Ouch – I hate glass on the floor. I just stepped on some myself in our basement.

First, you should see if an adult can take a look at it, since I can’t actually see the cut and someone else can give you another opinion of what to do.

Since you’re probably not worried about a scar on your foot, the main thing you want to make sure is that you can get the bleeding stopped and bandage it so the edges of the wound stay close together. The main problem with the foot is that you may pull open the wound every time you step on that foot, depending where the cut is. If that happens, you might need stitches to keep it together.

Also, if the wound is really deep or there is any numbness, that should definitely be seen by a doctor.

If those don’t apply and you decide to take care of it at home, clean the cut well by rinsing, apply something clean and hold pressure on it until it stops bleeding. Once the bleeding stops, use a good bandage – like the fabric ones or something called steri-strips to pull the edges of the cut back together. I’d also put a bit of antibiotic ointment on the wound. Then try to leave it alone as much as possible for up to a week while it heals together. Watch for swelling, redness, getting really hot, which would mean it might be infected and you should have a doctor look at it.

I hope these ideas help you, and remember if there is anything about it that really worries you, make sure you have a doctor look at it.

Good luck!

Misty

Misty
P.S. If you can find some of the herb called comfrey – either as a powder mixed with some warm water, or in an ointment, it helps stimulate faster healing and less scarring.

In the future, remember that the goal is to stop the bleeding and keep the wound stable so it doesn’t get popped open over and over. (also make sure you have no numbness which would be possible nerve damage and need to go right in to a doctor). With finger cuts you want to stop the bleeding, use a bandage to hold the edges of the wound shut, and then use a splint so you don’t keep bending the finger and opening the wound again. Something as simple as a few popsicle stick and medical tape can work.

If you can’t get any of these to work – ie., won’t stop bleeding, can’t tape wound edges together, then you would need stitches.

Hope that helps.

Misty

I appreciate comments, but yours is a bit inflammatory. You’re welcome to share information and evidence to back up your claims, but please do so with a kinder and understanding attitude.

Sure there are poisonous plants. No one is saying there aren’t. The point is that herbs that are correctly used in appropriate amounts are pretty safe in comparison to comparable drugs. For example, the pain reliever Tylenol, which was one of the most frequent medications we used on the pediatric hospital unit because it was considered one of the safest medications, kills an estimated 450 people per year, with many more suffering lasting liver and other damage. Many people are uninformed and shocked by this. There is also the estimate that medical mistakes have moved up as high as the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

The point is that nothing is completely safe – modern medications all have a list of side effects packaged with them and some plants can be used incorrectly and cause problems. However, taken on average, herbs used correctly are by every study and measure I’ve researched much safer than comparable medications. If you disagree, I’d be happy to take a look at the data you’re using for your conclusions.

Thanks,

Misty