To quote an EMT I know, “All bleeding stops, eventually.”
This. The solution to bacterial pollution is immediate dilution.
Wash then do that.
My Doc said to do it that way. When is it healing you can use hydrocortisone to speed healing.
If bleeding bad, quikclot, then butterfly closures. Then neo and bandaids.
He said that explicitly as step 1. Follow by steps 3 and 4. Not 2.
People did used to say to leave the wound open to air. And people used to say, “rub some dirt on it; it’ll be OK.” Half of people are below normal.
I have to admit I used to fight with my parents over band-aids. They’d insist you should never touch the sticky side because then it wouldn’t stick any more. Where should you touch? The middle. The clean, sterile middle. Aaarrgghhh.
Of course, every OTC product is either far, far better than it was 60 years ago, or new to the market. There are adhesive bandages (generically speaking) that will stay on your finger if it gets wet. That did not used to be true. Maybe that’s what confused my parents.
Wash, dry /w sterile cloth, betadine, air dry, superglue.
Most wounds I’ve had in the past four to five years I’ve left to take their course.