How to Determine if Your Cut Requires Stitches

You probably already know that not all cuts require stitches. But how do you know which ones do? When you’ve cut yourself, you don’t want to be looking up the answer of whether you should rush to the emergency department or to an urgent care center, so remember to keep these truths in mind.

Injury and Health Urgent Care offers treatments for all kinds of issues, including emergency and non-emergency situations. Wound care is one of our main services. Our providers — Melissa Kempf, MD, and Shannon Wait, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, are here to help you get the best treatment you can as well as to be aware of which options you require for what kind of injury.  

Lacerations 101

Laceration is the common medical term for any cut that goes all the way through the skin. These can happen from a normal household incident, such as chopping food and catching yourself with the knife, to a car wreck or another type of sudden accident. Getting stitches helps avoid scarring and infection and allow the wound to heal more safely. 

Getting stitches is the term used for when the wound is sutured closed. This is usually done by a medical professional, and it has its history in ancient Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome. Sutures may be made of silk, nylon, or another material, depending on aspects associated with the wound. You may have to have them taken out, or they may dissolve on their own. 

The type of situation in which the injury occurs doesn’t always define if the laceration is serious enough to require stitches, so make sure you understand this. A kitchen cut can be severe enough to need stitches, and a cut from falling off a ladder may not. There are certain aspects you should consider and look for to know if your cut needs stitches. 

How to determine if your cut requires stitches

Look to these factors to decide whether you need to pay us a visit:

Size

Cuts that are larger in size shouldn’t be ignored. Deep, long, or big cuts should all be looked at, even if the cut only has one of these aspects. Also, if you can’t bring the sides of the cut together with some gentle pressure, you should have it checked out and possibly get stitches.  

Placement 

In certain places, a cut could have worse effects for the body than in others. If you have been cut on your face, genitalia, hands, mouth, on or near your eye, or near a joint, you’ll want to have it checked out and make sure it doesn’t require stitches. 

Blood level

Some cuts tend to bleed much more than others. This could be a sign that you’ll require stitches, especially if you can’t get the bleeding to stop. If your cut spurts blood or continues to bleed after putting pressure on it for more than 10 minutes, get it checked out. 

How/where it occurred

We know; we said this doesn’t always affect the need for stitches, but in some cases, it might. For example, if you were bitten by an animal, if the cut is very ragged or dirty, or if it happened because you came into contact with metal (especially rusty metal), you might need more than just stitches. You may need the wound to be cleaned and even to receive a tetanus shot. 

If it’s infected 

If you decided not to go to the doctor and now you’re starting to think your cut may be infected, make sure you visit us right away. Signs of infection include a bad odor and pus oozing from the wound, a fever and chills, increased pain near the site, and nausea or vomiting. 

Some wounds need stitches, and some don’t…

But if you notice any of the issues above, it’s better to reach out to your provider or to visit an urgent care facility like ours to find out if you do need them. We recommend being safe over sorry and knowing that you can get the help you need to feel better. 

Call 210-879-3521 to visit our San Antonio, Texas, office. You can also make an appointment online at the time that works best for you.