Do I Need Stitches?

When do you need stitches?

You are making dinner and cut yourself. A child is playing on the playground and takes a spill. Knowing if your wound needs to be seen for stitches is an important detail to avoid getting an infection or worse. From the size of the wound to its location, there are a lot of signs that you may need stitches or at least have the doctor take a look at it.

Some signs to let you know it needs to be seen:

• How deep is the wound?
• How long is the wound?
• Does it have jagged edges?
• Is there debris in the wound?
• How badly is it bleeding?
  • Has it soaked through a bandage?
  • Does it keep bleeding after you have applied direct pressure?
  • Does it spurt blood?

Knowing what caused the wound is important. Some wounds may need a tetanus shot as well as stitches.

See the doctor right away if the wound is in certain areas:

• Face
• Hands
• Joints such as elbow or knee
• Eyes
• Genitals
• Mouth

Finally, get care right away if the wound is from an animal bite, dirty or rusty object or pointed object such as a nail. If the wound is showing signs of an infection such as oozing pus, has red streaks, swelling or feverish, get to the doctor as soon as possible. Quick treatment may increase healing time and minimize scarring. My Urgent Care can do laceration repairs every day of the week from 8am to 8pm and can save you and expensive trip to the emergency room. We are located at 910 River Road in Boerne and do not require an appointment to be seen.