Introduction to Home Remedies for Cuts and Scrapes
You're hurrying along and the front of your shoe catches on a crack in the cement, sending you tumbling to the ground. When you get up, you find that not only is your ego bruised, but you've managed to peel away the skin on your elbows and knees. You've got yourself a collection of painful scrapes.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. While seldom life threatening, cuts need to be tended to before they become infected. |
How the Body Heals
Cuts and scrapes should be attended to immediately because of the risk of infection. Skin is the body's shield against germs. When a foreign body invades the skin, germs have an open invitation to raid healthy cells. Left untreated, cuts and scrapes can become painful sores, which are wounds that are slow to heal. Sores can also come from acute or chronic bacterial or fungal infections or from diseases that affect the body's ability to heal, such as diabetes or AIDS.
An amazing number of things happen when you cut or scrape yourself. When you disrupt the skin, a clear, antibody-containing fluid from the blood, called serum, leaks into the wound. The area around the cut or scrape becomes red, indicating that more blood is moving into the wound site, bringing with it nutrients and infection-fighting white blood cells. Nearby lymph nodes may swell. After a few days, pus (which contains dead white blood cells, dead bacteria, and other debris from the body's inflammatory response to infection) may form. And finally, a scab develops to protect the injury while it heals.
A scrape tends to hurt more than a cut because a scrape removes a larger area of skin and exposes a greater number of nerves. Scrapes often damage some blood vessels, so they are prone to bleed but usually not as heavily as cuts do.
As you can see, there's a lot more to know about everyday cuts and scrapes than you might imagine. In this article, we'll offer you helpful hints to take care of one of life's most frequent problems. We'll begin in the next section with some tips on how to keep your wounds clean and healthy.
For more information on cuts and scrapes and how to heal them, try the following links:
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- For minor scrapes and nicks, you can turn to your garden to help the cut heal faster. Find out more in Herbal Remedies for Cuts.
- You can learn more about the specifics of the healing process by reading out How Blood Works page.
- How to Remove Blood Stains will teach you important techniques for rescuing your favorite clothes.
Home Remedy Treatments for Cuts and Scrapes
Even being extra careful, you can't always avoid the scrapes and cuts of life. But you can learn how to care for them and speed their healing with these home remedies:Stop the bleeding. When you get a cut or scrape, the first thing to do (after admonishing yourself for being so clumsy) is to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the area with a clean cloth or tissue. If possible, elevate the wound above the heart to slow the blood flow. Don't use a tourniquet, which cuts off circulation.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Cleaning the wound is one of the most important steps in treating a cut. |
Bring on the antibacterial ointment. Antibacterial ointments and solutions can be very helpful. Polysporin, Neosporin, and Bactine are examples of such products available without a prescription. Polysporin is a good choice for people with sensitive skin, because it contains fewer ingredients that may cause allergic reactions.
Clean with iodine. Many people use a tincture of iodine or povidone-iodine for minor cuts and bruises. Iodine kills bacteria and viruses effectively.
Close the skin. Properly closing the skin is important in cuts that are 1/8- to 1/4-inch wide. (A cut wider than a quarter-inch or with edges that are too ragged to be closed evenly requires prompt medical attention, as stitches may be necessary.) Closing makes the cut heal faster and reduces the chances of scarring. Be sure that you have thoroughly cleaned the cut before attempting to close it. Try to line up the edges of the cut, then apply butterfly strips or a standard adhesive bandage to keep the cut closed.
Cover it. Covering a wound protects it and keeps it clean. Instead of covering with plain gauze, which tends to stick to wounds, use Telfa, a coated, gauze-type bandage. Adhesive bandages often have Telfa on them, but you can also buy larger pieces of Telfa in the pharmacy and cut them to fit. Cover the wound with the Telfa pad, and use adhesive tape to hold the pad in place. Don't cover it too tightly, however, because a bit of air circulation actually facilitates healing.
Keep it clean. To prevent infection, remove the bandage and wash the wound every day with soap and water. Then apply a clean bandage.
Don't let it dry out. By keeping a wound moist (covering it generally accomplishes this, as does applying an antibacterial ointment), you help prevent cracking, speed healing, and reduce the chance of scarring.
Lick your wounds. If you don't have immediate access to soap and water, licking may help remove surface contaminants--saliva has certain antibacterial agents. Saliva, however, also contains a wide variety of bacteria that actually can cause infection if introduced into an open wound. Be sure to follow up with a soap and water washing as soon as possible.
If a scab forms, don't pick at it. This disrupts the skin and can introduce bacteria. Instead, soak crusty scabs with a solution of one tablespoon white vinegar to one pint of water; the mildly acidic solution is soothing and helps kill bacteria.
At night, keep the wound moist with a water/petrolatum regimen. Wash the wound thoroughly, then cover it with a little petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) to seal in the moisture.
Don't get locked up. Consider having a tetanus shot within 72 hours if you haven't had one in the last five years. Tetanus bacteria causes "lockjaw," a condition that can cause stiffness in the jaw and other joints, paralysis, and even death.
Protect it from sunlight. To avoid the skin darkening that often occurs when a cut or scrape heals, avoid sun exposure during the healing process and apply over-the-counter hydrocortisone to the wound. Also, for several weeks, be extra diligent about applying a good sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) to areas where you've had a wound.
These practical solutions are often all the medicine you need for minor cuts and scrapes. If you need some extra help healing, however, you can find help right in your very own kitchen. Go to the next page to read about natural healing remedies for cuts and scrapes.
For more information on cuts and scrapes and how to heal them, try the following links:
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- For minor scrapes and nicks, you can turn to your garden to help the cut heal faster. Find out more in Herbal Remedies for Cuts.
- You can learn more about the specifics of the healing process by reading out How Blood Works page.
- How to Remove Blood Stains will teach you important techniques for rescuing your favorite clothes.
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Natural Home Remedies for Cuts
If you've tried home remedy treatments for cuts and scrapes and feel like you'd like to speed up the healing even more, you might want to consider some of these tired and true home remedies you'll find in your kitchen.Home Remedies from the Cupboard
Garlic. Garlic is an old folk remedy for healing cuts, scrapes, and sores. It contains an antimicrobial agent called allicin that protects against infection. But be careful, as fresh garlic can be irritating to the skin and should never be left on the skin for more than 20 to 25 minutes. Mix 3 cloves garlic with 1 cup wine in a blender. Let it stand for two to three hours, then strain. Apply to the well-cleaned wound with a clean cloth one to two times a day. Discontinue if the treatment is irritating.
Honey. If you think bees are attracted to honey, you should see germs flock to the stuff when it's applied to a cut, scrape, or sore. Honey dehydrates the bacteria in a wound, making it clean and free from infection. Place honey on sterile gauze and apply it directly to the cleaned wound area.
White vinegar. Use a mixture of 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 pint water to soak off scabs. This will help kill bacteria and get rid of the scab gently without picking. Just remember: Vinegar stings!
Home Remedies from the Refrigerator
Onion. The same antimicrobial component of garlic, allicin, is found in onions. And onions don't irritate the skin like garlic does. Crush half an onion in a blender. Mix with honey and apply to a sore. Do not leave in place more than one hour. Repeat three times a day.
 ©2007 Publications Internatoinal, Ltd. The antimicrobial properties of an onion can help stop a cut from becoming infected. |
Home Remedy from the Windowsill
Aloe. In addition to healing burns, the sap from an aloe vera plant can be used to treat sores. Break off an aloe vera leaf and apply the sap to the sore. Repeat every few hours.
Nobody can avoid getting cuts or scrapes. But they are easy to treat and by doing so you can speed along the healing of your skin.
For more information on cuts and scrapes and how to heal them, try the following links:
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- For minor scrapes and nicks, you can turn to your garden to help the cut heal faster. Find out more in Herbal Remedies for Cuts.
- You can learn more about the specifics of the healing process by reading out How Blood Works page.
- How to Remove Blood Stains will teach you important techniques for rescuing your favorite clothes.
Timothy Gower is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in many publications, including Reader's Digest, Prevention, Men's Health, Better Homes and Gardens, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. The author of four books, Gower is also a contributing editor for Health magazine.
Alice Lesch Kelly is a health writer based in Boston. Her work has been published in magazines such as Shape, Fit Pregnancy, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, Eating Well, and Health. She is the co-author of three books on women's health.
Linnea Lundgren has more than 12 years experience researching, writing, and editing for newspapers and magazines. She is the author of four books, including Living Well With Allergies.
Michele Price Mann is a freelance writer who has written for such publications as Weight Watchers and Southern Living magazines. Formerly assistant health and fitness editor at Cooking Light magazine, her professional passion is learning and writing about health.
ABOUT THE CONSULTANTS:
Ivan Oransky, M.D., is the deputy editor of The Scientist. He is author or co-author of four books, including The Common Symptom Answer Guide, and has written for publications including the Boston Globe, The Lancet, and USA Today. He holds appointments as a clinical assistant professor of medicine and as adjunct professor of journalism at New York University.
David J. Hufford, Ph.D., is university professor and chair of the Medical Humanities Department at Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine. He also is a professor in the departments of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Hufford serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine and Explore.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.
