A brief moment of carelessness, it has already happened: The vegetable knife is stuck in the skin instead of the apple peel, the curb has caught the knee, the finger lands in a shard of glass, the head looks at the world from below. What now? Minor injuries are a common occurrence in everyday life, and children in particular are quick to contract wounds and bleeding. Fortunately, these usually look worse than they really are. How much and how long a wound bleeds depends on its size and on whether and which vessels are injured.
Scrape, bruise, cut …
Depending on the type of injury, different wounds can be distinguished, which hurt more or less and heal better or worse:
- Abrasion: in this typical injury in childhood, the upper layer of skin scrapes off. Because there are many nerves but few vessels in this, an abrasion is very painful but bleeds very little (pinpoint). Instead, tissue water comes out, a clear yellowish liquid.
- Laceration, crush wound, laceration: pinched fingers, hitting the head on a stone, cat claws hooking into a hand, fish hooks landing in the hand instead of in the fish – in this type of injury, the wound edges are ragged and irregular. The wound bleeds moderately, often followed by a bruise in the surrounding tissue. What’s more, these injuries become infected easily.
- Stab wound, cut wound: points and sharp objects usually cut the tissue smoothly, but can reach very deep. The wound tends to bleed profusely, but usually heals well. However, deeper structures such as tendons and nerves can be injured.
With open wounds to the doctor
Important: bleeding that is severe, spiky or cannot be stopped within half an hour belongs to the doctor. The same applies to facial injuries, deep cuts, lacerations or crush wounds, injuries with gaping wound edges and foreign bodies that cannot be removed. A self-care wound that becomes infected as it progresses also belongs in expert hands.
