Wounds

Cuts and grazes are among the most common of all injuries. Minor cuts and grazes (that do not go right through the skin) usually heal without causing any problems unless they become infected, or cause an unwelcome visible scar. Deeper cuts may damage important structures below the skin, such as nerves, blood vessels, or tendons.

A cut to the surface of the skin will often scab over and heal with little, or no, treatment. However, there may be a risk of a cut becoming infected, or leaving a scar once it has healed. A graze, or abrasion, is an injury to the skin, where the skin is scraped off against a rough surface. Most cuts and grazes can be easily treated at home. However, more severe cases may need medical attention, such as stitches (sutures) to close the wound. The most common complication which can occur from a cut or graze is an infection, such as tetanus.

Minor cuts and grazes may bleed and feel slightly painful. The affected area will normally scab over and heal quickly. However, if the cut is near an area that is constantly moving, such as around your joints, like the knees and elbows, it may take longer to heal. Depending on how deep the cut is, and what part of your body is affected, a small scar may remain once the cut has healed.

Signs of infection in cuts and grazes: Any minor cut or graze should heal fairly quickly. However, there are signs to look out for which can mean that your cut or graze is infected. These signs may include: loss of sensation (if a nerve has been cut), pulsatile bleeding, where blood spurts from the wound (if an artery has been severed), swelling of the affected area, pus forming in, and around, the affected area, redness spreading from the cut or graze (erythema), increasing pain in the wound, feeling generally unwell, fever, and swollen glands (lymph nodes).

Infection is the most common complication of cuts and grazes. If you have a wound that becomes contaminated by soil, faeces or saliva, you are at risk of getting tetanus (a severe bacterial infection). Severe cuts and grazes can also cause damage and scarring to your internal system. Several examples of complications from cuts are indicated below:

• Tetanus is a serious infection which affects your nerves, causing your muscles to spasm (twitch).
• Damage to your internal system from cuts and grazes that are particularly deep, causing damage to your nerves, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, and bones.
• Scars can form if your cut or graze is very deep, or if you pick at a scab.

Treatment:
Most cuts and grazes are minor and can be easily treated at home. However, if your injury is more severe, you may need to receive treatment in hospital. For most cuts and grazes, cleaning them thoroughly, and covering them with a plaster, or dressing, is usually all that is needed. If your cut or graze is bleeding heavily, or is on a particularly delicate area of your body, such as the palm of your hand, you should stop the bleeding before applying any kind of dressing. Apply pressure to the area to stop the bleeding using a bandage, or a towel. If the cut is to your hand, or arm, you should raise the affected area above your head. If the injury is to a lower limb, lie down and raise the affected area above the level of your heart so that the bleeding slows down and stops.

Clean the wound under running tap water, but do not use antiseptic because it may damage the tissue and slow down healing, pat the area dry with a clean towel, and apply a sterile, adhesive dressing, such as a suitably sized plaster. The wound should heal by itself in a few days. If the wound is painful, you can take painkillers, such as paracetamol, or ibuprofen. You should not take ibuprofen if you have asthma, and children under the age of 16 should not take aspirin.

When to visit Hospital:
If you notice any of the following signs or symptoms, see your GP as soon as possible: swelling of the affected area, pus forming in and around the affected area, redness spreading from the cut or graze (known as erythema), increasing pain in the wound, feeling generally unwell, fever, and swollen glands (lymph nodes). If you have a cut that is too severe to treat at home, go to your local NHS Walk-in centre or accident and emergency (A&E) department.

If there is no risk of infection, the healthcare professional will clean your cut using water, or a sterile saline solution, before closing it. This may be done using stitches (sutures), tissue adhesive, or skin closure strips. If your cut needs stitches, you will have a local anaesthetic, which means that you will be awake, but will lose feeling in the area of your cut. Tissue adhesive - this may be used to close less severe cuts that are under than 5cm long.  Skin closure strips - these may be used as an alternative to tissue adhesive, for cuts that are less than 5cm long, where there is a risk of infection.

If your graze is very severe, and you have lost a lot of skin, you may need to have a skin graft. Your surgeon will take some skin from another part of your body and put it over the wound. After a while it will heal and look normal.

Aromatherapy Treatments

Many essential oils can help to cleanse and treat wounds.

Lavender has been used for thousands of years for this purpose and its very name comes from the Latin “lavare” to wash as it was used to wash out wounds. This oil can be used neat on the wound.

Myrrh was similarly used by the Greeks and is especially useful if the wound is slow to heal and weepy, and Tea Tree although a more recent addition to the West was used for hundreds of years by the Aborigine people in Australia.  

The best way to use these oils is to put a few drops on a plaster or gauze before applying to the wound. Other essential oils which are suitable for use are Benzoin, Bergamot, Eucalyptus, Juniper and Rosemary.

Benzoin Essential Oil - Styrax Benzoin (10ml)

10ml bottle of Benzoin Essential Oil (Styrax Benzoin)

£3.75

Bergamot Essential Oil - Citrus Bergamia (10ml)

Bergamot is a valuable oil for tension and anxiety. It can help with conditions such as cystitis and urethritis as well as being great for skin conditions such as acne.

£4.25

Eucalyptus Essential Oil - Eucalyptus Globulus (10ml)

Eucalyptus is best loved for its ability to help with chest infections and blocked up noses. However it is also great for muscular aches, colds sores, herpes or burns and makes a useful and natural painkiller.

£1.37

Lavender Essential Oil - Lavandula Officinalis (10ml)

Lavender has been used continuously for thousands of years and its popularity has only ever increased. If you could have no other essential oil in your house, then Lavender would be the prime choice: It has a wide range of uses and is a natural antibiotic, anti-depressant, sedative and de-toxifier.

£2.40

Juniper Essential Oil (10ml)

Juniper has a special affinity with the urino-genital tract and can be used to treat many associated conditions. It is also good for respiratory problems and certain skin conditions.

£4.25

Myrrh Essential Oil - Commiphora Myrrha (10ml)

Myrrh is good for many skin conditions including woulds, weeping sores, athletes foot and cracked skin. Useful for chest infections and can help with diarhhoea and stomach pains.

£8.75

Rosemary Essential Oil - Rosemarinus Officinalis (10ml)

Rosemary is believed to have a refreshing, invigorating affect on the skin and can be used for a variety of skin and hair problems. It is good for stiff and overworked muscles, Steam inhalations with Rosemary can be good for catarrh and sinusitus. Rosemary also has a strong connection with the central nervous system and can help with memory and mental clarity.

£2.75

Tea Tree Essential Oil - Melaleuca Alternifolia (10ml)

Tea Tree - the ultimate antiseptic which is a truly wonderful oil to keep in. Use it for veruccaes, thrush and warts, acne, rashes and dandruff. Try it for resipratory problems such as coughs and catarrh and use it to help with viral infections and increase the boxes immune system.

£2.75