# Kid's small cut slightly red and swollen -- ER? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153 "2007-03-30T20:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/1 "2007-03-30T20:28:16Z")
These Neosporin commercials are bugging me out. “I washed her cut and thought it was enough. A few days later it was slightly red and swollen. I took her in and the doctor told me to use Neosporin.” And on a radio one that just came on, the little girl’s voice mentions how her mom took her to the ER. 😕 Does anyone consider this normal? Haven’t most parents, even the most protective, had small cuts of their own and aren’t they familiar with the symptoms of a mild infection? The doctor? The ER? Are they kidding? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/2 "2007-03-30T20:34:39Z")
Yes, they are kidding. I can count on one hand the number of times I was taken to the doctor as a youngster. I rode out the chicken pox, something close to the flu, and numerous stomach viruses at home. Times may be different now, but not so different that a paper cut merits a trip to the ER. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/3 "2007-03-30T20:43:36Z")
Both of my kids are jocks, so I’ve spent a bit of time in ER’s over the last couple of years. Some people use the ER as their primary care physician. I’ve seen people complaining about upset stomachs, kids with scraped knees, etc. One Christmas my youngest split her chin open (you don’t have a lot of options on Christmas Day) and there was a woman in the next bed who I think was just there for the company. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/4 "2007-03-31T02:22:26Z")
If gets worse a doctor may be necessary for antibiotics. Not an ER visit. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/5 "2007-03-31T02:31:18Z")
I saw that tv commercial and commented to my husband that most people don’t wash cuts well enough, but a dr.'s visit for a slightly red/slightly swollen cut is a much of a muchness. Depending on what cut where, wounds may react. Ever get a splinter from a redwood deck? I’d think I’d be traumatizing my kid taking her to the ER for a slightly red/swollen small cut. Keep an eye on it, keep it clean. Cyn, RN ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/6 "2007-03-31T03:12:32Z")
I never went to Casualty (ER) as a kid. I fell off a bike and landed on my head on the tarmac. I split my head wide open. Mum just called a taxi, and we went down to our local doctor and I was patched up. Kids with broken bones etc went to the Casualty department of the local hospital by car. Spider bites by low-flying ambulance. But a childhood scrape that has turned a little swollen? “What are ya, son? A big GIRL? Go back outside, and quitchersnifflin’!” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/7 "2007-03-31T03:48:37Z")
Isn’t slightly red and swollen one of the normal stages of healing? When you have all the leukocytes busy in the site cleaning and fixing and all that stuff and the capillaries all supplying blood to the wound? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/8 "2007-03-31T04:21:27Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Isn’t slightly red and swollen one of the normal stages of healing? When you have all the leukocytes busy in the site cleaning and fixing and all that stuff and the capillaries all supplying blood to the wound? [/QUOTE] Pretty much, yes. ---
**Author:** ![berff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@berff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berff)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/9 "2007-03-31T07:43:17Z")
I’m sure it’s not the best method, but on a few occasions I’ve resorted to using Windex on cuts that didn’t seem to want to heal very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/10 "2007-03-31T07:54:02Z")
[QUOTE=berff] I’m sure it’s not the best method, but on a few occasions I’ve resorted to using Windex on cuts that didn’t seem to want to heal very quickly. [/QUOTE] Please don’t. Windex bad. Neosporin/Polysporin is what we want. Then, _call_ your MD. Unless we have a fever, extreme pain, etc, no ER. But do call. (You know, some Medical plans include an “Advice Nurse”, which I think is fantastic. When you have a worry or concern, you call- then \*she \*worries. 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/11 "2007-03-31T09:24:18Z")
Actually, we want to clean the cut out very thoroughly when we first get it. Or at least that’s what my doctors have always told me. Sometimes I follow this with a squirt of peroxide or sterile saline, sometimes I don’t. Once I’m sure the cut is clean, then and only then do I put an ointment on it. Incidentally, both my mother and my daughter are allergic to Neosporin…something to keep in mind if the cut looks worse instead of better over time. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/12 "2007-03-31T10:32:24Z")
A normal cut? No, I don’t think ER is necessary. I had an infected hang nail, which is another animal altogether. I had to have it lanced :eek: and the pain was so bad that I was crying and unable to sleep. I think because of the location of it (and me taking care of a new baby), it was impossible to keep clean. But it was a lot worse than “a little red and swollen.” ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/13 "2007-03-31T11:20:26Z")
Ridiculous commercial. They make it sound like you will be headed for gangrene and amputation if you don’t slather Neosporin over your next paper cut. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/14 "2007-03-31T11:28:00Z")
Get your home a bottle of Iodine, & use it. Keep cuts cleaned. That’s basic First Aid. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/15 "2007-03-31T11:29:04Z")
BTW–take a Red Cross First Aid/CPR course. If you have kids, you’ll find that it’s worth the time. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/16 "2007-03-31T11:59:38Z")
What kind of Mom doesn’t know that you have to kiss it and make it better? Yeah, that commercial irritates me ever so slightly… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/17 "2007-03-31T12:12:18Z")
[QUOTE=FairyChatMom] What kind of Mom doesn’t know that you have to kiss it and make it better? Yeah, that commercial irritates me ever so slightly… [/QUOTE] My mom would kiss it and then draw a kitty on it with mecurichrome. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/18 "2007-03-31T13:02:22Z")
Kalhoun you reminded me of another reasoon mom didn’t find out about problems if me could help it. She did stuff doctors would do but she didn’t have something to numb first. Did you smash your finger nail and have blood pressurize under it. She’d sick a needle under the nail or heat one up hot and put a hole in the nail to drain the blood. Nobody would let her remove a splinter past age 8 or so. The best first aid item was petrocarbo salve. It prevented infection and drew out slivers. It had to get now and a little shoe polish sized tin costs over $20.It’s better than Polysporine in my books. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/19 "2007-03-31T13:47:44Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] The best first aid item was petrocarbo salve. It prevented infection and drew out slivers. It had to get now and a little shoe polish sized tin costs over $20.It’s better than Polysporine in my books. [/QUOTE] I remember this stuff! The salve also healed bruises somehow. How did that stuff work, anyway? Off to GQ. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153/20 "2007-03-31T14:56:10Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Casualty (ER) [/QUOTE] I think, if we called it by that name over here, fewer people would go for non-emergency situations. I mean, _casualty_ just has such a severe sound to it, doesn’t it? I don’t remember going to the ER for anything growing up, but then we had an “emergency” clinic nearby, so we could just go there if needs be. It was more of a walk-in clinic, but they were large enough to handle broken bones and other things that someone might go to the ER for, and they would arrange transportation to the ER if something truly needed it (like for my aunt… pain in her side, goes to that clinic, and they got the ambulance for her and called ahead so she was admitted immediately… turns out her appendix had burst sometime in the previous _week_!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-small-cut-slightly-red-and-swollen-er/398153.md?page=2)