One of the most common things we see and treat at Freedom Urgent Care is cuts and lacerations, and that’s because they’re so easy to get.
Slicing things up for dinner, using scissors to cut paper, slipping and falling onto the pavement- they’re all great ways to get a cut. Although you can treat many such scraps and cuts at home, sometimes it’s a good idea to visit your local Freedom Urgent Care to be on the safe side.
As our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kevin DiBenedetto explained “Not all cuts are equal. You have to be concerned about blood vessels, nerves, and deep tissue including muscles and tendons. So, they all warrant evaluation.” It’s a lot better to have a cut checked out to make sure it’s clean and stitched up than to try to treat it at home when it needs extra attention. However, if you want to be sure it’s more serious before you visit Freedom Urgent Care, here’s some things to consider:
Your cut hasn’t stopped bleeding
The first thing to do when you get a cut is to put pressure on it. Doing this helps slows down the blood flow, which gives your body an opportunity to start releasing the cells that help close cuts. Depending on how deep the cut is it may bleed for a little while before it stops. But if your cut is still bleeding after 20 minutes, you should have it looked at.
The wound looks messy
All cuts look messy due to the bleeding, however a cut that has dirt, gravel, looks jagged, or is long requires more care. If you’re concerned that perhaps you were cut with something rusty or that you might have gotten something in the wound, you should visit Freedom Urgent Care as soon as possible to get it checked out and examined.
You were bitten by an animal
Although an animal bite might not seem too deep or you may have received it from a family pet with all its shots, it’s still a good idea to get an animal bite checked out. Infections spread very easily through bites, and many animals carry bacteria that doesn’t hurt them but can cause some serious harm to humans. So, when it comes to animal bites, it’s best to treat them immediately.
Walk-In When You Need Us!
At Freedom Urgent Care, we can clean, treat, and stitch up deep cuts and lacerations. We can treat patients three months of age and older, and you can walk in any time without an appointment. You can also check-in and save your spot in line on our website, as well as learn more about us. We’re here to make sure that you get the best quality of care, and are here to answer any questions you may have.