How to care for wounds and incisions after a car crash
Daily care and early warning signs, from a wound care nurse's point of view
A crash can leave you with scrapes, cuts, burns or a surgical incision. Each may need its own dressing and its own cleaning steps. Forget what people usually put on wounds. The question to ask is, “What exactly was prescribed for this wound?” A wound care nurse would help you turn that answer into a routine you can safely repeat. [1, 2]
Get a plan for each wound before you leave
Ask where each wound is, what kind of dressing it needs and how often to change it. Find out what supplies to use and when the wound can get wet. Ask whether you have stitches, staples, strips or glue, and who will check or remove them. If you have more than one wound, label the instructions by location. Don’t assume one plan fits every spot. [1, 2]
Have a nurse show you how to change the dressing. Then do the steps yourself while they watch, before you go. Speak up if your hand is hurt, the wound is hard to reach or the task makes you faint. Set up help or home nursing before your supplies run out. [2]
If road grit, glass or another object is still in a cut or scrape, get it checked by a medical professional. Don’t dig it out yourself. Dirty or deep wounds also mean your tetanus protection should be reviewed. Whether you need a vaccine or other treatment depends on the wound and your vaccine history. Bring that record if you can find it. [4]
Keep wound care clean and simple
Gather your supplies before you take off a dressing. Wash your hands before and after you care for the wound. Keep the new dressing clean. Change it on the schedule your surgeon gave you. Don’t put lotions, antibiotic creams, alcohol or anything else on the wound unless your care team told you to. Do not remove stitches or staples on your own. [1, 2]
If it’s hard to tell how the wound is healing, keep a short log. Note the date, how much drainage there is, your pain and any change in the skin around it. A photo can help if your clinician asks for one. Look at changes over time instead of judging color from one photo. Lighting can fool you. [1, 2]
Rules for bathing vary too. Ask whether the dressing can get wet, whether you may gently rinse the wound and when soaking is OK. If a bandage sticks or tape irritates your skin, ask your team about another method. Don’t pull a stuck dressing off a painful wound without guidance. [1, 2]
Changes that mean you should call
Call your care team promptly if redness, warmth, swelling, pain or drainage keeps increasing. Cloudy or foul smelling drainage and fever also need a review. Let them know if the wound opens, gets deeper, bleeds more or develops a dark area. These signs don’t prove an infection. They still shouldn’t be ignored. A surgical site infection can reach tissue below the skin. [1, 3]
Use the phone number and fever cutoff listed on your own instructions. If you can’t reach the team and feel very sick, get urgent care. Trouble breathing, confusion or a condition that’s getting worse fast calls for emergency help. [1, 3]
Two mistakes to steer clear of
First, don’t stick with a dressing plan you can no longer carry out. Running out of supplies or being unable to reach a wound is a care problem. It is not a personal failure. Second, don’t treat a wound that’s getting worse with leftover antibiotics. A clinician may need to examine it and decide if you need treatment or a different dressing. [2, 3]
The question to keep with your supplies
Sources and further reading
- 1MedlinePlus closed surgical wound care
- 2MedlinePlus open surgical wound care
- 3CDC surgical site infections
- 4CDC tetanus wound management
This is general U.S. information from a wound care nurse’s point of view. Every wound is different. Follow the instructions for your own wound and call your care team if anything is unclear.
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