Cuts, scrapes, and bruises

Can someone please advise on the proper treatment for a fresh injury? I am dealing with deep lacerations—bright red, bleeding, and extremely painful.

Forget about using those harsh sprays. There’s actually this really solid spray out there that cleanses the wound while speeding up the healing process significantly.
That’s what you want when things are looking super fresh.

Just douse it in rubbing alcohol or some high-proof bourbon and cover the whole thing in antibiotic ointment.
Then, throw a band-aid or some sterile gauze over it to keep the dirt out.

Not a Band-Aid—I’d go with sterile gauze instead, though you might just end up suffocating the wound that way.

Can I just soak it in bourbon? Is it okay to let the product sit in liquid, or does it need to be exposed to the air?

Lawrence King572 said:Can I just soak it in bourbon? Is it okay to let the product sit in liquid, or does it need to be exposed to the air?

It depends on how deep we're talking here. If it's just a surface scratch and the bleeding stops after a minute or two, sure, whatever. But if it’s actually deep and won't stop oozing, you gotta use some antibiotic powder and get it covered up.
If it's bleeding heavy, you need to stop the flow by applying direct pressure to the site and elevating the limb.

Maybe just some whiskey if you don't have any actual medicine on hand? It might be worth letting it air out for a few minutes.
Where exactly is the scratch, and what caused it?

The bleeding has stopped. It’s been a day, and now it’s just sore and red. The blood looks like it’s already scabbed over. 😕
It covers the entire arm, reaching deepest on the upper arm.

Look, if there aren't any tiny shards of glass or random junk stuck in there, just leave it alone and get some sleep.
If things start getting weird or complicated, stop overthinking it and go see a doctor instead of stressing me out.
If you notice it starting to fester or get infected, just throw some Neosporin on it and call it a night. You should always have some Neosporin in your medicine cabinet; it only costs $2.75 and it’s the fastest way to get a wound to heal.

Well, looks like it finally kicked in.
Your best bet is to head to a drugstore tomorrow and grab some antibiotic ointment...
A shot of whiskey isn't going to do much for you right now...

Grab some high-proof whiskey—pour it on good and heavy—then cover the area with sterile gauze or just throw on a clean long-sleeved shirt.
If you’ve got any antibiotic spray lying around the house, like some Neosporin or Bacitracin, go ahead and spritz it on.

Understood. I appreciate the advice. 😢

Lawrence King572 said:Can I just soak it in bourbon? Is it okay to let the product sit in liquid, or does it need to be exposed to the air?

Good grief... does the average American household not have at least a few bottles of bourbon sitting around? And I've definitely never heard of Dermalogica before...

Douglas Ramos2 said:Good grief... does the average American household not have at least a few bottles of bourbon sitting around? And I've definitely never heard of Dermalogica before...

we love our whiskey, we're Southerners🤷

edit: furthermore, your sentence—or rather, your question—is grammatically incoherent.😢

Lawrence King572 said:we love our whiskey, we're Southerners🤷

edit: furthermore, your sentence—or rather, your question—is grammatically incoherent.😢

Late🙄 ...but I have a feeling it actually does... even before the corrections... hm

Quick question for my medical folks out there.
How often does a little accidental needle poke happen while you're handing out meds? Does it actually cause panic, or is it really nothing to worry about?
So, I was busy prepping some treatments, and right in the middle of everything, I nicked myself with an ampule. It was barely even a scratch, honestly, but once I applied some pressure, a few drops of blood came out. There aren't any known cases of Hepatitis B, C, or HIV on our unit, but if someone were to be hiding something... what are the actual odds of catching something? I had already hooked up a couple of IVs before this happened, and there wasn't any fresh blood around...
The colleague working the shift with me also got a tiny nick, but he’s telling me I’d have better luck getting struck by lightning twice than catching anything from this.

Waiting to hear what you guys think, thanks!

I’d suggest you pick up a middle school biology textbook instead of a high school one before you decide to open another thread like this on the Health forum. Either you're just trolling at this point, or you're publicly embarrassing yourself—not to mention making a mockery of the medical profession and the very degree you supposedly earned with honors.

If you just wrap a cotton swab around the neck of the ampule before opening it, there’s really no chance you'll end up cutting yourself...
I’m also not entirely sure I follow your logic regarding the risk of infection. I don't think an infection is even a possibility here; I guess the main thing is just to pop a Band-Aid on it if you happen to nick yourself...

I cut myself earlier today. I managed to stop the bleeding and popped a Band-Aid on it, but looking at it now, the cut seems a bit deeper than I initially thought. It doesn't actually hurt right now, but I am wondering if a deeper cut like this will still heal up normally. Is there any reason for me to be worried here?

Hey everyone!

So, here’s the situation: this past Saturday, I managed to slice my left hand just above the thumb with a knife. It isn’t a massive cut—only about 6 or 7 mm long—but I’m pretty sure it went deep. Like, bone-deep.
😢

By Sunday, everything seemed totally fine, and I actually started thinking I had nothing to worry about. 😛

But then this morning, I noticed some fluid starting to leak from the wound. Being the genius that I am, I figured applying ice would help it settle down, so I sat there with an ice pack for a few hours. Later, around 4 PM, I headed downtown and hung out for a bit. While I was out, I could feel this stinging sensation around the cut, and my forearm started feeling a little tight. 🙂

When I got back home, I noticed a red streak—maybe an inch wide—running from my thumb up toward my bicep. It's just on the surface and isn't bright red, but still. Of course, it's way too Late to head to the ER or urgent care now. I'm planning on going first thing tomorrow morning no matter what. To make things even more complicated, I was actually supposed to get my second tetanus shot back on November 25th, since I had to get the first one after a couple of nail punctures this past summer. I'm hoping it isn't too Late to get that booster.

So, yeah, I guess I'm just stuck waiting until morning! 🤷 All I can really feel right now is a burning sensation in the swelling around the cut, especially when I move my finger.

If anyone has any advice or info, I’d really appreciate it! Thanks in advance!!! 😉