Lacerations

What are lacerations?

Lacerations are deep cuts that break the surface of the skin due to contact with a sharp object. Deep cuts and wounds can also affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and sometimes the underlying bones. While home care is often effective for treating minor wounds, medical intervention is sometimes necessary to help a laceration heal properly.

What are the symptoms of lacerations?

The signs and symptoms of lacerations include:

• Deep cut
• Soft tissue tear
• Bleeding
• Pain
• Swelling

Signs of an infected laceration include redness and the presence of pus — keeping the wound clean is the best way to reduce your risk of infection. 

What are the risk factors for lacerations?

Contact with a sharp object, such as a knife, broken glass, or a sharp rock, can cause a laceration. You might also develop a deep cut after falling down or colliding with another player while playing sports. 

Other types of wounds include puncture wounds, deep wounds due to a sharp pointy object, such as the tooth of a dog, and scrapes (wounds that affect the surface of affected tissues).

If you have a deep wound that causes heavy bleeding, place pressure on it to reduce bleeding and head to All Valley Urgent Care as soon as possible. 

How are lacerations diagnosed?

Your All Valley Urgent Care provider diagnoses lacerations and other wounds after reviewing your symptoms, medical history, and how the wound occurred. They also examine the wound and may order blood tests, imaging procedures, or tissue swabs to screen for an infection before tailoring a wound care treatment plan best suited for your situation. 

How are lacerations treated?

Your All Valley Urgent Care provider may recommend treating a minor laceration at home by cleaning, disinfecting, and bandaging the affected wound. You might also take over-the-counter pain relievers and ice the treatment area to ease pain and reduce swelling. 

In-office procedures available for lacerations and other wounds include wound cleaning, disinfecting, debridement (removing dead, infected tissues), stitches, staples, and dressings. 

Your provider may write you a prescription for antibiotics to reduce the chance of or treat an infection or offer you a tetanus shot. They follow up with you to make sure your laceration heals.

To get treated for lacerations and minimize scarring, schedule an appointment at All Valley Urgent Care by phone or online, or simply walk into the office today.