First aid advice

Malika

Well-Known Member
I wonder if I could ask you ladies some first aid advice? I didn't see how it happened as he was behind me coming in the front door but my son somehow gashed his forehead open tonight. Quite a big cut, about three quarters of an inch diameter, the skin split open, bled fairly heavily for a couple of minutes and then stopped. I have taped a piece of cotton wool soaked in antiseptic fluid over it and he is now sound asleep.
Should I take him to the doctor in the morning, I wonder? I wouldn't normally worry about this kind of thing - he has had so many bumps, bruises and gashes, particularly to the head - but the skin is split apart so I am not sure in this case what is best.
Thank you!
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
If you don't want a major scar... he should have gone immediately. It would have either been stitches, or special tape that holds the skin together. But... it may be too late for that now?
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Malika, I ran headfirst into a toilet at age 3. I have a scar, though it's pretty faint now, but it BLED and BLED and BLED. Mom has nurse training and still flipped out. You did just fine, when it heals a little more just use some moisturizer with Vitamin E (actually Vitamin E oil is best) on it every day. It'll be awful for a while but it will fade.

I would however wake him, have him take a drink of water and check his pupils. If they are different sizes or don't respond to light he might have a concussion and that will need immediate medical attention.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
I woke him up to pee (usual procedure!) and his eyes seemed alright. I guess I will see how it looks in the morning, then, before deciding whether to take him to the doctor. His lovely forehead is already bumpy because he has knocked and banged it so many times...
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
And it isn't banging any more sense into him?

Mom always said, when we'd come in with bumps on your head... "maybe that will knock some sense into you".
 

buddy

New Member
It will probably heal fine but depends on how brown his skin is...for Q his cuts show more obviously for a few seasons until the sun colors them in again. Bummer when it is on the face or head.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
His skin is the colour of white coffee, I suppose :)
Which reminds me of the famous day when he was about 18 months and we were living in Britain. I took him to see some ducks in a canal. I didn't really understand hyperactivity very well then... I kind of presumed he would stay on the canal bank and look at the ducks with me. Instead, he leapt, literally leapt, into the water... I dived in afterwards, of course. Someone said there were rats in the canal and I should take him to the hospital because of Weill's disease (sp?), which I duly did. They checked him out (someone had lent me dry clothes to put on him) and pronounced him fine. Then we went to a friend's house. She didn't understand hyperactivity either... made me a cup of coffee, boiling hot, and left it beside me - J immediately went up to it and pulled it onto himself. Third degree burns on his chest, poor little mite. He screamed and then just went sound asleep. I should have taken him to the hospital again but simply didn't dare. A Day to Remember.
Those scars on his chest... have almost faded now.
 

buddy

New Member
His skin is the colour of white coffee, I suppose :)
Which reminds me of the famous day when he was about 18 months and we were living in Britain. I took him to see some ducks in a canal. I didn't really understand hyperactivity very well then... I kind of presumed he would stay on the canal bank and look at the ducks with me. Instead, he leapt, literally leapt, into the water... I dived in afterwards, of course. Someone said there were rats in the canal and I should take him to the hospital because of Weill's disease (sp?), which I duly did. They checked him out (someone had lent me dry clothes to put on him) and pronounced him fine. Then we went to a friend's house. She didn't understand hyperactivity either... made me a cup of coffee, boiling hot, and left it beside me - J immediately went up to it and pulled it onto himself. Third degree burns on his chest, poor little mite. He screamed and then just went sound asleep. I should have taken him to the hospital again but simply didn't dare. A Day to Remember.
Those scars on his chest... have almost faded now.

MY WORD! I am sure if you had gone back there would have been a child protection report, LOL! But how do you not go for third degree burns?? I thought those had to be treated by a doctor since the nerves are burned...??? Poor kid. Q has one long scar on his back that he got when he fell backwards on our driveway which was a hill, he was on roller skates so going up the hill lost his balance and fell back and hit his back on the corner of a brick and it made a long cut. Really was a long white mark and now after years of swimming he has become much more dark overall and the scar filled in (still has a really white butt, so funny)
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Reminds me of Travis' childhood.

It doesn't sound like he'll need stitches. If it seeps blood and doesn't scab, you might want it checked. Or you can get some butterfly strips and tape it closed.

Travis tried to like one of those jar candles for me when he was 6. Burned his right hand, wrist and forearm 3rd degree. Did not utter a sound. He has nerve issues on that side of the body, not sure he even really felt it. I took him to urgent care, doctor scrubbed/pupped the massive blisters to clean it. Watched the boy in amazement as he didn't flinch. (he should've been writhing) And it healed somehow with no lasting scars. That was only one of a very very long list of injuries.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
The latest I "heard" which was probably eight years ago alot of Moms were using Super Glue to avoid stitiches and scars. Fortunately for both my boys they didn't have gashes that I had to tend to in their later years. The major issue is, of course, signs of brain impact. Scars are scars and with boys (yeah, I know it is sexist, lol) it doesn't matter so much. Hugs. DDD
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Head and hand wounds bleed and bleed and bleed and it is super common to think your child is going to bleed to death from a very minor injury there. Just about every family I know with more than 1 child has a story about a head wound or cut finger that they thought was super serious and ended up needing a plain old bandaid.

Given difficult child's age, it will probably heal quite well with no real problems and any scar won't be very noticeable in a couple of years. I split my lip open three times in the same spot from ages 6-8 and each time it was deep enough to need stitches. I have a super tiny scar that most people never notice - even makeup artists who are looking at my face carefully don't notice and if I ask they can't find it. Given that this was 3 cuts one on top of the other, each needing 3 stitches and I chewed the stitches out TWICE (they itched and drove me truly nuts), it shows that kids have an amazing ability to heal almost anything.

I would keep waking him up every couple of hours if he had any nausea, headache after a couple of hours, or other signs of concussion.

Butterfly bandages are sold in drugstores here and those are the special strips to help minimize scarring. They don't stretch the way bandaids do. You can use superglue, but make SURE that it is a brand new tube for each injury due to infection risk. I wouldn't recommend it but I know paernts who use it. mostly their kids HATE it and the only time I saw it used the kid said it stung. Given this kid, it probably didn't. I just don't know because I haven't used it. They used to sell a liquid bandaid here and I don't know if they still do. You spray or paint it on and it leaves a clear covering to protect the wound with-o a bandage. I tried the early versions and couldn't tolerate them because they stung. I then read the ingredients and they had a fair amount of alcohol in them.

If he is okay now and it wasn't hurting too much and he didn't have a headache, and he is the same in the morning, then I would probably not go to the doctor. I would make sure that it is treated with antibiotic ointment (like neosporin, polysporin, triple antibiotic ointment, etc....) in the morning and evening for a few days. The ointment will help prevent scars and keep it from getting infected. I don't know if stitches now can prevent scarring. If tomorrow the wound is still open, not scabbed over, it may be too deep to heal easily and then he should get stitches or butterfly strips to close it because it is a big infection risk. this doesn't include if it bleeds a bit because removing the cotton wool takes off a bit of the scab.

I hope J doesn't hurt too much from this and that it doesn't scar.

Oh, if there are any signs of infection like angry redness that grows in area or has red lines coming out of it like spokes on a wheel, or pus, or he starts to run a temperature, then get him to a dr ASAP.

Oh, you might want to find a box of those butterfly bandages at the store next time you are there so that you have them next tme. He will probably do this again on some body part! Most kids do, and difficult children do more than usual. Or mine did anyway!
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Thank you for all your good advice.
The assistant at J's school said she thought I should take him to the pharmacy to get the special bandage that draws the wound together. The pharmacist said I should take him to the doctor... The doctor cleaned it, said it didn't need stitches, should be left to nature to heal and put something called "Steri Strip" on. And J was just so good, lying perfectly still sucking a lollipop and said "thank you" to the doctor afterwards...
As for putting super glue on... yikes, no thanks! Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, I think....
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Steri-strips are butterfly bandages. LOL Two names for the same thing. :)

Glad stitches aren't needed.

Head wounds will almost always bleed a ton and look MUCH worse than they are. (more blood vessels closer to the surface of the skin)

Nichole whacked Travis above the eye with a rock once. I only took him to the ER because all the neighbors were totally freaking because I wasn't freaking. I was just going to put butterfly strips on it. I mean gee it was maybe an inch long for pete's sake. As it was, doctor put in two stitches I took out after they healed.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Malika -

Hows your son feeling? Our house is amply supplied with Superglue and uses it frequently. My middle name isn't Grace because I'm so smooth. Trust me -----Hope he is feeling better!

OH and FYI - with skin that color (mines Olive) I would use some product if they have it there called Scar-rid (think that is the name) or at best keep him OUT OF THE SUN and even INDIRECT sun for quite some time so there is NO scar. I know boys love their battle wounds but on the face? NO no no no no no no. Get a hat, some sun screen with SPF high as you can find it - and STAY out of the sun.
 
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