When should you take your
child for stitches?
For children, the scars of bumps
and bruises, cuts and broken bones are learning trophies. While parents
do their best to keep the home and yard as safe as possible, it’s impossible to
protect your child all the time. Accidents happen!
When your child comes dripping
blood into the house, or the children playing in the communal playground begin
to wail like sirens that somebody’s hurt, parents are the first to rush to the
scene of the accident. Fear and anxiety can do funny things. Some people shout,
some panic and do more harm than good, others just faint!
It helps when you know what to do.
Be calm and assess the situation.
Talk gently to the child and ask questions to find out exactly what happened. More
often than not the wound is superficial – but a little bit of blood can make children
panic.
If the cut is small and hardly
bleeding, wash it thoroughly under the tap to remove superficial dirt. Air-dry
before putting on the plaster (otherwise it won’t stick) to keep the wound
clean for a day or two while it heals. Take off the plaster once the wound has
healed, and keep it clean and dry with a dab of Mercurochrome.
Small cuts will bleed profusely if
they include an artery. This can be over the wrist, the neck and in the groin. Then
bright-red blood will spurt out like a hosepipe attached to a pump. Children
can lose a lot of blood very quickly, and this can make them go into shock.
It’s important to lie the child down and to raise the body part that’s bleeding
above the level of the heart. Any clean cloth can be used to cover the open
wound so that steady pressure can be applied. This gives the blood a chance to
clot around the wound and help stop the bleeding. If the blood soaks through
the cloth, apply another one over this while continuing to apply pressure. Call
the ambulance or take the child to hospital with a pressure bandage and an
adult supporting the child.
A gaping cut will need to be
stitched to stop the bleeding, speed-up the healing process and minimise scarring. In the ER three types
of stitching can be used:
Steri-strips – these are special plaster strips that join the two
surfaces of the cut without a needle and thread.
Dissolving stitches – these don’t need to be removed but are best
used where they will be undisturbed e.g. on the forehead or limbs.
Removable stitches are used on bigger cuts, especially where there
is a lot of body movement e.g. the face, elbows, knees and other joints. These
are usually taken out a week after the incident.
When your child has stitches, keep
the wound clean and covered according to instructions from the doctor. When the
stitches have dissolved / been removed, keep the wound clean and dry with a dab
of Mercurochrome. If your child picks at the scab, it will become infected,
take longer to heal and leave a nasty scar. If necessary, use a gauze dressing
to prevent this.
Illustration from Dr Miriam
Stoppard’s book “Baby and Child Health Care” (an authoritative easy-reference
A-Z guide to children’s illnesses, their symptoms and treatment) – highly recommended
for every home.
