9 Must-know Steps In Giving First Aid To Skin Abrasions

As your kid becomes physically active at play, he is much more prone to bodily injuries ranging from skin bruises, grazes, small cuts, deep lacerations, or even bone fractures and dislocations. Small children may get those injuries inadvertently during a fun-filled activity with neighbors and day care friends, while more mature young children can get injuredthrough sporting activities.

The most typical injury obtained by young children is a skin graze or abrasion. The skin is the largest organ of the body which serves as the body's first line of protection. It is soft and can be stretched to permit movement, but durable and resilient to resist breaking. Therefore, it is made up of 2 layers: epidermis and dermis. The dermis is the innermost lining of the skin that comprises of protein fibers, nerves, blood vessels, hair follicles, sebaceous and sweat glands. The epidermis, on the other hand, is the outermost coating of the skin that is made up of several layers of tightly bounded cells. This is the layer that is violated or broken in skin abrasions.

Skin abrasions are most of the time known as grazes, gravel rash, or carpet burns. It is also known as 'scrape' because the top layers of the skin are scraped off, like when your kid stumbled on his knees and hit a rough surface. Though bleeding is not typically severe, skin abrasions are quite painful. It is advisable that all people, not only parents, who care for young children, should know how to do proper first aid management for this type of skin injury.

1.Clean your hands before starting to treat the wound to avoid the chance of transmitting any infecting microbes to the damaged skin. (Infecting the site can lead to delayed healing.)

2.If there is ongoing bleeding, simply apply pressure to the wound with a clean dressing, or a clean cloth, or a clean tissue paper.

3.Rinse the injured area with clean water and soap. Get rid of any dirt like small stones and other foreign matter that is embedded in the wound by using sterile gauze to decrease the chance of infection. (If the dirt can not be removed, cover the wound with a sterile dressing and look for professional help.)

4.As soon as the wound is already cleaned, apply antiseptic solution, cream or lotion. (Do not use hydrogen peroxide or one consisting of alcohol.)

5.Cover the wound with sterile non-adherent dressings. Dressings that stick to the wound ought to be avoided simply because taking them off is painful.

6.After a number of hours, a yellow-colored crust should form on the surface of the wound. Do not remove this as this will serve as a protective layer that can eventually harden. At this time, it is best to leave the wound open to the air and kept dry for faster healing. However, if the youngster is likely to have one more injury or most likely to pick on the crusting, it is best to leave the dressing on.

7.Let the crusting (or scab) fall off by themselves.

8.While the wound is healing, it becomes itchier. If the little one could not resist scratching the sore, it is much better to carry on protecting it with sterile gauze till the wound is totally healed.

9.No matter how little the wound is, it is vital to evaluate the little one's tetanus immunization status. Bring the child to the physician without delay if he has not had the full number of tetanus injection, or it's been 5 years or longer since his last tetanus vaccination.

Bear in mind, any breaks on the skin may be an entry site for any bacteria and other infecting germs. Suspect an infected wound if healing does not start within 2 days. Signs and symptoms of wound infection involve increasing pain, heat, swelling, and redness around the wound, pus oozing out from the wound, enlarged and painful lymph nodes in the groin or armpit, and fever. In this case, you must have the kid see a physician for proper analysis and management.

If these easy first aid steps are followed, skin abrasions must heal quickly.