Treatment of Punctured Wounds
In case of punctured wounds, including stab wounds, it is important that, when possible, the object causing the wound be inspected to determine if part of it has remained in the wound, as frequently happens in case of splinter and needle wounds (see Splinters). In this case the object is likely to work in further, or to migrate through the tissues. If the foreign body is such as to require surgical assistance antiseptic precautions are advisable pending skilled treatment. Many small punctured wounds are of little importance. After re¬moving the foreign body assist the wound to bleed for a while, then touch it with tincture of iodine, mercurochrome, or alco¬hol, or bathe in a boracic-acid solution and dress or not accord¬ing to its nature, severity and location.
If these simple wounds have evidently been contaminated, as by a rusty nail, an unclean sliver of wood or a stable fork, a doctor should give expert care; but if he cannot’be secured, the wound should be treated with a strong germicidal anti¬septic, applied on a cotton swab made by twisting a tuft of cotton around the end of a toothpick or similar small object that is not smooth, after which a wet alcohol dressing should be applied. In applying strong carbolic acid solutions all ex¬cess of the acid should first be pressed out from the swab em¬ployed against the neck of the bottle, and it should not be used unless alcohol is available for use immediately afterward.