While a laceration can often be deep, you may be able to treat a deep cut without stitches. Taking care of the wound the right way can prevent infection and hospitalization, ensure proper healing, and reduce scarring. In some cases, it may save your life.
This article will go over how to treat a laceration. You will also learn when a cut requires medical attention and possibly stitches.
How to Treat a Finger Cut
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Steps to Treating a Laceration
Signs that you need stitches include:
Even a large laceration should eventually heal on its own without stitches, but stitching it up helps it heal faster. It also keeps bacteria out and lowers therisk of infection. Getting stitches can alsoprevent scarring.
If the laceration is deep but doesn’t seem to require stitches, you should be able to treat it with a basicat-home first aid kit. If you or someone else gets a laceration, here are some general guidelines to follow.
Stay Safe
Before you start helping someone who is injured, keep yourself safe. For example, some cuts bleed a lot. You’ll need to try to keep the other person’s blood from getting on you.
Do your best to prevent infection when you’re caring for a person who is sick or hurt. The steps you can take to stay safe are calleduniversal precautions.
Wearing disposable gloves and a face mask, if you have them, is another step you can take. These items are calledpersonal protective equipment. They help keep you and the person you’re taking care of safe.
Control Bleeding
The most important step in caring for a cut ispreventing blood loss. There are a few ways that you can do this.
First, apply pressure directly to the wound. Then, lift the injured area up to above the level of the person’s heart (if possible). Keep it there for about 15 minutes. This should be long enough tostop the bleeding.
If the cut is still bleeding, try putting pressure on the groin or the crook of the elbow. These pressure points can help stop bleeding.
TourniquetsTourniquetsare tight bands that stop blood flow to a part of the body. A tourniquet can stop bleeding but should only be used if the bleeding is massive and life-threatening.Even when someone puts a tourniquet on correctly, it can still cause damage. They should only be used in life-or-death situations when medical care will not be available soon enough to help someone.Preferably, only a person who is trained (like a first responder) should put on a tourniquet.
Tourniquets
Tourniquetsare tight bands that stop blood flow to a part of the body. A tourniquet can stop bleeding but should only be used if the bleeding is massive and life-threatening.Even when someone puts a tourniquet on correctly, it can still cause damage. They should only be used in life-or-death situations when medical care will not be available soon enough to help someone.Preferably, only a person who is trained (like a first responder) should put on a tourniquet.
Tourniquetsare tight bands that stop blood flow to a part of the body. A tourniquet can stop bleeding but should only be used if the bleeding is massive and life-threatening.
Even when someone puts a tourniquet on correctly, it can still cause damage. They should only be used in life-or-death situations when medical care will not be available soon enough to help someone.
Preferably, only a person who is trained (like a first responder) should put on a tourniquet.
How to Stop Different Kinds of Bleeding
Know When to Call 911
If you cannot stop the bleeding,call 911. Losing too much blood is dangerous. If amajor arteryis cut, a person can lose a life-threatening amount of blood in just 5 minutes.
Clean the Wound
Once the bleeding has stopped,wash the cut and skin around it. Use warm water and mild soap, and be gentle. If the cut is deep, it might start to bleed again if you’re not careful.
Re-apply pressure if the bleeding starts again. If you can’t get the bleeding to stop, call 911.
Apply Antiseptic
For a smaller cut that doesn’t need stitches, putantiseptic ointment and an adhesive bandageon it. An example is a butterfly closure bandage. You probably have one of them in your first aid kid.
The dressing keeps the wound clean and prevents infection. It can also help prevent scarring.
Dress the Wound
After the cut has been bandaged, cover it with sterile gauze. Your first aid kit should have a roll or patches of it. You can either tape the gauze in place or wrap it with an elastic bandage.
How to Properly Dress a Wound
Check for Infection
As the cut is healing, look for signs of infection. Check the dressing every day for oozing or lots of bleeding. Clean the wound every time youchange the dressing.
If the cut starts to swell or pus is coming out, call your doctor.
Control Pain
Lacerations can hurt a lot. Putting anicepack on it may help. You may want to take an over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication like Tylenol (acetaminophen) orAdvil (ibuprofen).
Keeping the wound elevated will reduce swelling and may relieve discomfort.
Get Shots (if needed)
All non-sterilized objects have bacteria on them. Some of these bacteria can make you very sick. You might need atetanus vaccinationor tetanusbooster shot.
The risk oftetanusis higher if the cut is on your feet, cannot be cleaned right away, or is from an animal bite.
When to Call a DoctorA cut that gets infected can become an emergency. Seek medical care right away if you have:Swelling, pain, or redness around the woundRed streaks near the injury that point toward your heartPus in or coming out of the woundNumbness around the injuryIncreased body temperature
When to Call a Doctor
A cut that gets infected can become an emergency. Seek medical care right away if you have:Swelling, pain, or redness around the woundRed streaks near the injury that point toward your heartPus in or coming out of the woundNumbness around the injuryIncreased body temperature
A cut that gets infected can become an emergency. Seek medical care right away if you have:
Summary
You may need a tetanus vaccination or booster shot. Animal bites always require medical attention. You should also get medical care if the cut is showing signs of an infection.
10 Basic First Aid Tasks Everyone Should Know
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Otterness K, Thode HC Jr, Singer AJ.Methods of laceration closure in the ED: a national perspective.Am J Emerg Med. 2020;38(6):1058-1061. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2019.158365National Health Service.Does my cut need stitches?.Stanford Children’s Hospital.Lacerations with stitches.Otterness K, Singer AJ.Updates in emergency department laceration management.Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2019;6(2):97–105. doi:10.15441/ceem.18.018Yaguchi S, Yamamura H, Kamata K, Shimamura N, Kakehata S, Matsubara A.Treatment strategy for a penetrating stab wound to the vertebral artery: a case report.Acute Med Surg. 2019;6(1):83–86. doi:10.1002/ams2.381Rothe K, Tsokos M, Handrick W.Animal and human bite wounds.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2015;112(25):433–443. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2015.0433
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Otterness K, Thode HC Jr, Singer AJ.Methods of laceration closure in the ED: a national perspective.Am J Emerg Med. 2020;38(6):1058-1061. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2019.158365National Health Service.Does my cut need stitches?.Stanford Children’s Hospital.Lacerations with stitches.Otterness K, Singer AJ.Updates in emergency department laceration management.Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2019;6(2):97–105. doi:10.15441/ceem.18.018Yaguchi S, Yamamura H, Kamata K, Shimamura N, Kakehata S, Matsubara A.Treatment strategy for a penetrating stab wound to the vertebral artery: a case report.Acute Med Surg. 2019;6(1):83–86. doi:10.1002/ams2.381Rothe K, Tsokos M, Handrick W.Animal and human bite wounds.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2015;112(25):433–443. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2015.0433
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Otterness K, Thode HC Jr, Singer AJ.Methods of laceration closure in the ED: a national perspective.Am J Emerg Med. 2020;38(6):1058-1061. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2019.158365National Health Service.Does my cut need stitches?.Stanford Children’s Hospital.Lacerations with stitches.Otterness K, Singer AJ.Updates in emergency department laceration management.Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2019;6(2):97–105. doi:10.15441/ceem.18.018Yaguchi S, Yamamura H, Kamata K, Shimamura N, Kakehata S, Matsubara A.Treatment strategy for a penetrating stab wound to the vertebral artery: a case report.Acute Med Surg. 2019;6(1):83–86. doi:10.1002/ams2.381Rothe K, Tsokos M, Handrick W.Animal and human bite wounds.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2015;112(25):433–443. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2015.0433
Otterness K, Thode HC Jr, Singer AJ.Methods of laceration closure in the ED: a national perspective.Am J Emerg Med. 2020;38(6):1058-1061. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2019.158365
National Health Service.Does my cut need stitches?.
Stanford Children’s Hospital.Lacerations with stitches.
Otterness K, Singer AJ.Updates in emergency department laceration management.Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2019;6(2):97–105. doi:10.15441/ceem.18.018
Yaguchi S, Yamamura H, Kamata K, Shimamura N, Kakehata S, Matsubara A.Treatment strategy for a penetrating stab wound to the vertebral artery: a case report.Acute Med Surg. 2019;6(1):83–86. doi:10.1002/ams2.381
Rothe K, Tsokos M, Handrick W.Animal and human bite wounds.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2015;112(25):433–443. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2015.0433
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