Four tips for frugal wound care

As a nurse on a med-surg unit, I encounter and take care of wounds every day, some of them shocking in severity.

(I will say no more!)

But as a human being in possession of skin, you probably also encounter small wounds, scrapes, and cuts on the regular. And if you are a parent, this is particularly true. 😉

Soo, I thought it might be helpful to share a few evidence-based, inexpensive ways to take care of these common injuries.

As is my practice when I write on medical topics: I have credentials to speak on this to some degree, but I’m going to back up my statements with links to trusted resources! Also, I’m gonna assume we’re not dealing with a bleeding-out situation here, and that you’ve already put pressure on the area to stop any bleeding. 🙂 These interventions are appropriate for minor injuries, and if you have a serious injury, you should probably head to the emergency department. 

1. Wash with water/gentle soap, not hydrogen peroxide or alcohol

Evidence-based practice shows that using products like alcohol or hydrogen peroxide does more harm than good. While these kill bacteria, they also disrupt the biome of the skin, and they kill off healthy cells surrounding the injury.

You want those healthy cells there to aid in the work of healing!

So, just use water, or you can add in some gentle soap if you need help loosening anything stuck on the injured part. 

If you absolutely feel like you want to buy something to clean a wound (old habits die hard!), you can purchase a bottle of saline wound wash, which is just salty, sterile water.

2. Keep it covered

For most of my life, I was under the impression that it was helpful to let a wound scab up.

But more recent evidence has shown that covered wounds heal faster, are less prone to infection, and are less likely to leave a scar.

One problem with letting a scab form is that the cells around the wound dry up and die. And dry, dead cells are not helpful to the healing process.

You want wet, live cells there to do the healing work for you. Also, you want the wound covered and protected to keep it from getting infected.

My favorite bandage for keeping a wound covered and moist: Nexcare waterproof bandages. These things are crazy good at staying put, even on a hand, and they stand up to washing.

10/10, highly recommend. 

Evidence for covering wounds: this NIH article, in a paragraph under the Issues of Concern section.

3. Use Vaseline instead of antibiotic ointment

Again, evidence has shown that Vaseline does just as well on wounds as an antibiotic ointment does, and Vaseline is CHEAP.

Antibiotic ointments can cause dermatitis. Plus, killing all the bacteria in a wound has been shown to be non-beneficial, and it slows wound healing.

Interestingly, the main benefit an antibiotic ointment offers is moisture, and Vaseline is perfectly good at that. It will also keep the bandage from sticking to the wound.  

(A peer-reviewed PubMed study on this topic.)

4. Change the dressing every few days

Until the wound heals, you can remove the dressing every few days (sooner if the dressing becomes loose or soiled), wash the wound gently, apply some Vaseline, and cover it again. 

Lather, rinse, repeat until it’s all healed up. 

Please note this does not apply to pumpkins

(Evidence: this National Library of Medicine specifies non-daily dressing changes for almost all wound care. Also, many of our in-hospital wounds don’t get dressing changes every single day.)

So, there you go! You can skip the alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and antibiotic ointment; just use gentle soap and water, Vaseline, and keep it covered.

Cheap and evidence-based. We love that. 😉 

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

P.S. I will be at work today (probably doing wound care. Ha.), but I will try to respond when I get home tonight.