How long after being cut will a doctor stitch a wound?
All the years I worked in the emergency room, I never ceased to be amazed at the number of young men who at the urging of their mother, their wife or girlfriend, came in the next morning to have a cut or wound attended to. Too late. Wound healing and the knitting of tissues has already started.Now the person will have a much worse appearing scar, perhaps for life. The other alternative is to have a cosmetic scar revision in the future. But that will be a much larger operation and a larger scar than it would have been if the original wound had prompt medical attention and was sutured up.An open (non sutured) wound must heal by “3rd intention”. That means that it must SLOWLY heal from the bottom most tissues upward to avoid sealing in any germs as would have been prevented by prompt suturing.
How long is a small cut considered and "open wound"?
You were never at risk. In order to even consider this a small risk, your cut would have to be bleeding (which it wasnt), there must of been a lot of blood (which there wasnt), the person giving you oral would have to be bleeding out of her mouth (which she wasn't). Very hard to catch HIV if you are giving oral, almost impossible to catch HIV if you are receiving. Saliva has over a dozen protein inhibitors that deactivate the HIV virus. HIV does not do well in the mouth. Dont lose any sleep over this. I would however, worry more about other STD's and would recommend that perhaps you get an STD test if you had unprotected oral. But no HIV risk here.
Is a very small cut considered an open wound?
Any cut that breaks the skin is considered an open wound. Have a great day!
Can I shower with an open wound on my finger?
Yes and no. If the wound is closed and appears to be knitting together well, good to keep it dry. It can be covered with a zip lock bag then keep it as closed as you can get it. works very well.However as you say it is open, you can treat it the way nurses do an unattended wound (you did not get the doctor to treat it). Then it is a good practice to let water run over it (soapy or not). It allows the wound to heal from the bottom up and does not trap any germs under the scab and let them fester. Medically this type of healing is called “ healing by 3rd intention”.it is not useful to dab hydrogen peroxide on it then or now. peroxide is NOT a disinfectant. It dissolves dead tissue only. Alcohol is not intended for after wound care at all.Keeping a wound moist with “wet dressings” has been a “beauty way” of healing very noticeable scars for a very long time by doctors orders to nurses for a very long time.So actually you do not have to be afraid of water as most Americans are.
I cut my finger open with a utility knife...how high is the risk of infection?
make sure you have or had a tetinus shot, let it bleed. What I mean by that is if you dont allow the blood to flow out the wound can keep in the bacteria if any. so clean it, squeeze the blood if it doesnt hurt too bad, clean it again and apply some neosporin, then wrap it. the possibilities are slim as long as you allow the bacteria out by means of bleeding
HIV and wounds !!!!!!!!!?
Yes, it's completely possible to acquire HIV through an open wound. However, your open wound would have to come into direct contact with the HIV virus, normally through an infected person's blood, semen, or other fluids besides urine, mucous, and saliva. HIV transmission through open wounds is very uncommon though, unless you include reused hypodermic needles, where it becomes more common. If you think you might have gotten HIV, it's best to tell your doctor, and refrain from any sexual activity. After 6 months, have yourself tested, and then again after a year. The HIV virus takes a long time from the original infection to become detectable. If you get tested before the 6 month mark, the risk of a false-positive outweighs the benefits of getting tested.
Does delaying treatment of open wounds i.e. cut wounds lead to higher risks of infection and other complications?
Wound healing is complicated by infection that sets in when a wound is contaminated with bacteria. Bacteria enter the wound the longer it stays open (even from the air that can carry them for awhile), but it can easily be rubbed into the wound from the adjacent healthy looking skin as well. Skin has all kinds of bacteria on the surface and they can multiply when they enter a moist wound as they find all the nutrition they need to do so. A cut injury when quickly repaired by a physician with sterile sutures heals usually without complications. The adjacent skin is carefully cleaned with antiseptic solution. But if the wound is contaminated with bacteria, the infection will cause an abscess and the sutures have to be removed to drain it. The wound is allowed to heal by secondary wound healing (through granulation tissue forming). There are newer techniques to help in wound healing with the use of extra cellular matrix: Nanotechnology For Better Healing
Does rice eating increase the risk of infection in bedsore wounds stage 4?
Many Doctors strongly insist patients esp. those having open wounds to not eat foods having high Glycaemic index like Rice, Potato specifically because of the high sugar level spike such food produces. This is more important in case of patients whose blood sugar levels cannot be controlled properly. This spike of high blood sugar predisposes the patient to infection. In your mentioned case it can lead to gangrenous sores leading to amputation & ultimately death.
What can happen if a wound that needs stitches is not stitched, but merely bandaged? Will it simply take a longer time to heal?
When you have a cut in your skin (laceration) it allows dirt and germs to get in. So when you don't close it you are allowing a doorway for infection. Infection in the skin itself is one type of problem. It puts the skin at risk of dying. Infections that enter the bloodstream are a whole different magnitude. It puts your life at risk.If you put two flaps of skin next to each other then scar tissue will form and repair things. The bigger the gap the more scar tissue that needs to form. The longer it takes. The next phase is that once the scar tissue glues thing together the body remove the scar tissue and replaces it with skin. The problem is that at a certain point the "replacement" phase stops and you are left with some amount of scar tissue. We have no control of that. So the answer is to put the flap edges as close together as possible that way less scar tissue is formed.
Is there a risk of getting hepatitis C from touching something that may have dried blood on it?
Is there a reason you’re asking specifically about Hep C? Do you know whether the blood came from someone with hepatitis?If no, you should be completely safe. If yes, you're probably safe anyway.A hepatitis virus can, generally speaking, live on surfaces for a very long time, easily weeks. But chances of catching it are next to none. It needs to enter your blood stream, so unless you rubbed an open wound repeatedly on a surface with Hep positive blood, you're fine. If you touched your eyes or mouth, you're still not likely to catch it.Even if a needle with Hep positive blood pierces your skin, the risk of catching it is estimated to around 30% according to flyers where I work. And even then it might not become a chronic infection anyway. You can get infected with Hep B and have it manifest almost like a flu and then go away.I understand this worries you. I’ve been there myself, and the anxiety following something like this can be extreme.If blood from someone you know is infected came into contact with clearly broken skin on your body, seek medical attention and get blood samples and a vaccine (only applicable for Hep A and B). Any other scenario, I’ll say lower your shoulders and relax. You’re fine.If you can’t get it out of your head, have a chat with your doctor. The internet has many smart people, but they can't replace your primary care physician.