Cleaning cuts and preventing infection

Most small cuts and grazes heal well if you clean them properly and keep them covered. When medical help is hard to reach, preventing infection matters even more. If a wound is bleeding heavily, stop the bleeding first, and call your local emergency number (112 in Europe and many other countries, 911 in North America) if it won't stop.

Cleaning a wound

1. Wash your hands with soap and water, and put on gloves if you have them.
2. Stop any bleeding with firm pressure using a clean pad.
3. Rinse the wound under clean running water for several minutes. Drinking-quality water is best — if you're unsure, boil it and let it cool first. Pouring water from a clean bottle works well.
4. Clean around the wound with soap and water, but try not to get soap inside it.
5. Remove dirt and grit that rinsing doesn't shift, using tweezers cleaned with alcohol or boiling water. Don't dig deep.
6. Pat it dry with a clean cloth.

Plain water is enough for most wounds. You don't need strong antiseptics, and pouring things like hydrogen peroxide or alcohol into a wound can damage tissue and slow healing.

Covering it

1. Cover with a clean, non-stick dressing or plaster.
2. Change it every day, or sooner if it gets wet or dirty.
3. Each time, look at the wound for signs of infection.
4. Small grazes can be left uncovered once they've formed a dry scab.

Don't tape a deep or dirty wound tightly shut. Closing it can trap germs inside. Keep it clean, covered and loosely held together, and get it seen.

Signs of infection

• Redness, warmth or swelling that spreads or gets worse after the first day or two
• Increasing pain or throbbing
• Pus, cloudy fluid or a bad smell
• Red streaks spreading away from the wound
• Fever, chills or feeling generally unwell

Spreading redness, red streaks or fever need medical care quickly: the infection may be spreading into the blood.

Get medical help for

• Deep or gaping cuts, or cuts on the face, hands or joints
• Wounds that won't stop bleeding after 10 minutes of pressure
• Puncture wounds, such as from a nail
• Animal or human bites, which infect easily
• Wounds with something stuck in them
• Very dirty wounds, especially if tetanus vaccination isn't up to date

Wounds that need stitches are best closed within a few hours, so don't wait too long.

This guide does not replace a first-aid course. A few hours of hands-on practice will make you far more confident when it matters.

This article is in the Grid Survivor app, searchable with no signal. Get the app · £4.99