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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
When you get hurt, one of the first steps to take is to disinfect the wound. If this first reflex is good, you still have to choose your disinfectant carefully. And still too often, hydrogen peroxide is used, wrongly. The explanations of Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
A badly negotiated bend on the bike, a foot slipping on wet ground, leads to a loss of balance… and presto, it’s a fall! If they affect people of all ages, falls particularly affect children and the elderly. And when they generate an injury, several good reflexes must be implemented. Among them, disinfection of the wound.
Avoid hydrogen peroxide on wounds
“We still too often tend to think that good disinfection must be irritating, that you have to scrub a lot” first denounces Dr. Kierzek. “While not at all, the disinfection of a wound should not be aggressive, under penalty of damaging the surrounding tissues and the cutaneous barrier which constitutes the skin “.
Indeed, as also denounced by Dr. Michael Daignault in an article published on the USA Today website, “people should not put hydrogen peroxide on their wounds, this habit inherited from their grandparents“. The doctor explains that “hydrogen peroxide has been used as an antiseptic since the 1920s due to its germ-killing properties”. But when using it on wounds, “lHydrogen peroxide unfortunately does not distinguish between bacterial cells and our own cells. Although you may think you are cleaning your wound thoroughly, you are causing corrosive tissue damage, significantly impairing the healing process and irreversibly worsening the healing process.” details Dr. Michael Daignault.
“Hydrogen peroxide and other caustic first aid antiseptics like rubbing alcohol should not be used to clean fresh open wounds.” advises Dr. Daignault, who recommends “simply irrigate the wound with water from a reliable source – tap or bottled water if you are out in the wild and need to tend to a wound”. For the doctor, it is then necessary “apply a small amount of triple antibiotic cream” and “cover with a clean bandage for minor cuts and scrapes”.
He also advises seeing a doctor for larger wounds that require further evaluation and for those requiring closure with sutures.
Choose a mild disinfectant
Dr. Kierzek confirms this finding: “Hydrogen peroxide is corrosive, tends to increase wound inflammation and inhibits the natural healing process.”. Can it be used to disinfect a wound? “Yes, but only for short use, with minimal contact time with the wound. Hydrogen peroxide can be used, for example, to dilute a blood clot on a wound or to help stop bleeding, but no more. explains Gérald Kierzek.
“We are well made: the healing takes place in several stages and will take place naturally. It is necessary to privilege a cleaning of the wound followed by a disinfection by a mild disinfectant that the pharmacist will advise you and monitor. If fever appears, lymph nodes near the site of the wound, pus or if it hurts: you must consult a doctor and check if you are up to date with your tetanus vaccination. concludes Dr. Kierzek.