Cuts

See a cut, apply pressure. 

The first step to stopping bleeding is to put pressure on the wound. So if we have a cut on the leg, apply pressure for at least 2 minutes before looking to see if the bleeding has stopped. Kids’ skin is sooo good at healing itself when it comes to minor cuts that you can just stick a Band-Aid on it, and in a few days, good as new! But if the edges keep opening when there is movement of that affected area, then we may need to have the cut sutured, glued, or Steri-Stripped to better line up the edges and allow for normal healing. If you think the cut is big enough that it needs one of the previously mentioned treatments, it is best to get this done ASAP in the emergency department as waiting too long means we cannot close up the wound due to concerns for infection living deep in the wound. The longer we wait to close a cut up, the higher the likelihood it will get infected. 

For cuts in the mouth, we usually just leave those alone unless there are through and through holes in the tongue. The mouth tissue is amazing at healing on its own, and saliva has great antibacterial properties, so these types of cuts rarely get infected. A rule of thumb is that if the cut goes beyond the vermilion border (the line that separates lip tissue from the normal skin of the face), we will suture it, but if it does not cross the vermilion border, we leave it alone. 

Once the cut is addressed, we then make efforts to prevent scarring. The more hydrated and free of sun exposure a cut is, the less likely it will scar. So once the cut starts scabbing over, it’s time to apply Aquaphor or better yet a good SPF 25 sunscreen to the cut 2-3 times a day to keep it hydrated and prevent UV sunlight exposure.