Tess in the Burbs Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 my dd ran into the wall last night and cut open her head. she runs into things alot(runs while looking behind her). but it was a very deep cut...so I took her to the ER. they put two staples in her head. :w00t: so she's got all this dried blood in her hair. but they said not to soak the wound for 24 hours. so I can't give her a bath/shower yet. is there a better way to get her hair clean? my other question is removal....she goes back in a week to have them taken out...how bad does it hurt coming out? need to mentally prepare for this if she's going to be a mess. :001_huh: thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 I meant to say a mess emotionally...crying/screaming. not physically bloody or anything, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Poor kid! I would just use a washcloth around the wound. Gently! I've had staples for an appendectomy and my aunt had head staples. I was terrified of having mine removed (I was about 8yo) and it took 4 people to hold me down and then calm me down. Didn't hurt a bit! I freaked b/c I was picturing the bent backs of paper staples, which is definitely not the case in flesh! My aunt was sent home with a staple remover for a DIY job. She was icked out, but it didn't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Well, my middle one did that when we moved in here - tree swing spinning into the back of the tree. Oops. But she doesn't handle stuff like that at all (she is special needs and everything becomes an issue) - and had NO CLUE the doctor had takent hem out. It was her first time meeting him too, we had a "meet and accept as a patient appt" and i had to beg for them to take the staples out for me instead! LOL!! Hopefully someone else has the cleaning answers - ours was actually very clean because i tried for 30 minutes to get it to stop bleeding on its own with a washcloth. It wasn't bleeding a lot - just steady slow wouldn't stop if you took the washcloth off. The funny part of the story - i was 7 months preggo, we went to the ER closest to our house, right up the road. Well, they don't DO babies there (it's in a retirement community), EVERY PERSON we saw kept asking, "you aren't coming HERE to have that baby are you?", "PLEASE don't come here in labor". Ok, got that message! LOL!! Anyway, here is hoping she has an easy time like mine did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 DH and I have had a variety of staples and stitches over the years for injuries and surgery, and we prefer staples. They come out more easily in our experience, but they can't be used in all situations. Sometimes stitches really "stick" and are hard to remove. I would think that you could clean up some of the blood around the wound with cotton balls or a wash cloth as long as you stay away from it. After 24 hours she should be able to shower if she's very gentle with that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 my dd ran into the wall last night and cut open her head. she runs into things alot(runs while looking behind her). but it was a very deep cut...so I took her to the ER. they put two staples in her head. :w00t: so she's got all this dried blood in her hair. but they said not to soak the wound for 24 hours. so I can't give her a bath/shower yet. is there a better way to get her hair clean? my other question is removal....she goes back in a week to have them taken out...how bad does it hurt coming out? need to mentally prepare for this if she's going to be a mess. :001_huh: thanks, I've only removed staples from someone else, never had them removed from me so take this with a grain of salt. :tongue_smilie: The removal is not painful 'cause the tissues surrounding the staples have healed and are "ready" to let them go. As for cleaning - to avoid saturating the wound prematurely, you could try holding gauze over the wound itself and spraying (spray bottle) on the hair that's affected. Chances are, though, you're not going to get the results you desire until you can effectively clean with a shampoo. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Oldest dd snuck into a closet LATE one night--still do not know why--and pulled a game down from the top shelf... It was a HUGE bloody mess. They (ER) put in 5 staples. DD had no discomfort when they took them out with this little plastic 'thingy'. You can wash AROUND the wound if you must--but it is best to wait the 24 hours before getting near the staples--or you can disturb the healing process and it might scar more. My dd has long straight hair--if the wind blows just right you can (10 years later) see the nice 1.5 inch scar on the back of her head (no hair on the scar--it looks like a strange part of some sort). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 They don't usually hurt coming out. I would make sure they are removed though on the shorter end of whatever time table they told you. I usually think of staples in the scalp coming out at 5 days. Otherwise, they can hurt more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookmomma Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I had 8 staples in my head about 10 yrs ago (bad jeep wreck) and I was sent home from ER with a kit to remove them myself. This freaked me out a bit, but it wasn't bad at all. I didn't wash my hair--as instructed--which was very embarrassing b/c I had to go to my workplace the next day and speak to my boss about why I couldn't work for a few days, and I looked like he**. But after a few weeks, They came right out and I didn't feel a thing. It's a bit like the feeling of cutting your nails; you just feel the pressure. I have a bad scar on my scalp, but I have very thick hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 My 4 yo ds had a couple staples in his head. The Dr. had me hold some wet gauze to the area before removing the staples so they wouldn't stick as much. I think it was about equivilant to someone taking off a bandaid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Just use hydrogen peroxide to get the blood out of her hair, it works well and is ok around the wound. They have a special staple remover that is really slick and will not hurt when the time comes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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