Open wound question

[E.B]

When one talks about something being transmitted through an "open wound" how large and open is the wound generally? Trying to get some closure on a couple anxiety issues.

 

[E.B]

Any opinions?

 

[PaNaRaH]

smaller wounds have lower chances of anything being transmitted due to less blood being exposed. If a wound is healed, the chances are slimmer. Larger wounds may have a higher chance of being exposed to bacteria because of the larger surface area, however, if you keep the wound clean and wrapped, you're okay. Similarly, when a child falls and scrapes their knee, their knee is exposed to the bacteria from the surface they scraped their knee on yet the likelihood of any transmittance is slim. I would ask your doctor about your wound if you feel it is getting infected. Though, not all infections are dangerous can be treated at home.

 

[E.B]

Thank you for your response. You know how folks who have health anxiety are about catching things and it being unlikely.

 

[PaNaRaH]

Most definitely do haha. Don't worry too much about it!

 

[AbeLinkedIn]

Funny story, over a year ago I scraped my knees and had a pretty nasty looking wound which bled through my pants. I was freaking out and kept nursing that thing like my life depended on it. That meant constant Neosporin and cleaning/dressing the wound and after about a month or so, it was perfectly healed. Maybe a little scarring but if it's there I don't notice it. My feet have also taken some abuse like broken glass once and accidental cuts on my hand from an Xacto blade and they healed no problem.

The other poster is right, larger/deeper wounds have a higher chance of being infected, but with proper care at home or letting a doctor assess it if you feel it's warranted, it's pretty rare all told. The truth is any wound has the potential for infection, but generally smaller ones have a lesser chance and like I said, keeping it clean and protected will ensure nothing bad gets in.

 

[E.B]

I was specifically asking on blood Bourne type transmission of diseases from other people or surfaces, etc...i know it's very difficult, but was just curious when one talks about an open wound transmitting it, what kind of wound is generally talked about. Thanks for responses.

 

[AbeLinkedIn]

Are you talking about something like AIDs or MRSA? As I understand it both of them can only be contracted by infected individuals through bodily fluids (Blood, saliva, etc.) and in the case of MRSA it'd have to be in a place like a hospital in order to catch it and even then you'd have to have made contact with an infected patient which in itself is hard considering they're usually isolated in the ICU for that reason.

Most cases of wound infection I know about start at the site and a foreign pathogen uses it as an entrance. Most serious diseases are either rare or nigh impossible with proper protocol (For instance tetanus has a vaccine most people in the developed world have). Sorry if I'm picking your brain some, I kind of want to see where you're coming from.

 

[E.B]

Basically anything that can be transmitted via blood/salivia into your bloodstream..lets just say aids for an example. I have an open wound and someone has just dropped blood on a surface. What kind of open wound would it take to transmit aids?