Cuts—big or small—can be a quite complicated problem. Aside from the pain it causes, cuts which are not treated properly may cause infection and permanent scars. Most knife cuts will cause bleeding and further pain. The severity of the cuts might define necessary treatment. Some wounds can be treated at home by applying sterilized bandages, some others might need certain topical medications, while some severe ones might require both topical and oral medications. Despite any treatment done to treat the wound initially, doing it properly will decrease any risk of getting an infection or permanent scars. Hence, it is important to know when or under what circumstances will knife cuts cause scars.
What happens when your skin is cut?
A cut in your skin will induce it to enter the phase of skin regeneration. The initial bleeding is one of those healing processes performed by your skin tissues. Bleeding itself is how our body cleans the wound naturally. It is used to clean the existing debris before our body releases certain substance to clot the blood. When you accidentally cut your skin, it may tear and thus, the surface layer of this skin is damaged. After blood clots, your body produces new skin layer which protect the inner layer from water, humidity, and potential bacteria. New skin cells and capillaries are also produce to support protein and collagen production. Wound healing process will be completed in weeks or months depending on how severe it is. This will also define the chance of scars development.
Will knife cuts leave scars?
Most wounds are going to leave scars, which may fade along the time. Yet, how severe these scars is defined by how well the wound is treated. If you are using medications to heal the wound, these medications might also have an impact on its scar formation. A deep cut which is not stitched is more prone to scar development, although stitched cut does not guarantee the absence of this scar after it is healed. A cut which is not properly treated also has the risk of developing scars than the one which is correctly handled. Infection also has a role in scar development. Scars are also likely to appear on the formerly-infected cuts.
In many cases, scars is a result of excessive production of collagen. This collagen is produced as one of the wound healing phases. However, excessive collagen production might cause distinguishable area which is referred as scars. In some people, cuts might result in raised scars which has a different color and texture with its surrounding, while in some others it may take a pitted shape. Most commonly, these scars are permanent and are not easy to remove. Therefore, precautions are needed during the wound healing process by applying right medications using the right treatment.
Preventing scars with cuts
Scars, which is formed after a wound is completely healed might cause a new appearance problem. Despite being painless, scars might lower one’s self-esteem and confidence. When dealing with cuts, there are in fact several things which can be considered to prevent or minimize the occurrence of scars after the wound is healed.
- Wash your cut under running cool water to clean it from debris. Mild soap can be used to clean possible dirt left in the opened wound. Do not rub or soak your cut in an iodine or betadine solution as this may damage the skin tissues, which leads into worse scars.
- Although the old wives’ tale says that cut wound should be exposed to fresh air to let it breathe, keeping it moist under sterilized bandage or gauze is a better way to prevent scars. Make sure you change this bandage every bath time.
- To promote healthy new skin cells production, you may dab petroleum jelly or lanolin onto the cut. This is an ancient way to treat an opened wound to minimize potential scars. Avoid alcohol or other harsh antiseptics which may instead cause infection.
- Avoid picking any formed scabs. This scabs is formed to protect fragile inner layer of the skin which is newly growing after injuries. When you pick this scabs—which are obviously itchy, you are tearing the forming skin. Thus, you skin will restart its healing process from the beginning, so that you might experience longer healing period. Picking the scabs also tears the skin layer and damages it. It is not surprising, therefore, that you will end up with worse and more permanent scars. When you experience itchy scabs, do not be tempted to pick it. Instead, give the wound a warm compress which will minimize discomfort. This will also inactivate bacteria which exist on your wounded area, causing severe itchiness.