Soapy water, bleach, or semen? What should I put on my scrapes?

I have seen people put just about everything on their scrapes. Yes, everything. This includes bleach and semen.

It did not work and I would recommend you avoid such a concoction unless you are into that sort of thing.

Please don’t put any on yourself. You may as well spritz your wound with battery acid. Hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol will usually do more damage than good. It is true that it will kill a lot of bacteria (as would battery acid by the way) but it will also kill a lot of the “good” cells that your body recruits to help your wound heal.

Salt water should be avoided as well. If you’re bleeding a lot, salt water is a decent option and will help to slow down the bleeding but overall it does a lot more damage to the wound than good.

Believe it or not, soapy water is the best thing to use on your wounds and scrapes. If the wound is deep, then you will need to flush out any dirt or debris. The pressure from a running tap is enough pressure to clean out most wounds. Wash any wound in way that ensures the water runs off the wound.  If there are any remaining pieces of dirt or debris, you can use tweezers cleaned with alcohol to remove the particles. Use a clean washcloth or gauze and soapy water to clean around a wound or over a scrape. Make sure to wash out any remaining gravel from “road-rash.”

Once the scrapes are clean, antibiotic ointment can help discourage infection but doesn’t help with healing or prevent scarring. Once the wound starts to scab over and heal, keep it moist with lotion and avoid sun exposure, or at the very least wear sunscreen over the wound when in direct sunlight to help promote healing and prevent scarring.

photo credit: Day 150. Road rash. via photopin (license)