Consumer Information

Laceration

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is a laceration? A laceration (las-e-RAY-shun) is an injury to the skin and the soft tissue underneath it. Lacerations may happen if you are cut or hit by something. Lacerations can happen anywhere on the body. The healing time for a laceration depends on where it is on your body. It may take a laceration longer to heal if it is over a joint, such as your knee or elbow.

What are the signs and symptoms of a laceration? Lacerations can be many shapes and sizes. The opening in your skin may look like a cut, tear, or gash. The wound may hurt, bleed, bruise, or swell. Lacerations in certain areas of the body, such as the scalp, may bleed a lot. Your wound may have edges that are close together, or gaping apart. You may have numbness (loss of feeling) around the wound. You may have decreased movement in an area below the wound.

What are the signs and symptoms of a wound infection? Even with proper treatment, a laceration may become infected. Call your caregiver if you have any of the following signs or symptoms:

Increased warmth to the area.
Redness or swelling to the area that gets worse instead of better. You may have a red streak coming from the wound.
Pain in the area that increases instead of decreases over time.
You have pus or bad-smelling drainage from the wound. Pus is a fluid that may drain from a wound that is infected. Pus is milky (not clear) and may be white, yellow, green, or brown.

How will my injury be treated?

General care: Caregivers will first work to control the bleeding if your wound is bleeding a lot. You may need your wound cleaned out with germ-free liquid. This helps to remove dirt and other small objects, and decreases the chance of infection. Your caregiver may need to look in the wound for foreign objects. You may need to have your skin numbed with medicine if your caregiver needs to explore (probe) or close the wound. This numbing medicine may help the pain decrease or go away. Tell your caregiver if you are allergic to lidocaine, or to any other dental or numbing medicine. Also tell your caregiver if you are allergic to iodine or latex (rubber).
Closing the wound: You may need stitches (sutures), staples, glue, or other treatments to close the wound if it is deep or bleeds a lot. You may also need stitches if your wound is gaping open. Stitches may be needed if the wound is in an area that moves a lot, such as the hands, feet, and joints. Stitches may help to keep the wound from getting infected. Stitches may decrease the amount of scarring you have (long-term changes in how the skin looks). If you wait too long to see caregivers and your wound is too old, it may not be stitched. Some lacerations may heal better without stitches.
Special care: Some lacerations need special care. For example, wounds caused by fish or marine life may need special medicines. Antibiotics are not needed for most wounds. You may need antibiotics if your wound has a high risk of infection. You may need to see special caregivers if your injury has hurt bone, nerves, or blood vessels in your body.
Other tests you may need: If your caregiver thinks you may have objects in your cut, you may need an x-ray. Foreign objects that may be in lacerations include things like metal, gravel, and glass. You may need more tests, depending on what caused your injury. For example, your caregiver may do more tests if you have many wounds from a car accident. Tests may include an ultrasound, a MRI, or a CT ("cat") scan. These tests allow your caregivers to see detailed pictures of your soft tissue. Ask your caregiver for more information about any tests or treatments that you may need.

How do I know if I need a tetanus shot? Tetanus infection, or "lockjaw," can happen after any break in your skin. Tetanus is very serious, and may even kill you. It is important for adults to get a tetanus shot at least every 10 years. After an injury, you may need a tetanus shot if it has been longer than five years since your last one. Your caregiver may decide if you need a tetanus shot based on your wound. Wounds at high risk for tetanus infection include any wound that may have dirt or saliva (spit) in it. Many puncture wounds also have a high risk for tetanus infection. When needed, tetanus shots should be given as soon as possible (within 72 hours of the injury). Ask your caregiver for more information about how often children need tetanus shots.

Risks:

A sharp object may have passed through your clothing before cutting your skin. This may have caused small threads or bits of clothing to be pushed under your skin. Bits of clothing in a wound increases your risk of getting an infection. The risk infection may be even more serious if the sharp object went through the rubber sole of a shoe.
Your risk of having serious problems is increased if you did not see a caregiver right after your injury. Even with the best care, you may still have problems with your wound, such as infection. Some wounds that would be harmless to healthy people may be dangerous to others. For example, people who have diabetes have a higher chance of getting a serious infection in a wound.

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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