Caring for your wound
How to look after a cut, graze or wound that has been treated — and what to watch for.
Your wound has been cleaned and treated. Most wounds heal well over the next few days and weeks. Here is how to look after it at home, and the signs that mean you should get it checked.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
These need an ambulance.
- Bleeding that will not stop with 10 minutes of firm pressure
- You feel confused or dizzy, your heart is racing, or you are breathing fast
- Pain that is far worse than the wound looks, or the skin turns dark or purple
- You feel very unwell and shivery with a spreading redness
See your GP, call NHS 111, or come back to the service named above the same day.
- Pain, redness or swelling around the wound is getting worse
- Pus or fluid is leaking from the wound, or it smells
- The wound feels hot, or red streaks spread out from it
- You feel feverish or shivery
- The wound opens up, or stitches or clips come out earlier than they should
- You cannot move the area normally, or you have numbness or pins and needles near the wound
Removal times depend on where the wound is, so use the date written in Your care details above rather than a general rule — a wound on the face comes out much sooner than one on the leg. Dissolvable stitches do not need removing, but can take several weeks to disappear. If you are not sure which type you have, or no date has been written down, contact the service named above before the wound heals over.
For the first 24–48 hours
- Keep the wound clean and dry, and keep the dressing on as advised.
- After 24–48 hours you can usually shower and gently pat it dry.
- Avoid baths, soaking and swimming until the wound has healed.
- Change a simple dressing if it gets wet or dirty.
- Do not pick at scabs — let them come away on their own.
- For pain, take paracetamol or ibuprofen if you can take them.
How your wound was closed
Your care box says how yours was closed. Let these come away on their own — do not pick at them:
Your exact removal date is in the care box above.
Tetanus & protecting the scar
If your tetanus protection is not up to date, you may need a booster — the team will tell you if so. As the wound heals, a scar will form. Protect a new scar from the sun for several months by covering it or using sunscreen, as sun can make scars darker and slower to fade.