How to Treat a Puncture Wound

Video Transcript

"You know doing certain activities, many of us may sustain injury. Hi, I'm Captain Joe Bruni and what I'm going to talk about is how to treat a common puncture wound. Puncture wounds can be a result of fish hooks penetrating the skin or other types of objects that pierce through the skin. Puncture wounds are very difficult to clean because of the nature of their injury. The first step would be to assess the injury and normally, there won't be a great deal of bleeding with most puncture wounds. The first step would be to use some type of sterilize water to clean the affected area of any contaminants or blood that maybe around the puncture site wound. Trying to reveal where the puncture actually has taken place. Once the area is cleanse and cleared of any blood or debris, the puncture wound can be treated by following these basic steps. First and foremost you want to increase a little bit of bleeding because it cannot be cleansed properly. Something like a pair of tweezers or hemostats can gently squeeze the skin to encourage a little bit of bleeding to help flush that puncture wound of any dirt, bacteria or debris. After it has been cleansed, take some type of sterile, if available, and if not, clean dressing and apply to the puncture wound area and tape that dressing down with medical tape or wrap area or the dressing in some type of cling or gauze. Puncture wounds are never a fun thing to have. Also, you may want to consider having a tetanus booster or tetanus shot, if one has not been received in the last ten years. I'm Captain Joe Bruni, stay safe and we'll see you next time."