What is an abrasion
(Pilbery and Caroline, 2013) Classifies an abrasion as a superficial wound. It occurs when skin is rubbed over or dragged along a rough surface causing a loss of part of the epidermis. A good example of which is a child falling and scraping their knee.
Management of the wound
These wounds are may be quite painful for a casualty. Due to the method of causing the injury, (such as the example above) there is a high risk of infection due to foreign particles being embedded into the wound (Austin and Crawford et al., 2009, pp. 108-109).
- PPE to be worn to minimise the risk of cross contamination.
- Check the wound for any embedded objects (stones, glass ect)
- Clean the wound using sterile water remove any contaminants if possible.
- Apply an non-adhesive dressings to the wound
Advice for the casualty. Here, some gentle advice can be given for promoting recovery . Change the dressing daily and look for signs of infection (Redness, tenderness, and pus). If the wounds does not seem to be healing correctly, or even healing at all, then it would be advisable to consult a GP.(ehow, 1999)
Possible issue
An that may arise in this scenario is the possibility of an embedded object that can not be removed easily. In this case, a visit to accident and emergency would be required to fully clean and decontaminate the wound (Pilbery and Caroline, 2013).
