Show Your Health j j And You The following is one of a of articles furnished by the Utah State Medical Association and published in cooperation with your local newspaper These articles arc scheduled to appear every other week throughout the year in an effort to belter acquaint you with the problems of and designed to improve the well-being of the people of CUTS AND LACERATIONS Almost all of us suffer a cut or gash now and The cut it might get it might cause Even minor cuts and lacerations deserve respect and prompt The first tiling to do when you gash your hand on a nail or mash a finger while hooking a mower to a tractor is to stop the Some tiny little cuts bleed And sometimes a molly serious gash bleeds very Cuts on the hands and feet usually bleed more because of excellent blood supply to those A wound sustained from a sharp which might puncture an usually bleeds more than the wound from a blunt which crushes blood In my the first aid technique mentioned in many handbooks of using pressure points to control bleeding at This means applying of pressure to the artery supplying blood to the injured Simple pressure directly over the cut will do a better job of bleeding in all but the most serious Keep up the pressure long enough to allow the severed vessels to contract and for blood to clot Tourniquets can be dangerous and should be used only as a last Constriction of a part for too long can cause Ice or cold packs are j ineffective in controlling Control of infection Is the next step after bleeding is This means cleansing the soapy water is particularly if the soap contains Avoid pouring a strong directly into the If the wound had dirt ground flush it out with Don't use and ointment on an open If the cut is covered with wash it out with a sol such as gasoline or lighter fluid if it's After stopping and cleansing the next comes closing the cut to allow healing to In small a piece of adhesive tape often ig Longer or deeper cu may require suturing by a If the wound is closed j It will heal more If i tills can't be accomplished ily by first see a j |