How can I tell if a cut is infected? ?

Question

I have a cut on my knee, and I'm unable to bend my knee now. I had fallen on a lot of rocks and there are still some in it. when I put a bandage on it it sticks and gets pus on it (eww) It hurts to walk and since I got the cut I don't feel very well, everyone says 'The rocks will come out with time' and i always think 'HOW THE h**l WILL THEY GET OUT?!' loll I don't have n.e idea whats wrong.. Do you?

P.s - I was in a stone/rock parking lot and started to run and fell.. It was dripping blood and i could hardly walk..

For what its worth ill tell you my age loll ,, I'm 13 (But can take ALOT of pain)

Answer 1

To the post above me... Puss does not always mean infection. You call yourself a nurse? When you get a bad cut and you keep it "air tight" under a bandage, it is always going to be "gooey" with puss. This is not bad. However, you are going to want it to close up, so dry it off with a clean cloth and poor some hydrogen peroxide on it. it should bubble and fizz. To get the rocks out, just pick the bigger ones out, the ones you cant get will be forced out with the grown skin, or your body will degrade them.

after you poor hydrogen peroxide enough on it so it doesn't bubble anymore, dry it off and let it sit in the air for awhile; do this while you are just sitting around. wrap it back up when you are leaving the house.  when you wrap it up, squirt some neosporin on the cut itself then wrap it. When it unwrap it later, it will be gooey again - just wipe it dry.

You should be find and scabbed over in a few days.

Back to the post above me. Puss (white blood cells) are a great thing to see. They are there KILLING the things that would cause an infection. However, if it stays wet to long, you can get a nasty fungus to grow on there, and that could lead to infection. If the puss turns green/yellow just poor some hydrogen peroxide on it.

If you keep the area clean, you will be fine. If the cut is really really deep though, you might want to get some stitches - but then again, they won't stitch your knee =-P

Answer 2

You definitely have an infection in your knee. Pus is infection. Also, since you are unable to bend your knee, you need to go have a doctor check it. If you wait too long, the infection can get into the bone. You do not want to wait too long.

Answer 3

rocks still in it ... need to get that looked at or in the very least get them outta there... they will stop healing and give a perfect opportunity for infection to start. Be careful not to dig about too much.

Has an adult looked at the cut? If so, maybe they can help you with the stones that are still in there? If not, I highly recommend that you get someone to look at it (a doctor seems practical)

Ice will help keep the swelling down and reduce pain. Put an ice pack on for 10 minutes max at a time. Then leave it off for 20 minutes and you can put back on if you need to for another 10 minutes. You can do this as many times a day as you need to. Make sure the their is a towel between your skin and the icepack at all times.

Keep your knee up as much as possible and stay off of it. let it heal.

An antibiotic salve/ointment is a good idea for example polysporin. and a loose bandage is good. If it is stuck to the cut do not pull it off. use salt water (see below) to soak the bandaid off.

Salt water is also good to flush garbage and bacteria from the wound. Easiest way to get that on your knee is to put warm water in a bowl and add some table salt. About 4 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of salt is good. Stir in salt so it is dissolved. Grab a face cloth and wet it in the salt water and place on knee - if you cant get the knee into a bowl (this would be tricky to do). don;t worry about wringing out the cloth cause yo want lots of salt water on there.  Sitting on the edge of the tub saves a mess.

when re-wetting the facecloth it is important to rinse it out under the tap before plopping it back in the salt water.

If it is red around the edges it is likely infected and should be seen by a doctor. this could be a partial ring around or all the way but either way it is red.

Take care of yourself, it sux to be hurt when school is out and the weather is still decent.

Answer 4

If it is red around the edges of the cut and yellowish on the top it is probably infected.  Use peroxide to boil out the rocks and infection.  Then if you have something like neosporin use it.  If not put super glue on it to seal it so it won't get any more infection.  You could also use very hot wash clothes on it to bring the rocks and infection to the surface.  Then try ice to get the soreness out of it.  If not better soon, you may have to go to the doctor for antibiotics.  Hope this helps.