Small wounds heal quickly

A brief moment of inattention has happened:

• The paring knife is stuck in the skin instead of the apple peel.
• The curb has caught your knee.
• Your finger lands on a piece of broken glass.
• Your head is looking at the world from below.

What now? Minor injuries are common in everyday life, and children, in particular, are easily injured and bleed. Fortunately, these often look worse than they are. How badly and long a wound bleeds depends on its size and whether and which vessels are injured.

Abrade, bruise, cut …

Depending on the type of injury, different wounds can be distinguished that hurt more or less and heal better or worse:

• Abrasions:  In this typical childhood injury, the upper layer of skin scrapes off. Since there are many nerves but few vessels in this area, an abrasion is painful but bleeds very little (punctiform). Instead, tissue fluid comes out, a clear yellowish liquid.
• Lacerations, contusions, lacerations:  Pinched fingers, banging your head on a rock, a cat’s claws digging into your hand, a fishhook ending up in your hand instead of the fish—the edges of the wound are tattered and irregular in this type of injury. The wound bleeds moderately, often followed by bruising in the surrounding tissue. And: These injuries become infected quickly.
• Puncture wounds, cuts: Pointed and sharp objects usually cut through the tissue smoothly but can go very deep. The wound tends to bleed profusely, but usually heals well. However, deeper-lying structures such as, e.g. B. tendons and nerves are injured.

With open wounds, the doctor

Important: Bleeding that is heavy and spiky or cannot be stopped within half an hour should be seen by a doctor. The same applies to facial injuries, deep cuts, lacerations or contusions, injuries with gaping wound edges and foreign bodies that cannot be removed. A self-treated wound that becomes infected over time also belongs to experts.