How To Treat A Wound

In the confusion and chaos of many emergency situations, it’s inevitable that people are going to get hurt. When they do, the first aid they receive may make all the difference – quite literally – between life and death.

So, if you come across someone who has been injured and needs your help, how do you treat a wound?

Are you prepped?

It’s true in any emergency – the better prepared you are for the unexpected, the better the outcome is likely to be.

When you’re faced with treating someone who is injured, therefore, it is essential to know some of the basic routines and to have rehearsed just what to do.

A confident response, backed up by your knowledge of the basics, may help to establish the calm and collected reactions of you, the patient, and any onlookers.

Plus, having a fully stocked first aid kit always available is essential.

Treatment

Fortunately, the routine for treating a wound is relatively straightforward and requires basically the same approach whatever the situation or however serious the injuries:

• your primary aim is to clean the wound – to help prevent infection and to kickstart and encourage the healing process;

• your first step, therefore, is to thoroughly wash and dry your hands – preferably under drinking-quality, running tap water;

• if you’re treating someone else, make sure they’re sitting or lying down and as comfortable as possible;

• if any are available, pull on some disposable gloves;

• don’t try to remove anything protruding from the wound, warns the NHS, but seek further, professional medical advice;

• if you have access to a tap, try holding the wound under clean running water for five to ten minutes to thoroughly rinse it out;

• with soft gauze or a piece of clean cloth soaked in water – or an alcohol-free wet-wipe – dab around the skin to carefully clean the wound;

• don’t use any antiseptic creams or ointments as these can damage the skin;

• dry the area by dabbing it with a clean towel or wad of clean paper tissues – but nothing fluffy, like cotton wool – which can leave strands of fibre stuck to the wound where it will irritate.

To cover … or not?

There remains the question of whether it’s better to cover a wound or to let it “breathe”, dry out, and recover in the open air.

A posting on the Safe and Sound Health website suggests that there are arguments for either approach. Some of the science suggests that air does, indeed, aid the healing process and if the wound is relatively minor and not likely to be constantly rubbed open by clothing or movement, you might want to leave it uncovered – especially once it has scabbed over.

The danger to an open wound, though, is infection – and some environments are going to be worse than others, of course. On balance, therefore, it is probably best to cover the wound with a sterile dressing – a non-sticky pad or bandage – or a waterproof plaster if you have one handy.

If blood continues to seep through the dressing, leave that one in place, add another on top of it (rather than removing the original), and continue to apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.

If the wound fails to heal

The Wound Source website suggests several reasons why a wound might not be healing. We have already mentioned the danger of infection and most of the other reasons are likely to require expert medical or other professional intervention. They are:

• poor circulation – insufficient blood is being pumped by the arteries around the body and to the site of the wound in particular;

• oedema – a build-up of fluid under the skin or soft tissue, often caused by poor circulation, and typically affecting the lower limbs;

• poor nutrition – having access to sufficiently nutritious food becomes especially critical in any crisis situation when someone is injured or needing a wound to heal; and

• repeated trauma – if the wound in question is repeatedly knocked, bumped, or rubbed, you will suffer repetitive trauma, with an extended and more complicated period of recovery.

Summary

Being able to treat a wound is a life skill not only reserved for preppers – but a great thing to have in its own right.

If you don’t have those skills already – or could do with brushing up on those you learned some time ago – you might want to look for courses run by your local branch of the Red Cross or St John Ambulance. Many employers these days also run first aid courses for their staff. Although you are also likely to find courses that are run entirely online, you are likely to get the most benefit from the hands-on, practical experience of “live” face-to-face training sessions.