Laceration
Your child has been diagnosed with a laceration.
We know this can be a stressful time with lots of information from healthcare providers. It can be difficult to absorb everything.
We hope the following pages will be helpful in providing you with the education and resources you need to support your child from home.
How Are Lacerations Treated?
Your physician may have treated your child’s cut with one of the options below, depending on how deep and large your child’s cut was.
- Regular wound dressing
- Glue
- Steri-Strips (tape)
- Staples
- Stitches
What to do at home
Click below for information on ways to help at home.
Pain management
To help alleviate pain, you can give your child
acetaminophen (Tylenol) and/or ibuprofen (Advil), so long as
your child does not have allergies or other reasons not to
take these medications.
Unless your doctor advises you otherwise, give the dose
recommended on the medication package.
Safe Acetaminophen Dosing for Infants and Children
Mount Sinai - Ibuprofen Dosing for Infants and
Children
Cleaning
Keep the area around your child’s wound clean and dry for 24 hours after it has been closed. After 24 hours, you may clean the area using soap and water (except when glue was used)
Dressing Changes
You can choose to cover the wound with a bandage. This may protect the stitches or stop them from getting caught on clothing or objects your child touches. Change this bandage or dressing at least once a day.
Caring for Steri-strips
Your child can wash or shower with Steri-Strips on. If the
edges come loose, trim the free edge with scissors
If they have not fallen off after 14 days, you can remove
them yourself.
Caring for Glue
Glue will fall off after 5 to 10 days.
If you apply a dressing or bandage to protect the glued
area, keep the adhesive off the glue.
Keep the area dry. If the area gets wet gently blot and dry,
do not soak or scrub.
Avoid Vaseline or petroleum jelly since this weakens the
glue’s hold. Avoid Polysporin as this also contains
petroleum jelly and will weaken the glue’s hold.
When to Return to Remove Stiches or Staples
Stitches on the face are usually taken out in 3-5 days.
Stitches/staples over joints and areas of “pulling” are
taken out in 10-14 days.
Everywhere else, they are taken out in 7-10 days.
If dissolving stitches have not dissolved after 2 weeks,
they should be removed.
You can have your child’s stitches or staples taken out by
your primary care provider or at a walk-in clinic. Do not
remove the stitches or staples yourself. Call your primary
care provider the next business day to make an appointment
to get your child’s stitches taken out at the right time.
When to seek medical attention
Here are some signs that, if present, should lead you to seek immediate medical attention for your child:
- the cut becomes very red or warm
- increasing pain at the area of the cut
- pus coming from the wound
- fever/chills