How to Treat Children's Minor Scrapes and Scratches

When kids play they give it all they've got. They go full force. There are many ways a child can get a scrape or a scratch. Sometimes children will trip when they're running full speed ahead. They'll skin a knee or an elbow. Other times they'll wreck their bicycle, or their scooter. The child gets a little banged up, scratched and scraped here and there, and most of the time the scrapes and scratches are minor. Serious injuries need to go to the emergency room. Minor injuries can generally be cared for at home.

The most important thing to know about scratches and scrapes is that if they are not cleaned and treated promptly infection can occur. If the scratch or scrape becomes infected the infection can spread or become severe. With MSRA cases on the rise infection is nothing to mess around with.

The next time your child gets a minor scrape or scratch here's what to do...

Wash it with soap and warm water. Doing this will remove any dirt from the wound that could possibly cause infection. A scrape on a knee of a child who just fell outside is likely to have dirt, grass, and what have you in it. Wash it well with a mild soap and nice warm water to remove all particles.

Next, use peroxide to clean out any bacteria that may linger. If it foams and is white it means the peroxide is doing it's job and that bacteria or infection is present. Apply peroxide directly onto a cotton ball and then pat the scratch or scrape with the soaked cotton.

An antibiotic ointment should be applied before the wound is bandaged. Apply a small dollop of the ointment and then place a properly sized band aid over it. Keeping the scratch or scrape covered is a good way to prevent infection, as is changing the bandage and cleaning the site each day until it is healed.

If the outside edges are beginning to become reddened or if there if the pain does not get better after a day or so then a call to the doctor should be made. Infection can be serious. The main signs of infection in skin wounds are redness, swelling, pus or discharge and worsening pain. These signs should be taken seriously as a severe condition can result. Call your doctor within 24 hours if there are signs of infection.