Sometimes it is necessary to stitch a wound, and this in some cases is the only way to prevent extensive bleeding and the penetration of pathogenic microflora. There are a number of recommendations and tips that can save a person’s life in critical situations.
Wound Classification
What does it mean to suture a wound? This is a mechanical manipulation consisting in joining the edges of the damaged skin integuments, which helps to prevent the penetration of microbes into the interior and provides an early recovery. Sutures are applied to restore the natural anatomical position of the epithelial tissue.
Which wound should be sutured? Not every damage requires suturing, but in particularly dangerous situations, such manipulations can save a person's life. Need to know about wounds that should be sutured:
- damage to both the epithelium and subcutaneous tissue;
- often it is necessary to sew up a lacerated wound, which requires a comparison of its edges;
- cuts in the areas of skin tension: limbs, joints (elbows, knees, etc.).
What do not sew up?
The importance of manipulation can only be assessed by a doctor. Cannot be stitched:
- abrasions, scratches;
- wounds in which the edges diverge to one centimeter;
- through wounds;
- stab wounds in the absence of damage to organs important to life.
Suture is contraindicated in case of a shock state of a person and the presence in the wound of a clear purulent-inflammatory process.
How to sew up wounds, not everyone knows.
Types of seams by application time
There are several types of seams, the use of each of which depends on the specific situation:
- Deaf primary seam. It is applied after preliminary sterilization and treatment of the wound in order to prevent the penetration of pathogenic microflora into the bloodstream.
- Delayed primary seam. It is applied after the third day of the injury, if the inflammatory process and swelling in the wound have decreased significantly. A drainage is introduced, through which purulent contents will be discharged without stagnating in the wound.
- Secondary early seam. It is used to determine the first symptoms of restoration of the deep layers of the dermis. Establish drainage between the seams, new pink cells do not need to be excised.
- Late secondary seam. It is applied if there is a very deep wound, the restoration of which is carried out from the inside. Manipulation is performed if there are no pathological processes in the wound.
How can a wound be sutured?
Essential tools and preparations
In the surgical ward, the procedure is performed using suture material, sterile needles, tweezers, sterile bandages and with the proper qualification of a doctor. If you need to put the primary seams to save a human life, the following materials are prepared:
- any clean cloth or sterile bandages;
- needle, fishing line, silk or any other thread;
- tweezers and scissors;
- alcohol, vodka, brilliant green, hydrogen peroxide.
If there is bleeding, then it stops using hydrogen peroxide. With severe bleeding, the application of a tourniquet may be necessary - a temporary procedure, it must be removed after the flow of blood stops. Rinse the wound with water and remove all dirt from it. If there are fragments, they are carefully removed with tweezers. In the field, all the necessary tools are processed with substances containing alcohol, or calcined at the stake.
Wash hands with soap, then treat with vodka or alcohol. If there are painkillers in the form of solutions, then they are allowed to cut off the wounded area, thereby reducing the pain of sensations (Ultracain, Novocain, Lidocaine).
If the bleeding is severe, then the vein or artery is damaged. Here without thinking - urgently impose a tourniquet! But if the blood does not hit the fountain, then there is no fear of losing a lot of blood.
How to sew up a wound will be described below.
Features of the procedure
There are several stages of suturing the wound, due to compliance with their sequence, you can stitch correctly:
- Suture preparation and needles. A needle is taken and threaded into a small piece of thread. Then the thread with the needle is wetted in vodka or alcohol solution. For convenience, the needle can be bent in the form of an arc with forceps.
- Impose the first seam. The dissected tissues are compressed from both sides, then they pass through the center of the needle with the capture of two edges. Each seam is applied separately. First, the center is sewn, then the edges.
- Then the remaining seams are superimposed, nodules are attached. Sutures should be placed on the intact edges of the skin, and the fixation of nodules is made on the side of the wound. Between the stitches should be a distance of half to one centimeter.
- The resulting seam is processed. It is well lubricated with an antiseptic drug. The preference is given to Chlorhexidine and Zelenka.
- A sterile dressing is applied, made of gauze, bandage or any clean tissue that will protrude in size beyond the edges of the wound for two to three centimeters. Securely tighten to the seam, bandage to prevent slipping.
- The damaged area is immobilized. A tire should be bandaged to the limbs.
If the condition rapidly worsens or pus, a blood flow, or blood are released from under the sutures, an immediate examination by qualified doctors is required.
How to treat a sewn wound?
Post-Suture Guidelines: Post-Treatment
To reduce the risk of infection of the suture, you need to monitor the condition of the wound several times a day. Wound wounds are dressed two to three times a day. Carefully remove the sterile dressing. If its discharge is difficult, the bandage is pre-soaked with hydrogen peroxide.
Suture treatment is performed with antiseptics, preference is given to “Chlorhexidine” and greenback. After two or three days, when the bandage is dry when the bandage is observed, the latter is allowed not to be applied. If the wound is conducted in an open way, the suture is treated without additional use of dressings.
It is advisable to refuse hygienic procedures for the time of tissue fusion, since water can cause suppuration and further complicate the course of the period after the operation. After five to seven days it is allowed to take a shower, then the seam should be wet with a bath towel and treated with an additional antiseptic.
Features for removing stitches
The sutures are removed on the 10-14th day, when the damaged integument of the skin has grown together. Suture material is cut with scissors with long thin ends, resulting in two ends. Then take tweezers, one end is clamped and the thread is pulled. On the body there are punctures that heal soon.
The procedure is rather painful, and therefore it is done with local anesthesia. When the sutures are removed, the wound is treated twice daily with any disinfectant solution. It is undesirable to take baths until complete healing.
Life is quite unpredictable, and in case of injury it is not always possible to immediately seek qualified help, so it will be useful to know how to repair a wound at home.
Home stitching
You can not achieve complete sterility at home. However, with a strong divergence of tissues, this procedure becomes a necessary measure that reduces the development of sepsis.
Prepare alcohol, boiling water, gloves, sterile bandages and a thread with a needle. It does not matter with what thread the wound will be sutured, since the sutures after arriving at the medical facility will be redone.
Hands are washed with soap and treated with alcohol. Thread the thread into a needle, lower it into alcohol or a disinfectant solution for several minutes. Divergent edges bring closer to each other, in the middle of the wound impose the first seam. Each seam should be with a knot, the amount is determined by the length of the wound.
Any manipulations are carried out carefully, objects should be in minimal contact with the wound. Then apply a bandage or sterile dressing and deliver the patient to a medical facility.
Of course, you can sew a wound at home. But if possible, it is better to do this in the operating room. In case of violations during suturing, an extensive inflammation process can develop.