Any doctors out there?

Question

I am a 64 yr old woman. About 3 hrs ago I fell out side in the dirt. I landed on my right elbow and split it open pretty good. I held a wet wash cloth on it and it is not bleeding anymore. I covered it with a 4x4 inch gauze pad and wrapped an ace bandage around it. It hurts but not worth a 3-4 hr trip to the ER. My question is: Is there a salve that I might have on hand to help with bateria that I can put on the gauze pad? I think peroxide would be too painful because it is a fairly large tear? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Answer 1

I'm not a doctor, but I'm an RN. Clean the wound with soap and water. Use Neosporin, Polysporin, or Bacitracin on a clean gauze. Change the gauze and continue with the ointment at least twice a day. If it gets red around the wound, starts oozing, or if you start running a temperature, you will need to go to a doctor. In a few days , if the wound doesn't look infected and it starts to scab, you can stop the dressings and leave it open to air.
You need to judge now if the wound is deep enough for stitches. You have said it is a fairly large tear. If so, you can go to a walk-in medical clinic for that. From the way you have described it, it doesn't sound serious enough for a long drive and wait in an ER.
Tetanus is usually not a problem with a wound of this kind. It's an anerobic microbe that thrives in puncture wounds such as a rusty nail. Still, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, get a booster the next time you see your doctor.

Answer 2

Everything depends on the depth of the cut. If the cut is deep enough to require stitches, then you should have that done immediately. Without stitches, deep cuts on elbows will keep "opening" instead of healing. And neosporin should not be used on deep cuts of that sort.

If the cut doesn't go deep, then clean out the dirt under running water, and apply neosporin. Reapply up to 3 times per day, and change the sterile gauze pad.

Manufacturer info about Neosporin:
http://www.pfizerch.com/product.aspx?id=364

Also, if you live near friends or family, don't hesitate to have them assist you in cleaning the dirt out of the wound, since elbows can be tricky. You need to minimize the infection risk. Take care...!

Answer 3

I would suggest using a betadine ointment, and you can buy otc butterfly stitches. This will help the area heal as it closes the wound and still leaves it open to air for healing. But, be sure to clean the area well before doing this. Flush it out with clean cool water first, and do not touch it with dirty hands.

Answer 4

I'm not a doctor, but Neosporne works wonders. Heals the cuts very fast. Clean it off get yourself a tube of that & smear it on & cover it. Sorry you fell, hope you feel better.