Medical · Prevent illness and injury · medical-18

Know basic wound and bite care and when a wound needs a clinician

Small wounds are common on an estate. Clean care prevents infection; knowing the warning signs tells you when to get help.

How

Wash your hands, wear gloves and apply direct pressure to stop bleeding.
Once bleeding stops, rinse gently with clean running water or saline, clean the surrounding skin with soap and water, pat dry and cover with a clean dressing.
CDC advises leaving dirty wounds, bites and punctures open rather than sealing them, and checking the wound every 24 hours.
Animal bite or scratch: wash and flush it for about 15 minutes with soap and plenty of water (water alone if no soap). Do not cover it tightly or stitch it (WHO).
After any mammal bite or scratch, seek post-exposure rabies treatment immediately. WHO says rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms start. A suspected rabies exposure is a relocation trigger (medical-33).
Seek care as soon as possible for an embedded object, a puncture from a dirty object, signs of infection (increasing pain, swelling, redness, drainage, fever) or signs of sepsis (confusion, fast breathing or heart rate, fever or shivering, clammy skin).
Tetanus: bring everyone up to date before the move (medical-1). After a wound, CDC says a booster is needed if the last dose was over 5 years ago. Check the date in the health file.
Avoid floodwater with open wounds; use waterproof dressings.
If no help can reach you: follow your no-help plan (medical-33).

Safety: Do not try to close deep wounds, remove deeply embedded objects or perform any procedure. Get clinical help.