Swimming with Stitches or Dermabond

[SEA333]

Ugh...my 15 year old hit his little toe against the doorway last night and sliced about a 1/4 cut on the top of his toe (from the nail to about just below the middle). It is a really nasty cut where about 3/4 th's of it is sliced into his skin and the rest is attached so there is a flap of skin covering the wound. From what we can tell, it is deep, but not "scary" deep. The bleeding stooped really fast, so we wrapped it with neosporin and gauze and I think I will take him to the urgent care clinic today to get it looked at.

My question is...what do we do if he needs stitches? I've never had stitches so I don't have personal experience. DS15 is due to travel to Myrtle Beach Sunday afternoon (to arrive Monday morning - they are driving) with another family. I am panicking a little about him being down there with this bad cut. The dad is a firefighter, so I feel good knowing that if DS has issues, he will be with someone who can help, but I feel bad making him have to deal with this on his vacation (the Dad, I mean)

1. Would you let your child still go? I want to get the Dr opinion this afternoon and a Rx for an antibiotic for DS to bring with him, just in case.
2. If this was you and you were a first responder, would you still want the kid (problem) on your trip? Or would you feel it is a hassle that you won't want to deal with?
3. Can people swim with stitches? Obviously there are germ/bacteria issues, but is there some way to cover the wound so DS can swim or walk around in the sand without getting junk in the wound?
4. Are there any options other than stitches where DS *can* get it wet? (skin glue or anything?)

 

[HM]

I would not suggest dermabond on a part of the body that moves frequently. I had it used on the bridge over my nose and while it healed fine, I have a nice big scar because of moving my facial muscles. I wish I'd done stitches.

I'm pretty sure that I've swam with stitches before. I hurt my knee in the Bahamas when I was in my 20s and had to have stitches in it. I'm pretty positive I still went in the ocean and pool afterwards.

I hope it heals well and he's not in pain!

 

[15isto2]

Most people will not "close" a wound which is more than 12 hours old due to the risk of infection so you may be stuck with having regular dressings untill the wound closes on its own

 

[SEA333]

Most people will not "close" a wound which is more than 12 hours old due to the risk of infection so you may be stuck with having regular dressings untill the wound closes on its own

Which I think would be fine....I'm not entirely convinced it needed/needs stitches anyway. The bleeding stopped pretty fast, and the flap is covering the wound so it's not gaping open or anything. But good to know.

I think that at this point I am more worried about him being 7 states away and infection overall, which is mainly why I want to have a doctor look at it. We are very careful antibiotic users (we never ask for them for viral infections and try to see if ear infections/etc will go away before resorting to antibiotics, for example), so I am hoping that the Dr will be able to give us a Rx for an antibiotic just in case DS needs it while out of state.

 

[SEA333]

I would not suggest dermabond on a part of the body that moves frequently. I had it used on the bridge over my nose and while it healed fine, I have a nice big scar because of moving my facial muscles. I wish I'd done stitches.

I'm pretty sure that I've swam with stitches before. I hurt my knee in the Bahamas when I was in my 20s and had to have stitches in it. I'm pretty positive I still went in the ocean and pool afterwards.

I hope it heals well and he's not in pain!

Hmmm...it's on his baby toe. If it scars, I don't think he will care a whole lot. On his face...another story! Thanks!

 

[sam_gordon]

If the bleeding is still stopped, he shouldn't need stitches. He'd only need stitches if it's still bleeding. IIRC, my kids were told no swimming while the stitches are in. The best bet is to ask the doctor.

That being said, I would probably still let him go on the trip, just make sure if he goes to the beach, the wound (stitches or no) is well wrapped and gets washed and rewrapped after leaving the beach.

 

[minnie mum]

Have his toe checked by a doctor. After this long a delay it is unlikely that they would close the wound, as explained by a PP. However, if the flap has an inadequate blood supply it will likely die and slough off, causing other problems. The doctor can assess this and treat it appropriately. Follow your doctors recommendations as to swimming and how to best protect it.

 

[laughinplace199]

When DS8 got stitches in the back of his head, we were told not to get his head wet until the stitches came out. If your DS needs stitches, he will probably have to keep the area dry.

 

[bsblady01]

I would not swim with stiches in salt water the pool should be ok

 

[SEA333]

Thanks everyone.

DS ended up getting the wound cleaned and skin adhesive to bond the skin down. It looks like it is healing well...very minimal redness and swelling. Today is the 3rd day of the adhesive, 4th day since the injury. It still hurts a little, DS says, but he is walking on it with a very slight limp and even shot a basketball around for an hour or two yesterday, so it can't be THAT bad.

The Dr said no immersing the wound in water for 5-7 days. DS is a 40 year old in a 15 year old body, so he says he will never, ever take a shower or go swimming again LOL He's being a little dramatic about the whole thing, and I am worried that he will seriously just want to stay in the resort hotel room and not do anything. The Dr assured us that the wound is sealed and no dirt/sand/etc can get into it so going to the beach will be fine, he just cannot go into the ocean until at least Wed. We bought him plastic covers that he can tape around his foot so he can at least go into the lazy river at the resort or eventually in the pool and ocean toward the end of the week, and waterproof bandaids for an extra layer of protection. (because nobody wants to be in the water at a pool with someone else's wound either!!! Ewwww!!!!), but the wound itself has a decent layer of what looks like clear glue over it, so nothing can get in, and nothing is getting out either. We are also sending a bottle of liquid bandage just in case. And the Dr gave us a Rx for an antibiotic just in case.

I feel like he will be pretty covered - at least enough to salvage SOME fun out of this trip. He LOVES swimming and being in the water, so it sucks that this happened, but we just got the itinerary from the parents last night and the resort looks amazing and the parents have asked us to write a permission slip for DS to go deep sea fishing and zip-lining (which we did in Gatorland a few years ago and DS chickened out on and has regretted it ever since!), so I think that he will still have an amazing trip.

They leave at 3pm CST today. He is getting so excited!