If the physician, physician's assistant, or nurse practitioner does prescribe antibiotics, take them all.
Often, you'll start to feel better within a day or two of beginning your antibiotic regimen and you might be tempted to stop taking them. Don't do it. Even though you feel better, the antibiotics haven't killed all the bacteria yet. If you stop, the bacteria that had successfully survived the first few days of antibiotics will reproduce.
These are the stronger bacteria, and their offspring will be much more resistant to that antibiotic. To avoid an infected cut, it's important to keep cuts clean as they heal. Most of the time, soap and water are all you need. Whether you use an antibiotic ointment or not is up to you, but it's really not necessary. It helps to cover a cut with an adhesive bandage, but remember to change the bandage every day and wash the cut with soap and water.
Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Cuts, Scratches, and Scrapes. Updated January Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What is sepsis? Updated August 27, Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth. If there's a risk of infection, the wound won't usually be closed because this may trap any infection inside. Instead, it will be packed with a non-sticky dressing before being covered with a protective dressing until it's safe to close. Page last reviewed: 18 October Next review due: 18 October Cuts and grazes.
Most cuts and grazes are minor and can be easily treated at home. Minor wounds should start to heal within a few days. If a wound is very long or deep or if its edges are far apart , a doctor will need to bring the edges close together so they can heal.
The doctor might do this with stitches. If you get stitches, you'll probably need to go back to the doctor in 5 to 10 days to get them out. To remove stitches, a doctor or nurse will snip the thread with scissors and gently pull out the threads. It tickles a bit and feels a little funny, but usually doesn't hurt. Doctors sometimes close small, straight cuts on some parts of the body with medical glue or steri-strips thin pieces of medical tape. Glue and steri-strips will dissolve or fall off on their own.
Getting a cut usually means that there might be a scar on the skin after it heals. If your cut needs to be stitched or glued but you don't see a doctor in time, your scar may be more noticeable.
Cuts from a bite need to see the doctor. Germs from an animal or human mouth can get into the cut and you will usually need antibiotics to prevent infection. Your doctor or nurse will also ask questions to make sure the animal didn't have rabies. A wound infection occurs when germs, such as bacteria, grow within the damaged skin of a wound. Symptoms can include increasing pain, swelling, and redness.
More severe infections may cause nausea, chills, or fever. A person may be able to treat minor wound infections at home. However, people with more severe or persistent wound infections should seek medical attention. In this article, we describe how to prevent, recognize, and treat an infected wound.
We also cover risk factors, complications, when to see a doctor, and medical treatment. A person with a small wound or infection can usually treat them at home. People can usually safely treat small wounds, such as minor cuts and scratches, at home.
With proper care, most small wounds will gradually get better until they fully heal. If a wound becomes infected, however, it can get worse instead of better.
Any pain, redness, and swelling will typically increase in intensity. People with a mild infection of a small wound may be able to treat the wound at home. However, more severe wound infections require prompt medical attention, particularly those that occur along with other symptoms, such as fever, feeling unwell, or discharge and red streaks coming from the wound.
A person should wash the wound immediately to prevent infection. Cleaning and protecting a wound can reduce the risk of infection. After sustaining a minor cut or scratch, a person should:.
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