Good Healthcare Requires Treatment of Your Mind, Body, and Soul

Urgent Care Interventions For Deep Tissue Lacerations

1 August 2014 by Hugh Larson

If you ever sustain a deep laceration, the urgent care center or emergency room that you visit will have special wound protocols in place to ensure that your injury is effectively treated. These interventions include both immediate care management and interventions to reduce your risk for further complications. Regardless of whether you visit an urgent care center or the hospital, the interventions will be similar:

Assess Vital Signs

The first thing that the medical staff will do when you arrive after sustaining a deep laceration is assess your vital signs. Your blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate will be checked to determine if they are abnormally high or low as a result of your injury and resultant blood loss.

If your blood pressure is unusually low, you may be given medications or intravenous fluids to increase it, and if your blood pressure is high because of injury-related anxiety, you may be given an anti-anxiety medication and oxygen therapy to prevent hyperventilation.

Cleanse The Wound

After the staff has determined that your condition is stable, your wound will be cleaned and assessed. Your laceration will probably be irrigated with copious amounts of sterile water to ensure that most of the debris and bacteria has been flushed away so that the wound can be further visualized and treated.

After the laceration has been cleaned with sterile water, an antimicrobial solution may be used to further cleanse the injury. After the site has been effectively cleaned, measures will then be taken to stop the bleeding.

Stop Bleeding

In cases of minor cuts, holding pressure to the affected is often enough to curtail bleeding. For deeper cuts, "wound glue," which is a surgical adhesive product that secures the edges of your cut together may be used instead of sutures. In many cases, however, traditional stitches are used to close a wound so that healing can begin.

Prior to getting your stitches, you will be given an injection of a local anesthetic to numb the area so that you don't feel the procedure. While most people tolerate the numbing agent well, some people experience temporary dizziness or become lightheaded following the injection. After the stitches are in place, a topical antibiotic ointment will be applied to the site, and your wound will be covered with a sterile dressing.

Booster Shot

To prevent tetanus, you may be given a booster shot. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, adults need a tetanus booster shot every 10 years, or after exposure to tetanus. If you haven't had a tetanus shot in 10 years, you will be give one as part of your laceration treatment protocol.

The booster is usually given in the deltoid muscle located in your upper arm, but it may also be administered in the buttock. While not excruciatingly painful, you may feel discomfort at the injection site for a couple days, which is usually responsive to acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Antibiotics

Finally, to prevent an infection, you may be sent home with a prescription for oral antibiotics to prevent a local or systemic infection as a result of your injury. It is important that you finish your entire prescription of antibiotics to make sure that an infection doesn't develop.

If you experience gastrointestinal side effects such as abdominal cramping or diarrhea from the antibiotics, call your doctor who may prescribe a different type that is less likely to produce unpleasant side effects.

If you sustain a deep cut, seek immediate treatment at the nearest urgent care center, like Urgent Care Maui, or hospital emergency room. If you are bleeding profusely, apply pressure over the area with a clean cloth to help stop the flow of blood. Do not drive yourself to the hospital if at all possible, and instead, call 911.

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