Laceration

What is a laceration?

A laceration 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 open 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.

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. 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. This medicine may help the pain decrease or go away.
  
  
• Closing the wound: You may need stitches (sutures) or tissue glue to close the wound. These may help to keep the wound from getting infected. Stitches may decrease the amount of scarring you have. 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.
  
  
• 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. 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 can happen after any break in your skin. After an injury, you may need a tetanus shot if it has been longer than 5 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 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).

What are the risks of a laceration?

• 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. This 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 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 a serious infection in a wound.

When should I call my caregiver?

• Your laceration is red, warm, or swollen.
  
  
• You have red streaks on your skin coming from your wound.
  
  
• You have white or yellow drainage from the wound that smells bad.
  
  
• You have pain that gets worse, even with treatment.

Care Agreement

You have the right to help plan your care. Learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. Discuss treatment options with your caregivers to decide what care you want to receive. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

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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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