Treating Cuts, Scrapes and Minor Burns in Kids in Brampton

Children learn by doing, and doing often involves falling. A tumble off a scooter in the driveway, a scrape on the playground at a local park, a nick from a craft knife or a brush against a hot pan in the kitchen: minor injuries are a routine part of growing up. Most of them heal well with simple care at home.

Knowing what to do in those first few minutes can make a difference to how quickly a wound heals and whether it becomes infected. It also helps parents stay calm, which in turn helps children stay calm. This guide covers the basics of caring for cuts, scrapes, splinters and minor burns, and the signs that mean an injury needs medical attention.

Our pharmacists at Pharmasave BramNorth on Dewside Drive can help you choose wound care products and assess whether an injury looks like it is healing properly.

Stay calm and assess first

When a child gets hurt, your reaction sets the tone. Take a breath, comfort your child and look at the injury. Ask yourself:

• Is it bleeding heavily?
• Is the wound deep, gaping or long?
• Is there something stuck in it?
• Is it on the face, a joint, the hands or the genitals?
• Was it caused by a bite, a rusty or dirty object, or a burn?
• Is your child acting normally otherwise?

Children often cry more from fright than from pain, and the sight of blood can be upsetting at any age. Speaking in a quiet, reassuring voice and explaining what you are about to do, such as “I’m going to rinse it with cool water now,” helps children feel more in control. For a toddler, a favourite toy or song can provide distraction while you work.

Most scrapes and small cuts can be cared for at home. Serious bleeding, deep wounds, large burns and other concerning injuries need medical care, which we cover below.

Stopping the bleeding

For most minor cuts, bleeding stops on its own or with gentle pressure. Wash your hands or put on gloves, then apply firm, steady pressure with a clean cloth or sterile gauze for several minutes without lifting to check. If blood soaks through, add more gauze on top rather than removing the first layer. Raising the injured area above the level of the heart, if possible, can help.

If bleeding is heavy, spurting, or does not slow after about ten minutes of firm pressure, call 911 or go to the emergency department.

Cleaning a cut or scrape properly

Cleaning is the most important step in preventing infection. Once bleeding is under control:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Rinse the wound under cool, clean running water for several minutes. This flushes out dirt and bacteria.
3. Gently wash around the wound with mild soap and water. Avoid getting soap directly in the wound if possible.
4. Remove small bits of dirt or gravel with clean tweezers. If debris is deeply embedded, see a healthcare provider.
5. Pat the area dry with a clean cloth.

Hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol are not recommended for cleaning wounds, as they can damage healthy tissue and slow healing. Clean water is generally the best choice.

Dressing the wound

Covering a wound keeps it clean and protects it from further injury. For most cuts and scrapes:

• Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly or an antibiotic ointment if recommended by a pharmacist. Keeping the wound moist may help it heal and reduce scarring.
• Cover with an adhesive bandage or non-stick dressing.
• Change the dressing daily, or sooner if it becomes wet or dirty.

Some children are sensitive to certain ingredients in antibiotic ointments or adhesives. If you notice a rash, itching or redness spreading from where the bandage or ointment was applied, stop using it and ask a pharmacist for alternatives.

For small, clean cuts with edges that come together easily, butterfly closures or adhesive strips may help hold the edges together. Gaping wounds need to be assessed for stitches or medical glue.

Splinters

Splinters from wooden decks, play structures and fences are common. To remove one:

1. Wash the area and your hands.
2. If part of the splinter is sticking out, grasp it with clean tweezers and pull it out at the same angle it went in.
3. If it is just under the skin, a clean needle can gently lift the skin over it so you can grasp it with tweezers. Sterilise tools with rubbing alcohol first.
4. After removal, wash the area and cover it if needed.

Soaking the area in warm water first may soften the skin. Do not dig deeply. If a splinter is large, deep, under a fingernail, near the eye, or you cannot remove it, see a healthcare provider.

Minor burns and scalds

Burns from hot drinks, bath water, stovetops, curling irons and barbecues are common in young children. For minor burns, which are small, red and painful, perhaps with a small blister:

1. Cool the burn immediately under cool, running tap water for about 20 minutes. Do not use ice, iced water, butter, oils or toothpaste.
2. Remove clothing and jewellery near the burn, unless stuck to the skin.
3. Cover loosely with a clean, non-stick dressing or plastic food wrap.
4. Manage pain with a pain reliever suitable for your child’s age and weight, if needed. Ask a pharmacist which product to use.
5. Leave blisters alone. Do not pop them, since they protect the skin underneath.

Keep your child warm while cooling the burn, especially young children, so they do not get chilled.

Over the following days, a minor burn may peel or itch as it heals. Keep the area clean and covered while it is tender, and protect healed skin from the sun, since new skin burns easily. If you are not sure whether a burn is minor, it is always reasonable to have it checked.

Prevention is worth a moment’s thought too. Most scalds in young children happen in the kitchen and bathroom. Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, keep hot drinks away from table edges and out of reach when holding a baby, and test bath water with your wrist or elbow before placing a child in it. Setting the household hot water heater to a lower temperature, as recommended by injury prevention groups such as Parachute, reduces the risk of serious tap-water scalds.

Burns that need medical care

Seek medical care promptly for burns that:

• Are larger than your child’s palm.
• Are on the face, hands, feet, genitals, buttocks or over a joint.
• Look white, leathery or charred, or are painless, which can indicate a deeper burn.
• Have large blisters.
• Were caused by chemicals or electricity.
• Occur in a baby or very young child.
• Show signs of infection.

For serious burns, call 911. Burns from electrical sources can cause internal injury even if the skin looks only mildly affected.

Watching for infection

Most wounds heal without problems, but check them daily. Signs of infection include:

• Increasing redness, especially spreading outward or forming red streaks.
• Swelling or warmth.
• Increasing pain after the first day or two.
• Pus or cloudy drainage.
• Fever.

If you notice these signs, have the wound checked. Ontario pharmacists can assess some minor skin infections; ask us whether your child’s situation is suitable for a pharmacist assessment or whether a doctor should see it. Our post on impetigo and childhood skin infections has more details.

When an injury needs a doctor

Beyond heavy bleeding and serious burns, seek medical care for:

• Cuts that are deep, gaping, longer than about a centimetre or two, or have jagged edges.
• Cuts on the face, lips or eyelids.
• Cuts where you can see fat, muscle or bone.
• Wounds with something embedded that you cannot remove.
• Puncture wounds, such as from stepping on a nail.
• Animal or human bites.
• Injuries with numbness, weakness or trouble moving a body part.

Wounds that need stitches are best closed within several hours, so do not wait too long.

Tetanus: check your child’s vaccines

Tetanus is a serious infection caused by bacteria found in soil, dust and animal waste. It can enter the body through cuts, especially puncture wounds and dirty wounds. Ontario’s routine schedule protects children against tetanus with several doses in childhood and a booster in adolescence.

If your child has a dirty or deep wound, check whether their vaccines are up to date. A healthcare provider may recommend a booster depending on the wound and vaccine history. See our article on routine childhood vaccines for more.

Get wound care advice from our pharmacists

If you are unsure whether a cut needs stitches, want to choose the right dressing, or are worried a wound is not healing well, our team can help. We can also help you stock a family first aid kit with the supplies covered here. Learn about other conditions our pharmacists can assess on our minor ailments page.

Stop in at Pharmasave BramNorth, 25 & 26 - 2 Dewside Drive, Brampton, ON L6R 3Y5, or call (905) 792-7333. You can check our contact page for directions and use our booking page to schedule a consultation.

This article is a general guide to minor injuries and is not a replacement for first aid training or medical care. Call 911 for serious injuries or uncontrolled bleeding.