Clean the scrape.
Wash your hands. Wash the wound with warm, soapy water
for 5 minutes. If there is dirt, scrub the wound with a
wet gauze or cloth. You may have to take out big pieces
of dirt with tweezers.
If there is tar in the wound, rub it with petroleum
jelly, (such as Vaseline). This helps get rid of the tar.
Then wash the scrape again with soap and water.
Clean a pair of small, sharp scissors with rubbing
alcohol. Cut off any loose pieces of skin with the
scissors. Rinse the wound well.
 | Protect the scrape.
Put an antibiotic ointment on the scrape. Cover it with
a Band-Aid or gauze. This is very important when a scrape
is over a joint (such as elbow, knee, or hand). When you
use ointment, it keeps the scrape from cracking and
coming back open.
Clean your child's scrape once a day with warm water.
Then put on fresh antibiotic ointment and a clean
Band-Aid. Do this until the scrape heals.
| Give pain relief.
Give your child pain medicine if it hurts a lot. You can
give acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).
| |
