Should A Wound Be Covered Or Uncovered

Wound is a break in the continuity of any body tissue. It is due to violence from another person, animals or nature. There are minor or serious wounds. Minor wounds can be managed at home or may not even require any treatment. Major wounds require the attention of a qualified medical personnel using various approaches.

Wound treatment

Treatment depends on the cause of the wound, how long ago, the level of damage and the health of the person. There are different approaches to the treatment of wounds. They are oral antibiotics and or pain medicine, parenteral antibiotics and or pain medicine and topical antibiotics and or antiseptic.

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There is a strong debate as to when an injury should be covered or uncovered. Let us look at different types of injury that require treatment.

Type Of Wound

Close wounds are those injuries where the damaged tissue is not exposed to the exterior. On the other hand, open wounds occur when the skin or mucous membrane has been broken.

Another classification of injury is into abrasion, puncture, avulsion, and laceration. Abrasions are wound scrap with no blood. Can be treated at home. Lacerations are knife cuts. The puncture are of wounds caused by tools like nails. Avulsion which is wound that is caused by an accident where part of the flesh is torn off or during surgery.

The first attempt in treating wounds is to remove contaminants. Be it a close or open wound. This is done by cleaning with running water and soap for 10 minutes after six hours. Leave open for 48 hours. Irrigate with normal saline. However, many people use methylated spirits. Normal saline is better than spirit. Do not apply antibiotics ointment. Apply antiseptic like povidone iodine 10% or others.

Type Of Wound That Should Be Covered

Infected wounds - wounds with pus present should be clean and covered after cleaning. Never close infected wounds. Disinfect it first. Cleaning is done with running water and soap for 10 minutes. The best wrapping for that kind of wound is foam dressing. This allows water vapour to enter but excludes bacteria. The benefit of the water vapour is that it promotes wound healing. If the wound is exposed and the environment dries it, the tissues in the wound will start to die. And the wound will not close up naturally and fill up the skin before the scales form over it. This can leave a mark on the skin.

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Wrapping has another advantage which is to prevent contamination. So wrapping is done on injury located in a place where it can easily be infected. The wrapping should be removed every day for another dressing.

Type Of Wound That Should Be Uncovered

For minor injuries that are bleeding, apply pressure until the bleeding stops. One way to do this is to wrap it with clean dry gauze. Pack with normal saline or clean gauze. Leave minor wounds uncovered when it is not to be rubbed by clothing.

Summary Of Wound That Should Be Covered Or Uncovered

In summary, contaminated injury must be decontaminated by running water and soap through it for 10 minutes to remove contaminants. Infected injuries must be cleaned before applying cover. An injury that is deep must be covered to prevent it from drying out. Pressure must be added to a bleeding injury in the form of clean gauze to prevent further bleeding, minor or major injury. Minor injury not bleeding and not in a body part that can easily be contaminated or rubbed by clothing should not be covered as it heals faster. Such injuries don't need new cells to heal.