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At our house, minor cuts and scrapes are common occurrences. Whether it be an accidental cut from a kitchen knife, a skinned knee from skateboarding, a scrape from a bicycle accident or a scratch from a walk in the woods; this family has them all! Needless to say, our bathroom cabinet is fully stocked with first aid supplies. This is how our family handles treating minor cuts with simple first aid.

Step 1: Wash the cut with cool water. Try to remove any dirt or debris. Once rinsed, be sure to take a second look and rinse again if the wound does not appear clean. At this point, you should be able to determine, if the laceration needs medical attention or if your home first aid kit can handle it.

Step 2: Once the injury is thoroughly clean, disinfect it with a little alcohol (alcohol prep pads are our favorite choice). This will sting a little, but only for a second or two.

Step 3: If the cut is still bleeding, apply direct pressure until the bleeding stops.

Step 4: Once the bleeding has stopped, apply antibiotic ointment to the clean, dry cut or scrape.

Step 5: Dress the wound with an appropriate size adhesive bandage (Band-Aid). If the cut is larger than band-aid size, apply a gauze bandage with medical tape.

Step 6: Keep the wound clean and dry for a few days. Continue to apply fresh antibiotic ointment and bandages as needed until healed.

Though rather common events, every cut and scrape is different. They are generally easy to take care of with a well stocked first aid kit. If you follow these steps, your wound should heal quickly without infection. This is not, of course, intended as medical advice. These are merely the steps our family has used many times with great success. Please seek appropriate medical attention if a cut is deep, if you cannot easily stop the bleeding with direct pressure for a few minutes, if you do not feel you have cleaned the wound completely, or after you clean and dress the cut it shows any signs of infection. Remember, if you have any doubts about treating a cut or scrape with first aid, seek a physician's advice immediately.

Learn more about this author, Lynette Crawford.
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