What is it about ?
There are several kinds of wounds:
- a scratch with superficial skin lesions.
- a cut, which may need to be stitched up if it is deep.
- a bite, when the child has been bitten by an animal or a human.
Each kind of wound requires a different approach.
What is their frequency?
Since children fall regularly, they often get sores. Fortunately, not all are serious and few abrasions require specialist treatment.
How to recognize them?
In the event of a scratch, only the superficial part of the skin was affected. Usually it leaves a red, irregular patch that bleeds slightly, but the deeper skin is not affected.
If the child falls from higher, for example on the chin, his fall can cause a deeper wound, a cut; a space is created between the two pieces of skin, we could pass the point of a knife into the wound.
The child has a bite if an animal (often a cat or dog) or other human (such as a toddler in the nursery) has bitten the child. These sores have jagged edges.
How is the diagnosis made?
The doctor will first thoroughly clean the wound with running water or with physiological solution. If necessary, he can use a brush to remove all impurities. Then he will inspect the wound. The doctor will check how and when the child was injured. It will control the sensitivity, mobility and blood flow of the wound. Based on this information, he will assess how to treat the wound.
What can you do ?
Reassure the child and let him not worry. If he is in pain, you can give him paracetamol. Adjust the dose to the child’s weight. At home, you can already clean the wound with running water or with physiological solution. If the wound is bleeding, apply a clean compress or cloth to it. If she is still bleeding after 5 to 10 minutes, see a doctor as the wound may need to be stitched up.
It is recommended to always consult a doctor if it is a bite. Infectious germs from the mouth of a human or the mouth of an animal, which end up in the wound, can cause a (serious) infection.
What can your doctor do?
The doctor treats wounds to relieve pain, prevent infections, promote healing and limit scar formation.
Use paracetamol as a painkiller, or possibly ibuprofen. The doctor can usually close uncontaminated wounds, recent (6 to maximum 12 hours) and shallow, with smooth edges, without it hurting, using skin glue or adhesive suture strips.
If the doctor needs to sew up, he will inject anesthetic, so that the suture does not hurt. He will remove the threads after 5-10 days, depending on where the suture is. If the doctor suspects an infection, he may prescribe antibiotics. It will never sew up a bite, because of the risk of infection too high. In some cases, the doctor will prescribe an antibiotic preventively, to prevent an infection from developing.
The child must be protected against tetanus whatever the wound it presents. Children vaccinated according to the basic vaccination program in Belgium are automatically protected against tetanus.
Want to know more?
- Paracetamol – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information
- Ibuprofen – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information
- Local anesthesia explained to children and in pictures – Plaster
- Stitches explained to children and in pictures: how to feel less pain – Sticking plaster
- How to help my child during a treatment – Plaster
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