Complications of a laceration | Laceration causes, symptoms and diagnosis

Complications of a laceration

As with any injury, the wound can become infected. The skin barrier is defective and germs can penetrate the skin from outside and multiply there. If these enter the bloodstream, in the worst case the infection can spread throughout the body.

Lacerations can bleed heavily and be very painful. This can lead to general symptoms such as a drop in blood pressure or even fainting. The tearing of tissue layers can damage superficial or deep nerves.

Sensitive skin nerves are particularly often affected, which may not be able to regenerate and a numbness or loss of sensation may remain in the area of the wound. Deep wounds or poorly adapted wound edges can lead to wound healing disorders. The same applies to additional bruising.

Healing time of a laceration

The healing time depends on the severity of the injury and its localization. Deep wounds, which are additionally badly bruised and the wound edges could only be joined with difficulty, require considerably more time for healing. Sutures may even have to be renewed after a few days.

Small lacerations with well adapted wound edges usually heal in 10-14 days, after which the stitches can be removed. Lacerations on parts of the body that are exposed to greater stress due to movement (e.g. fingers, knees) can also take a little longer to heal. The affected part of the body should be kept as still as possible until the wound has healed so as not to irritate the skin unnecessarily.