Cuts and grazes
Overview
Most cuts and grazes can be treated at home and will start to heal in a few days. But some wounds may need to be treated by a medical professional if there's a risk of infection or the cut is serious.
Treatment
You can treat a cut or graze yourself by stopping any bleeding, cleaning the wound, and covering it with a plaster or dressing. This will help stop it getting infected. If it's painful, you can take painkillers such asparacetamoloribuprofen(but do not giveaspirinto children under 16). How a cut or graze is treated will depend on how bad it is and if there's a risk of it becoming infected. The cut will be cleaned and closed with either stitches, strips or special glue before a dressing is put over it. But the wound may not be closed straight away if it's infected or there's a risk it may get infected. You may also need to have an injection to preventtetanusor be given antibiotics if the cut could be infected.