Question

Sally comes to your family practice clinic 24 hours after she lacerated her foot on an oyster shell. the wound is 4cm in length, shallow, and is on the sole of her foot. there is a small amount of bleeding on the dressing. she asks you to suture it closed because it keeps leaking blood. what is the best response?

Answer 1

The best response to the situation where Sally's in is to cleanse her wound, to prevent further harm to the wound. Second, it is best to ask her about the last tetanus that she has acquired before, in order to have additional information and to know if it best to administer or not. Lastly, it is advisable to tell Sally that there will be no possibility of suture because opening it will only make it vulnerable and expose to infections.