Skinned Knee Treatment

Isn't skinning knees and scraping elbows an everyday occurrence? Nearly all of us have slipped, fallen and skinned our knees and elbows at least once in our lives. Young children, with the amount of playing and running around they do, are the ones who are most likely to slip, fall, and end up with scraped elbows or skinned knees.

Despite it being a seemingly harmless and common injury, taking care of a skinned knee through timely treatment is very important. This is because a minor case of a bruised or skinned knee may later manifest into a major infection, if not given timely care and appropriate treatment. Therefore, on that note, let us have a look at a few aspects of skinned knee care.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this story is solely for educating the reader. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a medical expert.

First clean the wound using normal tap water. Gently try and remove as much superficial dirt, gunk and foreign bodies as possible. It will cause a bit of pain, so be gentle.

Next, apply a little bit of mild soap to the skinned area, and using your fingers, rub it gently to clean it further. Rinse it with warm water or normal tap water.

If the wound is still bleeding, then wait until the bleeding stops. Wet a paper towel or tissue and hold it against the wound so that it absorbs the oozing blood. Gently dab the area from time to time so that blood does not accumulate around the skinned area.

Make sure that you remove all remaining traces of debris or foreign particles from the skinned area before you proceed to bandaging the wound. For this purpose, a pair of medical tweezers can be used if necessary.

Now using a ball of cotton, apply a small amount of topical antiseptic disinfectant over the skinned knee. Make sure that it is applied to the entire affected area. Once again, it will sting a bit so be prepared.

After the disinfectant has dried, apply an antibiotic ointment to the wound. Effective antibiotic creams are available at almost every drug store and they help keep the wound free from bacteria and germs.

Now the best thing to do is to bandage the wound with a regular band aid, or it can be covered with a piece of clean, sterilized cotton with the help of a medical tape.

The bandage shouldn't be too tight, and it is essential to change it after a day or two, so that the skin is able to breathe and the healing can be done faster.

• It is essential to examine the wound properly. If the affected area suffers from any deep cuts, then it may require stitches or sutures. In that case, it is advisable to visit a doctor for the essential medical procedures.

• Avoid using Hydrogen Peroxide as a disinfectant. When applied to the affected area, it does kill the germs but it also attacks the newly forming skin cells which ultimately slows down the healing process. It is advised to stick with a color and fragrance free disinfectant for effective healing.

So how long does it take for a skinned knee to heal? Well, the answer to that question depends upon how early the treatment begins, how well has the affected area been clean, and the severity of the injury. In most cases, it should be fine within a week's time, and at the most 2 weeks if it is a slightly bad hurt.