Any pointers on healing a deep cut at home?

[madeofstardust]

Hello! I broke a glass recently and slipped on the floor while picking up the pieces and somehow managed to gash my thigh open. the wound is pretty deep and I guess would technically need stitches, but with no income/insurance or any way to pay for medical bills I decided to heal this beast at home. I irrigated the wound and made sure it was clear of any debris and then used butterfly closures to keep the skin pulled together. It happened on Tuesday night and it does seem to be getting better, but today I decided to change the butterfly closures out for new ones and there are some pretty big blisters left under the skin where they were. I reclosed the wound with more butterfly closures, but spaced them differently. I've been doing salt water rinses every day, I just need to know if there's anything else I should be doing? I was thinking about getting some calendula, I read about how that helps healing tears naturally after a vaginal birth so I thought it might apply? I just don't want this to get infected and I need to be able to chase around my 14 mo DD without being in pain. It's not infected, and theres not swelling or redness around the wound except for where the blisters are.

[pianojazzgirl]

Something someone said to me yesterday gave me to understand that blisters would be a sign of infection. (This was in the context of her son bashing in his front teeth and she was meant to watch for blisters on the gums as this would be a sign of infection). I have no idea if this is the case for a skin wound, but it would make me nervous, and maybe consider going in to get stitches. Do you have a free nurse line that you could call to get an opinion (though I know they do tend to be super-conservative CYA-style).

I'm sorry this may not be helpful in the least, and certainly doesn't answer your original question.

Good luck to you mama, and good healing.

[madeofstardust]

I'm pretty certain that the blisters were caused by the adhesive on the butterfly closures and how they pulled at my skin. The blisters are only UNDER where the adhesive part of the bandage was, so I don't think that means infection or anything.
Thanks for your !

[Panserbjorne]

I make a lotion of calendula and hypericum (10:1 water to each tincture) and wash it regularly with it. Always does the trick. You can also make a people paste (honey, goldenseal and some calendula) and apply it if necessary.

I don't like salves or ointments for things like this.

[A&A]

How big is the gash? Are we talking potentially one or two stitches or a lot of stitches?

I cut my thumb and technically probably needed a couple of stitches but I'm healing it with this stuff called "New Skin: Liquid Bandage."

http://www.amazon.com/New-Skin-Antis...f=pd_sbs_hpc_1

But if it's a big wound you probably need to seek medical advice.

[34me]

New skin works well and has clove oil in it. I would use steri strips instead of butterfly bandages because they are more gentle on sensitive skin. Sounds like it is doing well.

[gypsy458]

wound care

I had Moh's surgery a year ago to remove Basal cell cancer that was under my skin from temple to temple . I ended up with 28 stitches and learned a bit about wounds and looked like Frankenstein's wife just in time for Halloween. Anyway, the biggest surprise to me was learning that scabs are a no-no. If you get a scab, you will get a scar. A correctly healing wound does not have a scab. So how did you prevent scabs? Vaseline. Every cut, after applying an antibiotic ointment should be covered with a vaseline and then covered with a bandaid - which tends to fall off with vaseline so I ended up using gauze and tape. The other thing I learned about was Dermabond which is essentially liquid stitches. This is what the doctors are using but it is very very expensive. You can buy one application Dermabond on Amazon by individual sellers in the ten to fifteen dollar range. So in a nutshell - for all wounds: clean it, put antibiotic ointment on it, cover with vaseline then cover with bandage. It should be covered until it is gone. It was all new to me but I followed the doctor's instructions and have a barely there hairline scar from the surgery.

I am also hearing that 3M's wound care products like Steri-Strip Wound Care Skin Closures are really good.

Oh, also, the next time you have a routine doctor appt, ask for a prescription for Silvadene (the generic equivalent is silver sulfadiazine) to keep around the house for burns. If aloe vera doesn't take the sting out, this stuff will. My kids swear by it and I keep a jar the size of a Ponds face cream around of it.

Hope this helps.

[StrongBeliever]

IODINE IODINE IODINE!!!!! I swear by it and can not sing it's praises loudly enough. It helps a wound heal from the bottom up. Even a deep one. I use it on superficial cuts and more serious slices all the time, and have ZERO scarring. I would not hesitate to use it on deeper wounds at all. It will heal your flesh and skin, and stave off infection. I recently had my much loved sow get attacked by a couple of dogs... I thought she was a goner. Having no money for a vet, I did the best I could, irrigating her SERIOUS wounds everyday with iodine. A month later, she is running around and very happy to be healed and alive. I use food grade iodine supplement drops on the family(less than $15 at the healthfood store) that is a little higher concentration than what you can get at the drugstore or Walmart or wherever. But if povidone-iodine is all you can get, USE IT.