However, before deciding to take the medicine, let’s try if we can fall asleep without it.
”Every child is constantly growing up with bumps and bruises, I’ll tell you about my experience of getting hurt as a child …..” Talking about it, the little girl went to sleep.
The next morning I woke up and checked my daughter’s wounds. The scabs on both sides of her knees had scabbed over naturally.
The wound had scabbed over and healed
6.When you can’t handle it, seek medical attention
Autumn and winter are fine, but in summer, when children wear less and spend more time outdoors, they are also more prone to abrasions.
Parents, even if they can not master all the means of care, at least know to disinfect the alcohol or iodine swabs for iodine swabs, which can reduce the children a lot of pain. If the wound is too large and deep to handle at home, you must seek medical attention.