Just wanted to pass this on.
About a boy that died from sepsis shock, from a scrape.
Really sad.
That being said, when I was a teen, I had a cut on my leg. I then got very sick.
My Dad examined me, and said it is from my cut. He carried me to the Doctor, (because I could not even stand
up), who said he was right and
I had had a very bad staph infection by then... and it was going down to my bone.
It was just a small 1" cut. Didn't think anything of it. But it was eating its way, down into my flesh and the opening
of my cut, was really "normal" looking.
Looks, can be deceiving.
And, one of my daughter's Teachers, once got a tiny cut on her leg after she fell onto some grass.
BY the next day, she ended up in the ER, and had to have crutches, because a Staph infection was actively in her system already by then. And she was sick from it too, overall. She had to stay home from school/work, for a few days even.
This is the article:
http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/18/1...
Anyway, since this has to be a question:
How do you handle simple cuts/scrapes on your child?
As for me, I have a prescription antibiotic ointment from the Pediatrician, that my daughter got when she was badly scraped up once. So we use that for any injuries/cuts/scrapes on my kids.
But prior to having that ointment, yep, Neosporin and cleaning the cut with water/soap, using Bactine, etc. And just watch it in a normal way.
Wash, dry, triple ointment and a band-aid. Keep an eye on it, but usually she's pretty darn robust. :) She does have some odd bug bites I'm watching...
Not as well as I should. I would like to say that I wash, neosporin and at least band-aid everything but I definitely know that my younger boys have some scrapes now that I didn't really attend to.
I just read an article in my alumni journal about a guy who ignored flu-like symptoms for weeks because he was busy with work and moving. He finally got sick enough to go to the ER and the staph infection from a scrape had spread far enough that they amputated his arms and legs. Tragic.
Thanks for the reminder...I'll try to remember to at least get some spray so that when the kids get scrapes that don't require bandages I at least treat the area with something to make sure it's clean.
Most of the time, I am finding out about a scrape after the fact. My son just doesn't think it's a big deal. If I happen to be there when it happens, I just wash it off with soap and water. Sometimes I put a band-aid on it depending on how big or deep it is.
I handle all of them the same, wash, anticeptic (sp), cover with bandage, check on it again in an hour or so, REPEAT. Beyond that I can not be paranoid about it - then I would be paranoid about everything. Thanks for the additional info someone somewhere may really need it.
We use a pump of foaming, no-sting Neosporin for the kids, and then cover it with a bandage to keep their dirty hands away from it.
For hubby or me, we use rubbing alcohol prep pads, and then a bandage.
I remember when we were kids my mom would pour hydrogen peroxide on our cuts and scrapes, and we'd writhe in pain while the wound bubbled with peroxide. We always thought that meant it was cleaning the wound, but it turns out that it doesn't clean it :)
S.H.
I saw this!!! I was sooo sad for the parents and their loss!!
When I took one of my close friend's son to a birthday party a few years back - he cut himself on something - we don't know what - and he his foot was inflamed the next day along with a fever. We took him to the ER and he had an infection brewing. He still has a scar there on his foot.
When my kids get cuts and scrapes - we typically wash it and put some antiseptic wash and/or neosporin on it, then put a band-aid on top of that! We usually keep an eye on it.
Thanks for passing this on!!!
We do it the way you suggested in your SWH.
We have a 'kit' in a ziplock that goes everywhere with us, which contains everything but the soap and water. At the park, we'd likely clean it with water from a water bottle and use wipes, rinse again, dry, Neosporin, band-aid.
I agree-- staph is bad news. If there was any redness or streaking, we'd be heading to urgent care right away.
I knew a guy in high school, who scraped his foot running during a weekend with his buddies at a water park. He ignored it because it was soo small...
When he got home he started feeling sick, and noticed that his foot hurt. He never connected the two, just assumed that he was sick and that his foot had an infection. He put neosporin on it then, but it was too little too late. He wound up having to have his leg amputated to the knee, because the infection set into his bone!
I usually wash with soap if it's handy... If not, I keep bactine in my DD's changing kit and give it a spritz with that. If it needs a band-aid, then I slather on some triple antibiotic.
I saw the item when it ran on the Today show. I think it's key that the boy was allowed by doctors to leave the hospital after blood tests had been run --- but before the results were back:
"Rory was given fluids at NYU Langone Medical Center and sent home, his parents said. The problem was, symptoms such as Rory’s could be caused by a variety of illnesses. But lab results that arrived hours after Rory left for home held one important clue, The New York Times reported — his white blood cell count was disturbingly high, indicating a significant infection. But his parents say nobody ever told them about that."
The results would have shown that he had indications of a possible serious infection. So another lesson, besides getting Neosporin onto cuts and scrapes immediately, is not trusting that doctors or hospitals will take you or your child seriously. It's so sad that this could have been caught and wasn't. The boy's pediatrician said the vomiting was a virus that was going around among kids, and continued to say that even when the boy's fever shot up to 104 and he was in huge physical pain.
I also would like to see a full investigation into exactly what happened: How deep and extensive was the "scrape" and what surface did it happen on at the school? How was, or wasn't, it treated at the school? Did the boy see a nurse for it or not say anything and just carried on? If he saw the school nurse, did she wash it and put a covering on it? (I would bet that rules prohibit her from putting any ointment on it as that is treated like "medication.") What did Rory do and where did he go after the scrape -- was it open and left exposed while he went to a playground after school, or played a sport later that day, or went to a caregiver's before going home? Did he even tell mom and dad about it? ....I would want to see all those questions looked at, to see how a "scrape" could end up like this.
But the ultimate head-scratcher is why a hospital could send someone home BEFORE blood tests have returned. I guess they must have said "We'll call you if there's anything your doctor should know in these tests." But they didn't call. I hope I remember this if my child is ever in the ER and gets any tests -- I want to recall this case and say I am not leaving with her until all results are back AND have been analyzed and then discussed with me.
Both my boys run straight for the Polysporin.
I guess I never knew this - thanks. I usually try and band-aid and neosporin but that's about it.
Warm water and soap, ointment, band aid.
My father scraped his thumb on a rock in a river while we were on vacation. Within 24 hours he was in the ER with a massive infection in that thumb. They pumped him full of antibiotics and then bandaged it after debridement. With strict instructions to return home quickly, he wound up having the thumb cut open to be cleaned thoroughly as an outpatient at the local hospital. Then he had to endure a week’s worth of IV antibiotic treatments at home. Every six hours we had to help him do his IVs which was memorable for a couple of teens. He still has limited movement in that thumb and it’s been 15 years. My father never said anything about his scrape when it happened and never did do anything with it (soap, water, ointment…) which our family doctor scolded him over profusely after the fact. Lesson learned by all. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Oh, and you guys taunt me for being over-protective. I put Tischener's Antiseptic into a small spray bottle with a little water and keep it for when we go on walks, etc. Any scrapes get that spray just to clean 'em up. When he scratches a hole into his flesh following a mosquito bite, I apply Neosporin and a bandage. My little hasn't experienced any real cuts yet.
We always clean out cuts and scrapes in case there's bacteria in there. I of course look for blood, and hope for blood, since bleeding helps flush out any germs from the injury. We rinse it off, use a boo-boo cleanser, and apply bacitracin and a clean bandage.
If all we see is the plasma, same thing.
If it's a "dry" injury meaning no plasma or blood seeping out, we just clean it up with water and send them on their way.
