How to Prevent Infected Wounds

Even a small break in the skin can spell big trouble if it becomes infected. Infected wounds can be dangerous, especially for children and practicing good prevention techniques is very important. Often, we don't realize just how easy it is to spread harmful bacteria that could cause an open wound to become infected. Even the simple act of kissing a child's boo-boo can cause an infection. The following information will help you learn how to treat a minor injury and prevent infected wounds.

Things You'll Need

• Soap
• Water
• Antibiotic Ointment
• Bandages

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Instructions

Prevent Infected Wounds

• 1

  Wash your hands with soap and hot water before touching the wound. Your hands are teeming with bacteria and you'll need to thoroughly wash them to prevent the spread of the bacteria to the wound site while you're working. Wash them vigorously for at least 30 seconds to effectively kill germs.

• 2

  Immediately wash the wound with soap and warm water for at least five minutes to remove dirt and bacteria. The soap may burn a bit, but don't blow on the wound to ease the sting. As with your hands, your mouth is full of germs and blowing on an open wound spreads the germs to the injury and promotes infection.

• 3

  Apply antibiotic ointment to the wound and the area around it. The ointment doesn't sting and it helps to speed the healing process. You can purchase antibiotic ointment with a pain reliever in it to help minimize pain when dressing the wound.

• 4

  Carefully bandage the injury. The bandage should completely cover the affected area without sticking to the wound. Opt for a plastic bandage or non-adherent dressing secured with paper tape instead of gauze whenever possible. The small fibers in gauze can stick to the wound and cause pain when the gauze is removed. However, using gauze is better than using nothing at all. If you must use gauze, apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the side that will touch the skin, beforehand.

• 5

  Wash the injury and change the bandage at least once every day or when the bandage gets wet or soiled. You need to keep the wound clean and dry to prevent infection and this can easily be done by promptly changing the bandage when it needs it.