Chinese Version
06-26-2022， Sunday，Sunny
I don’t remember where I read this: “It’s best not to bandage a small wound. Because the wound is airtight with moisture after bandaging, which eases infection. It’s best to expose the small wound to the air and the oxygen in the air to dry and heal the wound to prevent purulent.” Because of this, I always follow this advice to deal with my own small wounds and never use bandages.
After living with my daughter, whenever my finger was cut by paper or while chopping vegetables, if my daughter saw it, she would ask me to wash the wound, apply Neosporin, and use a bandage, because she thought that a wound covered by a bandage would be more hygienic.
We often argue about this. I always say: “The wound will heal faster while exposed to the air.”
Because neither of us had professional knowledge, we couldn’t convince each other.
This afternoon, MK accidentally scratched two fingers while kayaking. He applied Neosporin to the scratches first then used bandages. After seeing what he did, I said to him: “Your wounds are small and they will heal easier from being exposed to the air directly.”
MK looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I added: “A wound under a bandage is moist and will be infected easier.”
MK said, “After applying Neosporin ointment, the wound is unlikely to be infected, while you need to clean the wound with water prior to applying Neosporin in the first place. The moisture is necessary for the wound to heal. ”
After hearing that moisture is good for healing, I asked, “Does the moisture help to heal the wound quickly? Will the scar be smaller or no scar at all?”
MK said, “Yes, in most cases a small wound may not leave a scar after applying Neosporin and being bandaged. Combination of Neosporin (or other antibiotics and antifungal ointment) with bandaid helps minimize scar formation.”
As I grow older, I noticed that it takes longer for my scar to fade after my wound heals. My dark scars used to disappear in less than a year, now some of them are still obvious after more than a year.
MK, a biomedical researcher with MD and PhD, added: “After washing the wound with water, the combination of anti-bacterial and anti fungal ointment and band aid helps minimize scar formation.” is a timely and valuable health tip for me.
Knowledge is power.
Little Episodes
Unforgettable from what I saw and heard while kayaking on Sunday:
A mother took her school-age daughter and son to kayak. In their two-seat kayak boat, her daughter sat in the front, the mother sat in the back, and her son sat on her lap.
Two ladies were sitting and chatting with each other on their individual kayaks, which were close to each other in the middle of the Charles River.
Two ugly ducklings (fluffy gray baby swans) are with their parents.
