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What Should Be Done For Gauze Hardened By Blood Stuck On Skin?

Posted on Mon, 13 Jan 2014

Question: Last week I suffered a laceration to my fingertip. The ER finally stopped the bleeding enough the stitch and bandage. The first day it continued to bleed but I kept it wrapped and dry. When I attempted to changing the dressing I found under the gauze a super hard layer attached to my wound. I thought it was some special seal. I finally saw a doc yesterday. It is actually gauze hardened by blood but really hard. He soaked it in warm soapy water. No luck. On top of that when it dried it tightened more and hurts so bad. I tried a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and water mix. No luck. What do I do? Please help!!!!

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Removal under local anaesthesia. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for your query. I have gone through the image attached with the query. I can understand your worry. Try Savalon over it to soften the dry and hard gauze over stitched wound. If it will not removed by this, consult your doctor for removal under local anaesthesia. Under local anaesthesia , it is easier to remove this without a lot of pain. I do hope that you have found something helpful and I will be glad to answer any further query. Take care

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Saurabh Gupta (22 hours later)

Is Savalon over the counter?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (4 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Yes, Savalon is over the counter. Detailed Answer: Yes, Savalon is available over the counter.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Saurabh Gupta (24 hours later)

Hi Dr. XXXXXXX Sorry to bother you again. I finally got the gauze off or at least mostly. it looks pretty nasty. i fear it is infected. I can't get an appointment tip Thursday morning. Is there anything I should do to care for it in the mean time? I took pictures. Is there anyway I can send them to you or upload them?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (25 hours later)

Brief Answer: you can apply betadine ointment over it. Detailed Answer: Hi, Sorry for late reply. Meantime you can apply betadine ointment over it. There is a feature to upload images or picture. You can upload the image as you previously done with query.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar