It’s probably one of the most common scenarios in a novel, comic, roleplay, script, or otherwise. Character B gets injured, and Character A knows wound care and takes care of it for them. But the old fashioned style of thinking runs rampant, especially with ‘classic wound treatment’ being educated generations down, leaving plenty of people unaware of more realistic and recent modern advances in traditional first aid.
It’s all too common for this step to be missed in writing. When wound care comes up, remember that the purpose of it is, underlying everything emotional, to get the wound clean. Hands not very recently disinfected and sterilized are more likely to cause infection, undermining everything else that Character A hopes to do. Even if it’s just a sentence or a footnote, remember to add in washing hands – with soap!
There are multiple options here, but they all come back to the same thing. Character A should always clean out the wound with hydrotherapy, which is fancy speak for running water for a very long time. Flushing a wound can be done with a non iodized salt solution, a dilution of very mild soap, or even plain but it must always come back to WATER. Run the wound under water for a few minutes to clean out dirt, bacteria, and loosen any debris stuck inside. Character A can and should use clean, sterile tweezers to remove this debris if the water is unable, then pat the wound dry with gauze.
Antibiotics are a necessity with any and all wound care. From petroleum jelly, a store bought antibiotic like neosporin or polysporin, or any other ointment. However for a lesser known and just as realistic option, remember you can also use ( with or alone ) sugar. On burns, deep gashes, cuts, or just about anything, packing the wound with sugar would let Character B’s body begin to heal without fear of bacteria, because the highly concentrated medium of sugar will not allow bacteria to survive.
If stitches are necessary.
Is the wound is deep enough to go to fat, muscle, bone, or other structures? Does it go right over a joint? Is it on the hands, fingers, or around the mouth or eyes? Have minutes passed without the bleeding slowing? These are prime locations that will medically require stitches – be it to assist the wound in closing, or stop natural motions from ripping left alone gouges wider. Stitches, or sutures, traditionally use thread made of silk or nylon and a curved needle with suture scissors to assist in the special kind of stitch that specially holds wounds together.
If Character A needs to stitch a wound together, their knowledge may vary, and they may not have the correct tools. But here are some things you can make sure they know. Make a knot on each stitch, to better hold it in place. Hold the skin together while stitching, don’t trust the thread to pull both sides in by itself. If the flesh is ragged on each side, they may need to cut clean edges, mostly to insure that the stitches don’t tear out and the wound is even. Removal comes days later, with cutting each stitch besides the knot and pulling it out – it should tug, but be painless.
That old belief that a wound should see fresh air is an absolute lie, as proven by many doctors over the years. Wounds should be kept constantly covered, and damp. Studies show that a covered, damp wound healed in 12-15 days while an air exposed, dry wound healed in over thirty. Not only this, but covering and dampening the wound brings less chance of scarring. Use wound dressings like wet to dry gauze ( which is just as common as traditional ), then wrap in a bandage, even two if necessary.
For long term wound treatment.
Whether Character A keeps a constant eye on B, or if Character B is on their own, they should both keep up wound treatment for realism. Each day change the bandage and gauze, or more, if found to be constantly wet. Use daily hydrotherapy to clean out dead cells and drainage from the wound. Pack with more sugar or antibiotic ointment. Lack of doing this would cause Character B an infected wound, likely turning to an abscess, and undo all the previous work.
Since we’re not in the wild west and Hollywood is a liar, NEVER use strong antiseptics, vinegars, or alcohol to clean a wound. All things such as white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, vodka, rubbing alcohol or iodine can burn and cause irreparable damage to the skin and flesh, increasing the healing time substantially.
Between each stage of wound treatment, Character B should be applying pressure with a sterilized hand and clean towel or gauze to the wound, preferably with it above their head. This lessens the chance of bleeding out and allows the blood to slow, but not halt.
A wound a doctor would be satisfied with seeing is the kind that scares most people: pink, red, and just on the right side of bloody. Any other colors, too little, or too much blood are all red flags for wound treatment.
Don’t be afraid of the doctor.
Unless Character A is a doctor, there may come a time where they have to admit their skills aren’t enough. If you can see bone, then the wound may need muscle stitches as well as skin. If it’s extremely swollen, the inflammation has gone from healthy to concerning. If it’s hot or has a stench, there’s a serious infection. Draw the line at a smart place, and let a doctor take over. Even in the fictional world.
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