How to Treat Cuts and Scrapes

It's important to learn how to treat cuts and scrapes properly. They are without a doubt the most common injuries that people get. Nevertheless, too many people don't know how, and that's dangerous. There's more to it than putting on a band-aid, and if you're not careful, that cut or scrape could become infected and lead to something much worse.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Band-Aid
• Alcohol Swab
• Anti-septic spray
• Water
• Latex Gloves [disposable]

1. 

   Get their permission. Never treat someone who doesn't want you to (unless it's a young child). You need to get whoever is injured to sit down and stay still somewhere safe. It's impossible to treat a cut or scrape if a person is continually moving around.

2. 

   Put on your latex gloves. While other gloves work too, latex ones are disposable and easy to use. You should NEVER treat an injury involving any amount of blood without putting on gloves. Coming into contact with another person's blood can be harmful if you yourself have any tiny cuts or scrapes. It's the easiest way to get diseases transmitted to you, and frankly, it's plain stupid to put yourself into direct contact with someone's bodily fluids unless you have to.

3. 

   Once you have the cut or scrape in front of you, you have to clean it thoroughly with water. Pour it all over and let it run off. You need to get out all the dirt that you can see, so that the cut looks clean to your eyes. Then dry it. Unfortunately, too many people simply put on a band-aid after this step, which is not the right thing to do.

4. 

   Once the injury is dried off, now you need to apply the alcohol wipes. This will clean the cut of any bacteria remaining in it that the water didn't wash away. This will sting, but it's all for cleaning purposes and it won't cause actual harm to the person you use it on.

5. 

   Now apply anti-septic ointment onto the band-aid itself. This will ensure that the cut heals faster and stays uninfected in the future. Place the band-aid carefully over the injury, making sure not to stretch it too tightly. If the arm or leg was injured, let the person stretch the out the offending limb back and forth to ensure that the band-aid stays on.

6. 

   Dispose of all used materials, especially the latex gloves. Make sure that you stay out of contact with any blood while you dispose of the gloves. Remember, while treating someone else, the top priority for you is to make sure that you do NOT come into contact with it.

Tips & Warnings

• Let me repeat once again: do NOT come into contact with another's blood. It's such a huge risk, as even the tiniest cut on you can lead to all sorts of problems.

Resources

• The Brainy Money Blog - Intelligent Ways To Make Money Online

[jenng]

on 2/28/2009 Great tips I have 3 boys so I do this all the time 5*