Abrasion is a wound caused by the skin rubbing against a rough, hard material, causing a wound. There may not be much blood, but the friction can tear the epidermis. This type of wound will heal on its own, but it must be cleaned immediately because if left untreated, the wound will become dirty and infected.
Symptoms of abrasions
Most abrasions occur on areas of thinner skin that often touch the ground when falling, such as the knee, elbow, or ankle. Abrasions are tears at the epidermis level, which may or may not bleed. If there is no bleeding or the tear is not too severe, it will heal on its own. However, it must be cleaned to prevent dark spots from foreign objects remaining in the wound. However, if the wound is bleeding and the depth or size of the wound is quite large, the wound may not be an abrasion. The wound should be cleaned promptly and additional wound care may be required.
Causes of abrasions
Abrasions are wounds that often occur from accidents. Wounds occur when the skin rubs against a hard, rough surface, such as the road surface, the ground, or an area with a sharp surface. But it is not enough to cause a deep cut that causes a lot of bleeding or a large scar.
Diagnosis of abrasions
Abrasions are open wounds that are clearly visible. Therefore, you can observe the abrasions yourself. The obvious characteristics of abrasions are the tearing of the epidermis and there may be a little blood seeping out. The wound is not very deep. However, if the wound is large and quite deep, it is considered another type of wound. You must see a doctor to clean the wound and receive treatment by a specialist. Cases that are considered to be worth seeing a doctor include:
- The wound occurred on the face.
- The edges of the wound are rough or open, and the wound is more than ¼ inch deep, allowing fat or muscle to be seen.
- The wound is very dirty because all dirt cannot be removed from the wound.
- Haven’t received a tetanus vaccine in the past 5 years.
- Wounds caused by animal or human bites or scratches
- The injured area feels numb.
- Bleeding does not stop even after applying direct pressure to stop the bleeding.
- The bleeding did not stop within 20 minutes.
Treatment of abrasions
In cases where the wound is small and does not bleed, treatment may not be necessary because these wounds will heal on their own. However, it is necessary to clean it, regardless of its size, to prevent infection. However, before cleaning the wound, you should wait for the bleeding to stop first. Most of the time, the bleeding from a scratch will stop on its own. After that, you can clean the wound. Here’s how:
- Wash your hands thoroughly. Before treating a wound, wash your hands thoroughly with soap to prevent germs from remaining on your hands, which can cause infection.
- Flushing the wound with cold water will help clean the wound and reduce the pain. The wound should be washed by letting water flow through the wound and using soap to clean the wound area.
In addition, while waiting for the wound to heal, the wound area should be kept clean at all times and gauze may be covered. If the wound area is painful, paracetamol can be taken to relieve the pain. However, aspirin should not be used because it will cause the bleeding to stop. In the case of slight swelling, try applying a cold compress to relieve the symptoms. However, the wound should not be exposed to ice or gel packs directly because it may cause infection. If you have to go outside and the wound is exposed to sunlight, apply sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and wear clothing that covers the wound area and allows air to circulate so that the wound does not become too stuffy.
Complications from abrasions
Although abrasions can heal on their own, if patients do not clean the wound immediately from the time it first appears or do not keep it clean enough, complications may occur. A common complication in patients with abrasions or other types of open wounds is infection, which will make the wound dry even slower. However, if the wound does not stop bleeding, is painful, or has unusually large swelling, or has any of the following symptoms, you should see a doctor immediately.
- The skin around the wound becomes darker and larger.
- There is a lot of fluid leaking out. There is brown, green, or yellow pus leaking out of the wound.
- The pus that flows out has an unusual foul smell.
- Fever higher than 38 degrees Celsius for more than 4 hours
- There is a hard lump in the groin or armpit.
- The wound shows no signs of healing.
When you see a doctor and the doctor diagnoses that the abrasion is infected, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection. However, in severe cases where there is also necrosis, the doctor will need to scrape away the dead tissue and surrounding tissue to help prevent the infection from spreading further.
In addition, if the infection is left untreated urgently, it may cause other complications , such as:
- Tetanuscauses lockjaw, body stiffness and convulsions, which is caused by the infection that causes tetanus.
- Subcutaneous tissue necrosis. Severe infections can cause subcutaneous tissue necrosis and tissue loss in the infected area.
- Gas-generating tissue necrosis If the wound infection is caused by Clostridium botulinum, tissue necrosis and gas production under the skin can occur, forming a lump.
- Cellulitis is an infection that causes a burning, sore, or painful rash on the skin.
Abrasion prevention
Since most abrasions are caused by accidents, they cannot be completely prevented. However, the risk can be reduced by taking precautions to avoid accidents that could cause abrasions. If abrasions do occur, they should be cleaned as soon as possible to prevent infections that could lead to serious symptoms later on.
