Wound care

Wound care

It is easy for both adults and children to injure themselves. Wound care, including cleaning the wound early and covering it with a plaster or compress, is important to avoid infection. Therefore, you should always have cleaning products and plasters/compresses in the medicine cabinet at home.

Cleaning the wound

Check if tap water is considered sufficiently clean for washing superficial wounds. Soap should not be added to the water. If there is a lot of dirt in the wound, however, it is recommended to wash with saline solution (0.9% sodium chloride), chlorhexidine (0.5-1 mg/ml) or Norgesplaster wound wash. If the wound bleeds, it is advisable to let it bleed for a short time before cleaning. The blood helps the wound to clean itself. Chlorhexidine, Pyrisept and Bacimycin must not be used in the ears, as this can damage hearing.

Wound washing procedure

• Wash your hands thoroughly before cleaning your own or other people's wounds.

• First clean the skin around the wound.

• Then clean the wound itself. If the wound bleeds, let it bleed for a short time. Bleeding cleans the wound.

• Clean wounds should be washed from the wound towards the skin, while infected wounds should be washed from the skin towards the wound.

• First rinse with clean water or saline solution (0.9% sodium chloride). The water should ideally be temperate/lukewarm (30-32 degrees), as cold water on the wound will delay the wound healing process.

• All foreign objects (sand, gravel, small blades of grass, soil) must be completely removed from the wound before it is disinfected.

• Use a cleaning agent such as chlorhexidine, Pyrisept or similar to disinfect.

• A wound cream or ointment can be applied before covering the wound with a plaster or compress. Cream can be used on both dry and moist wounds, while ointment should be used on dry wounds. If the wound is near the ear, Pyrisept or Bacimycin should not be used.

• When the wound surface is completely clean, the wound is covered with a compress or plaster.

Covering the wound

Do not use a dressing that sticks to the wound surface.

Do not touch the side of the patch/compress that should face the wound.

If the wound is clean and looks healthy, the dressing can be left on for a few days or until it eventually comes off. Change the patch if blood or liquid seeps through.

If there are signs of infection (warm, red and swollen skin, often with pain) in the wound, it must be cleaned and changed daily.

There are many different products for wound care and some are specialized for certain types of wounds. LenaPharm pharmacy is happy to give you more advice on which products are right for you.