A friend of mine was cutting himself the other day using the blade of a shaving razor, but he accidentally went to fast and cut EXTREMELY deep. It seems like it's an inch deep by the picture i saw, I'm not sure if it would be allowed to show the picture here. But i wont to be safe, i already told him to make sure nothing gets inside the wound and to put lotion or vaseline around the wound. He's very young and lives with his aunt and doesn't want to get medical help because he would get in trouble which i absolutely understand, i told him antibiotics and pain medicine would be a good idea and whenever he goes to school to wear baggy pants/pajama pants and put like a plastic cover over his wound to keep it safe. I need more advice for him, we both know he definitely would need stitches and it looks like it would leave a dent if he left it alone. He said he wouldn't care if it did though, but im worried how high the risk is of it getting infected. It looks like it could take more than a month to heal in my opinion, we both agreed that if it wasn't looking good a week in he would let his aunt know he needs help. Please give any advice! He's very limited to most things but any advice would be absolutely appreciated :)
You can get "zipper Band-Aid", it's a suture free form of bandage. As the name suggests, there are zip tie looking things attached to the bandage, once it's applied you pull the zip ties and it closes the wound like stiches would. Hard to say if this will work on his situation but it may heal better than just wrapping it in gauze or plastic.
this doc is from a subreddit i know of. it's very detailed and should provide a lot of info for first aid. take care.
google doc link
google doc link
If it's as deep as you're suggesting, he really MUST go to hospital to get the wound cleaned and stitched. He will also need iv antibiotics as the chance of severe infection is very high. Please get him the proper help. You're a very good friend to him, bless you.
deprived hollow
born without consent
- Mar 19, 2023
- 5
Go to a hospital and if he doesn't want to get in trouble just lie and say he cut himself by accident with a shard of glass or something.
locked*n*loaded
Archangel
- Apr 15, 2022
- 7,260
Put some alcohol (gonna hurt like hell) or betadine, or even peroxide on it to disinfect it and "butterfly" bandage it close. You can look up butterfly bandages on the web. You can make them yourself if you don't want to buy any. If you really want to get creative, go buy some lidocaine and numb the area really well, get a curved sewing needle and some white sewing thread. Disinfect the needle and thread and put a few stitches in it to hold it together.
I'd advise against stitching it yourself/himself as it needs to be cleaned SO well before hand and if it's been open for over 12 hours hospitals here don't close them because of the high risk of infection even after a good irrigation. Instead they allow it to heal through what we call secondary intention because the risk of infection is too high which can lead to infection and sepsis which can be life threatening.
Ideally, I agree with above and say he cut it by accident and get it cleaned and closed properly- he can say he cut it at work or helping an animal caught in a bush/ a fence, make up any excuse.
If he won't do that, steri strips but make sure there's a gap between each steri strip (so the cut can be seen through the steri strips I've attached an example from online) so that if it develops an infection, the pus can seep out to prevent a deep infection or haematoma. Then keep it dry and covered for a couple of days
if weeping, if not let the air get to it. And if any signs of infection, go to a pharmacy or hospital.
Last resort, leave it, keep a really close eye on it for any signs of infection, but iodine dressings which are incredibly good for treating infection let alone preventing it.
Ideally, I agree with above and say he cut it by accident and get it cleaned and closed properly- he can say he cut it at work or helping an animal caught in a bush/ a fence, make up any excuse.
If he won't do that, steri strips but make sure there's a gap between each steri strip (so the cut can be seen through the steri strips I've attached an example from online) so that if it develops an infection, the pus can seep out to prevent a deep infection or haematoma. Then keep it dry and covered for a couple of days
if weeping, if not let the air get to it. And if any signs of infection, go to a pharmacy or hospital.Last resort, leave it, keep a really close eye on it for any signs of infection, but iodine dressings which are incredibly good for treating infection let alone preventing it.
