Can Iodine be used on baby wounds?

Injuries not only happen to adults, but babies have delicate skin and can also suffer wounds due to various factors. If there is a wound on the body, it is usually treated with iodine tincture first. The difference between adults and infants makes many parents have concerns when using iodine tincture on their children, worrying about the negative impact. So, can iodine be used on baby wounds? Let’s take a closer look.

1. Abrasion

An abrasion is a wound caused by a baby falling down. It is only a superficial injury, so the injury is relatively minor and can be treated at home. For very shallow wounds of small area, you can apply iodized oil or alcohol (mercurochrome) to the skin around the wound, and then bandage it with clean and sterilized gauze. If you don't have iodine or alcohol at home, you can clean the wound with clean water, then apply antibacterial ointment, and then put on a Band-Aid.

If the abrasion is too large, the wound is stained with sand or dirt that cannot be cleaned off by yourself, or the injured area is swollen, severely painful, the surrounding body tissue is broken, bleeding does not stop, or the injured area is important (such as the face), it is recommended to take the baby to see a doctor. For large and deep wounds, the baby should be taken to the surgery department in time for local debridement and tetanus injection.

2 Laceration

In principle, sutures can be done within 24 hours, but if the injury is to the face, sutures must be done as soon as possible. Also, the longer a severe laceration is left untreated, the higher the likelihood of bacterial infection, which may result in delayed illness or residual scars, so you should seek medical attention promptly.

If you are stabbed by sharp objects such as nails, needles, glass, etc., a small amount of blood will generally flow out. Because the wound is narrow and deep, bacteria are not easily discharged, so it is easy to cause inflammation. If you are stabbed, no matter how small the wound is, you are at risk of tetanus, so it is important to seek medical attention immediately.

When treating a puncture wound urgently, you need to squeeze the wound, which will cause blood to flow out and the bacteria to be expelled. Therefore, wash your hands and use sterile instruments when treating puncture wounds. If you rush to treat a puncture wound with your hands, it may lead to bacterial invasion and inflammation.

If possible, first find out what kind of foreign object caused the puncture wound. If it is glass fragments, it may damage the baby's muscles or blood vessels. Therefore, do not handle it yourself at home, but go to the hospital immediately. Because if it is not handled properly, it will cause more bleeding and even damage internal organs and blood vessels. If you are stabbed by a knife or copper or iron product, you should go to the hospital for a tetanus shot.

If the foreign object that causes the puncture is not glass and one end is exposed outside the skin, take a pair of tweezers, place the end of the tweezers over a flame for disinfection, and after the tweezers have cooled down, distract the baby's attention so that the baby will not be too nervous, while gently using the tweezers to remove the foreign object.

If the foreign body is retained under the skin, the sewing needle can be disinfected with flame or soaked in disinfectant alcohol or disinfectant water for a few minutes. Place a piece of ice on the skin where the foreign body is located to numb the skin to some extent. Then use a sterilized needle to gently pry open the skin to expose the foreign body. Use sterilized tweezers to remove the foreign body.

If the puncture wound is caused by a nail, the nail should be pulled out first. Use sterilized tweezers or small pliers to pull out the nail in the direction it entered. Apply even force when pulling it out and do not shake it left or right to reduce damage to surrounding body tissues.

If the nail has been pulled out, you can squeeze hard around the wound to squeeze out the blood and dirt to reduce post-injury infection. If the nail breaks in the wound, the baby should stop walking immediately, and the removed nail and the baby should be taken to the hospital for removal through surgery.

4 Cuts

A cut is an injury caused by a knife, scissors, glass or a sharp instrument. When you are cut by a knife, first use clean items to stop the bleeding, and then fix it with a bandage. When the wound does not stop bleeding, direct pressure should be used to stop the bleeding. That is, press the wound directly with your fingers or palms, rely on pressure to stop the blood flow, and make the blood in the wound coagulate, or use clean gauze to press the wound to stop the bleeding.

If there is a cut on the finger and the wound is bleeding heavily, you should press the arteries on both sides of the finger tightly. The bleeding will usually stop after 5 to 15 minutes of pressure. If the cut is in other parts of the body, apply pressure to stop the bleeding. If the bleeding cannot be stopped, you can use a rubber band to tie it around the area above the bleeding to block the blood flow, and go to the hospital immediately for treatment. The time for tightening the rubber band to stop bleeding should not exceed 15 minutes each time, otherwise it will cause limb necrosis due to prolonged blood flow blockage.

After the bleeding stops, disinfect the skin around the wound with 75% alcohol or iodine, cover it with sterilized gauze or a Band-Aid, and finally fix it with a bandage. Please note that deeper, larger wounds or facial wounds should be treated in a hospital and sutured if necessary to avoid leaving too large scars.

5. Bleeding

Blood stasis is mostly caused by external force that leads to rupture of subcutaneous capillaries. Blood seeps into the subcutaneous tissue from the ruptured capillaries, so a bruise can be seen on the intact skin. At this time, the blood that has seeped into the subcutaneous tissue is considered a foreign body, and the subcutaneous tissue is rich in nerves, so the pain is obvious.

If bruises appear on the skin, you should quickly use cool water or ice to reduce swelling. If the injured part is an arm or leg, elevating the arm or leg can help reduce swelling. 24 hours after blood stasis occurs, you can apply warm water to the affected area to promote local blood circulation and accelerate the dissipation of blood stasis. Generally speaking, subcutaneous hematoma can be slowly absorbed by the body, which takes about 2 weeks.

6 Scratches

When babies gather together to play, they are easily scratched by their friends. If the problem is not serious, just disinfect it properly and it will heal naturally soon. It should be noted that running water should be used when cleaning the wound. If the injury is serious and you have a fever, or if you are scratched by a small animal, you should seek medical treatment immediately.

7. Smashed or squeezed

If you are squeezed through the door gap or hit by hard objects such as stones, be sure to apply cold compresses. For injuries caused by being hit, wrapping the bandage too tightly will only increase the pain and will not provide any therapeutic value. If you are squeezed in the gap of the door and the wound is purple due to congestion, it is very likely that you have a fracture and you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

8 Animal bites

After being bitten or scratched by a dog, cat or other animal, avoid squeezing the wound like a poisonous snake bite to prevent the virus from entering the nervous system at a faster rate. It can be rinsed thoroughly. First, use soapy water, clean water, detergent or iodine preparations, ethanol, etc. that have a reliable killing effect on rabies virus to rinse the wound thoroughly for at least 20 minutes. After thorough rinsing, apply 2% to 3% iodine or 75% alcohol to the wound to remove or kill local viruses.

Try not to suture or bandage wounds that do not damage large blood vessels. For larger wounds or more serious facial wounds that require sutures, the wound should be infiltrated with rabies immune serum or immunoglobulin after debridement and disinfection, and then sutured and bandaged several hours later (no less than 2 hours). If the wound is deep or large, a drain may be placed, and antibiotics and tetanus antitoxin may be used to control other infections.

In summer, it is better to apply ice or cold water to cool the wound after being bitten by mosquitoes. This will cause the blood vessels in the skin to contract and the toxins secreted by the mosquitoes will not be able to spread. Generally speaking, most injuries caused by mosquito bites are not serious, but you must be careful and try not to let your baby scratch the wound. If the mosquito bite area is scratched, the toxin will spread to the surrounding body tissues and may cause impetigo.

Here are 4 tips for dealing with mosquito bites:

1 After being bitten by fleas, mosquitoes, caterpillars, or ants, applying some toothpaste, vinegar, lemon juice, crushed green onion leaves, garlic, sanitary balls, onions, etc. can relieve the itching.

2 After being bitten by a mosquito, you can apply soap (or perfumed soap) dipped in water to the bite and wait for a while to stop the itching.

3 After being bitten by a mosquito, quickly take a hot water bottle stopper and place it on the bite for 2 to 3 minutes. Do this several times and the severe itching will disappear, and no erythema or papules will appear. Of course, the temperature of the cork should be high but not burnt to the skin.

4 After being bitten by a mosquito and the itching is unbearable, you can grind 1 to 2 tablets of aspirin, mix it into a paste with a small amount of cold boiled water, and apply it to the bite to reduce swelling and relieve itching.

10 Burns

The five steps of rinsing, removing, soaking, covering and sending are the first principles for handling burns and scald accidents.

Rinse: Rinse the wound with running water for 15 to 30 minutes to quickly reduce the heat on the skin surface. If you cannot irrigate the wound, apply cold compresses.

Take off: After fully soaking, carefully remove the clothes. If necessary, you can cut the clothes with scissors, or temporarily keep the stuck parts, try to avoid breaking the blisters.

Soak: Soak in cold water (with ice cubes) for 15 to 30 minutes to relieve pain and stabilize emotions. You can prepare some ice cubes in the refrigerator in case of emergency. However, if the burn area is too large or the baby is very young, there is no need to soak for too long to avoid excessive drop in body temperature or delay in treatment.

Cover: Cover the injured area with a clean sheet, cloth, gauze, etc. Do not apply rice wine, soy sauce, toothpaste, paste, herbs, etc. on the injured area. These things not only do not help the wound to recover, but also easily cause wound infection and affect the judgment and emergency treatment of medical staff.

Send: Seek medical attention and treatment immediately.