Signs and Symptoms:

• Cuts - Cuts slice the skin open. This causes bleeding and pain.
• Scrapes - Scrapes are less serious than cuts, but more painful because more sensitive nerve endings are involved.
• Punctures - Punctures are stab wounds.
• Bruises - Bruises are caused by broken blood vessels that bleed into the tissue under the skin.
• Burns - Burns can be caused from dry heat (fire), moist heat (steam, hot liquids), electricity, chemicals, and the sun (sunburn).
  1. 1st degree burn, your skin will be red, swollen, painful, and sensitive to touch.
  2. 2nd degree burn, the outer and lower skin layers are affected. Your skin will be painful, swollen, red, blistered, and/or be weepy/watery.
  3. 3rd degree burn, your skin will be black and white and charred. You will have less pain because the nerves have been destroyed.
• Animal and Human bites - Pain and bleeding. Rabies can result if the bite was from a warm-blooded animal who was infected with the rabies virus.

[Go to Self-Care Prevention]

Still not sure? Ask yourself with these questions.

1. Do the following signs of shock occur with an injury?

• Pale or blue-colored lips, skin, and/or fingernails
• Cool and moist skin
• Weak, but fast pulse
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Weakness, trembling, restlessness, confusion
• Difficulty standing or inability to stand due to dizziness
• Loss of consciousness

If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please get immediate care.

If no, continue on to the next question.

2. Does an animal bite cause severe bleeding or severely mangled skin or has a human bite punctured the skin?

If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please get immediate care.

If no, continue on to the next question.

3. Do any of the following describe the injury?

• There is a severe bleeding or blood spurts from the wound. (Apply direct pressure on the wound site while seeking care.)
• Bleeding continues after pressure has been applied to the wound for more than 10 minutes or bleeding continues after 20 minutes of applied pressure to what seems to be a minor cut.
• A deep cut or puncture appears to go down to the muscle or bone and/or is located on the scalp or face.
• A cut is longer than an inch and is located on an area of the body that bends, such as the elbow, knee, or finger.
• The skin on the edges of the cut hangs open.
• A burn (3rd degree) results in charred black and white skin, little or no pain, and exposure of tissue under the skin.
• A burn (2nd degree) causes painful, swollen, and red skin with blisters that cover more than 10 square inches of skin area or is on the face, hands, feet, genitals, or any joint.

If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please get immediate care.

If no, continue on to the next question.

4. Was the bite from a pet that has not been immunized against rabies or from an animal known to carry rabies in your area? (Check with your local health department, hospital, or emergency department if you are not sure.)

If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please get immediate care.

If no, continue on to the next question.

5. A day or two after the skin injury, do one or more of these signs of an infection occur?

• Fever
• Redness or red streaks that extend from the wound site
• Swelling, increased pain, or tenderness at and around the wound site
• Increased pain
• General ill feeling

If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please see your doctor.

If no, continue on to the next question.

6. Was the cut or puncture from dirty or contaminated objects, such as rusty nails or objects in the soil or did a puncture go through a shoe, especially a rubber-soled one? (Note: you will need a tentanus shot if you have not had one within 5 years (for a major wound) or if you had not had one in the last 10 years (for a minor wound).)

If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please see your doctor.

If no, continue on to the next question.

7. With a skin injury, are any of the following conditions present?

• With a second- degree burn, more than the outer skin layer has been affected; more than 3 inches in diameter of the skin has been burned; or blisters have formed.
• The burn does not improve after 2 days.
• Bruises appear often and easily; take longer than 2 weeks to go away; or over a year's time, more than 2 or 3 bruises appear for no apparent reason.
• Vision problems occur with a bruise near the eye.

  If yes to one of these symptoms described above, please see your doctor.

If no to all questions, use self-care prevention.