How to clean a cut or wound
How to clean a wound, whether it’s an injury or longstanding, and need a quick reference guide from your phone. Below are options of cleaning wounds with saline but wound sprays can be sprayed to clean wounds as well.
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Wound sprays like the Elastoplast brand can also be used, and can buy various wound sprays and solutions for ease of use.
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Using a Dressing Pack

Take dressing pack out of the plastic wrap a and pull tab to open. Touch only the outer edges of the pack

Use top tweezers to pull open contents of the pack

Pour saline into tray, and you can pour Betadine into one of the smaller compartments Put the plastic folded drape or paper drape under the area of the body being dressed.

Dip a gauze into saline and pop into a side tray. Leave one piece of gauze to dry, so you can dry around the wound, otherwise tape won’t stick. Pick up the wet gauze with one forcep and transfer it to the forcep that is washing the wound. This is your contaminated forcep.

Wash in a round circle. If not sore and a longstanding wound, especially a leg, you could use moderate pressure. DON’T WIPE FROM OUT TO IN as you push your skin bugs into the wound. Drop dirty gauze at the furthest edge of the dressing pack
Other Ways of Washing Cuts

Pour saline onto foot in the shower from a container or bucket

Wash your cut with a chux cloth or flannel or gauze with a hand hose in the shower or bath to wash wound

Wound sprays can be used irrigate wounds. Alcohol or betadine prep pads can be used for surrounding good skin area or on small superificial wounds. Can be used to scrub the wound gently
Washing a wound with Betadine

Betadine or chlorhexidine can be poured into a smaller tray If a few wounds or a lot of cleaning, extra gauze is useful. Discard remaing betadine. Do not pour back into bottle. Wash your container. Be careful betadine stains clothes and other areas.

Wash wound with one gauze as with saline. Use another for around the wound. You can lie the soaked Betadine or chlorhexidine gauze against the wound for 5 -to-15 minutes to kill germs. Then remove and dry the wound with a dry gauze. Dont soak your wound with saline or in water , as it gets too soggy in the surrounding area, unless you are soaking off grime, dirt. already wet wound and surrounding are will get even more soggy.
Applying Antiseptics
After cleaning your cut or wound, pat dry with gauze or pat dry. Again one gauze for wound, another for surrounding areas.
Assess if wound is clean or whether you need an antiseptic or chemical debriding agent. (click to go to how to apply).
Technically antibiotics and antiseptics should be used when there is risk or active infection, not a clean healing wound, saline is suffice.
Your health care provider may already recommended these antiseptics, and now its left to you or a family member to apply. Dont be scared. Wear mask and gloves, and you are invincible.
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