Should one disinfect a wound?

An important complication that must be prevented in wounds is the penetration of germs, which can lead to inflammation. It is therefore a good idea to first treat each wound with a suitable disinfectant. This requirement is therefore also found in many instructions for the initial treatment of wounds.

The German Red Cross, on the other hand, does not recommend disinfection in its recommendations on first aid for wounds, but even lists this in the prohibitions on the treatment of wounds. Despite these contradictory recommendations regarding the disinfection aspect, the essential and uniformly recommended elements of first aid for wounds should not be lost sight of. These include:

The self-protection (wear gloves, secure the accident site, etc. ),
Notify assistance (people in the vicinity, emergency services if necessary),
Support and observe the injured
And cover the wound with a sterile dressing and fix it.

How do I clean a wound?

First of all, not every wound needs to be cleaned as part of first aid. In the case of some injuries, such as open wounds like deep cuts or stab wounds, cleaning should even be omitted, as otherwise there is only the risk of germs penetrating deeper into the tissue.Instead, the wound should be covered with a sterile wound dressing of sufficient size (use several dressings overlapping if necessary) and fixed with a bandage. Coarse dirt particles, which can be removed without great effort, may and should nevertheless be removed in advance (wear gloves if possible).

However, the first aider must never remove dirt or foreign bodies that are deeper or difficult to reach. These should simply be carefully connected and, in the case of larger foreign objects, fixed to prevent them from slipping. An exception in wound care with regard to cleansing are injuries caused by heat or caustic substances. In the case of burns, the wound should be cleaned and cooled with lukewarm running water (NOT ice-cold water). In the case of chemical burns, for example from an acid or lye, the wound should also be carefully washed out with lukewarm running water and then dressed as described above.