Alcohol on an open wound?

Question

Is that dangerous or anything?? Will it help or harm the wound?

Answer 1

Eh, well, it'll both help and hurt. Yes, the alcohol will kill the germs, but it's not great for your other cells, as it's very caustic. Putting pure rubbing alcohol on a fresh wound is kind of extreme - try antibacterial soap with warm water, or hydrogen peroxide first.

Answer 2

It won't hurt the wound but it will hurt you (pain). It will also dry it out. If you can I would suggest hydrogen peroxide for cleaning it as it doesn't hurt :)

Aside: I have used HP in the past  to close deepish wounds without stitches.  

Answer 3

It's great....if you like pain.  Alcohol just plain hurts!  

Peroxide will fizz it out, but it can also sting a bit.  My kids hated it, claimed it hurt more than alcohol (I didn't think it hurt).  Peroxide kills stuff, including the skin that it touches around the wound.  It's great for slightly infected wounds, cause it'll kill all the infection, but it'll kill the tissue around the wound (If you've ever left peroxide on something too long, you've seen this in the extreme, it'll turn white and not return back to its normal color when you rinse it off.)

Best thing for a mild wound is good old fashioned soap and water.  If the wound is deep, go see a doctor to make sure it gets cleaned out properly and closed properly.  

Liquid bandage will not clean out a wound, and it stings after you use it.  Antibiotic ointments like bacitracin or neosporin are great, but you still have to wash the wound off.  Also watch out for the antibiotic ointment with pain relief medication in them.  THEY HURT.  The pain relief medications sting.  

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Alcohol is an antiseptic and kills germs.  By all means apply alcohol on an open cut before you bind it up tightly so the edges will mend together.

If the wound is large or gaping, you should get any medical person to take a few sutures to ensure complete the closing of the wound..

Answer 5

most medics no longer use rubbing alcohol to clean a wound.. they found that the alcohol does more harm than good because it kills the living cells...

if you're wanting to clean a wound, you can use a saline solution (which is the same thing used for eyewashes and IVs)...

of course, having said that, sometimes I still clean a wound (on myself) with an alcohol based cleaner sometimes... just out of habit.. lol

Answer 6

Believe it or not, alcohol is not a steralant it is a solvent. That means it will not kill germs it only aids in washing them away. for instance if you have ever received an I.V. the nurse would first apply a swab of alcohol and then swab with something like iodine or betidine. for the most part alcohol on an open wound is not bad just painful. I have heard on wounds that my require stitches it may not be recommended due to slowing of adheision.