Immediate treatment for any injuries is essential. Nevertheless, proper wound enclosure will let the wound heal faster with minimal scars. Therefore, this is also a thing related to wound treatment which cannot be put aside. A deep, severely bleed wound may probably need to be closed by medical sutures, so that healing process can be elapsed more quickly and the resulted scars can be minimized. Despite this, do not waste the time rushing to the hospital while in fact, the seemingly-deep wound does not require suturing procedure.

Why sutures used for deep wounds

Deep injuries to the skin do not usually damage merely the superficial layer of the skin. Instead, they affect the deeper layers of the skin as well. Skin tissues, blood vessels, tendons, and even bones might be affected by cuts which are deep and large. In this case, stitches might be a beneficial method of providing wound enclosure, considering that:

• It brings separated skin edges and the damaged skin tissues back together. Thus, scarring and uneven skin surface occurring once the wound heals can be minimized.
• It inhibits severe bleeding, since the pressure resulted from stitches help stop the initial bleeding.
• It prevent infection by closing the wounded area, so that no debris and bacteria can possibly enter the injured part.

How deep does a cut need to be to require stitches

There are some signs to be used in determining whether or not you are experiencing a wound which requires stitches. How deep the wound is can be used as one of those parameters. Although stitches are common with deep wounds, not all deep wounds require this procedure. Considering the depth, some things should be considered before deciding to have the wound sutured.

• A wound which is deeper than ¼ inch may need stitches. Thus, it is important to see not only how large the wound is, but also how deep it has reached into the deeper layers of the skin.
• A wound which affects the deeper layer of the skin, such as the skin tissues might need medical sutures. You might want to observe whether you see fatty tissues or tendons affected by the injury. Damaged tissues and tendons beneath the injured skin might be a sign that a wound may need stitches.
• A wound which is deep and accompanied by continuous bleeding which won’t stop within 10 minutes should be considered to be stitched. Bleeding which is hard to stop might be a sign that the wound does not only affect the superficial part of the body, but also the blood vessels beneath the skin. Thus, stitches might be required to give pressure and inhibit severe bleeding.
• A deep wound which is accompanied by sensation loss should be considered required medical attentions, as it may affect the nerves.

Other signs to consider

Other than merely seeing the depth of the wound, you might also want to consider other signs when your wound requires immediate stitches. Some wounds, on the other hands, should not be stitches under some circumstances. Knowing what other signs to observe might be helpful in determining the importance of stitches for the wound.

• The location of the wound
  • Where the wound is located should be put into account to see the necessity of stitches. Cuts located in the area of the body which involves a lot of movements might likely to need stitches. This is important to prevent wound re-opening due to the movements, which may delay healing and trigger infection.
  • Facial cuts are usually stitches for cosmetics reason, which is to minimize possible scaring.
• The width of the wound
  • A wound with separated skin edges might need stitches to join the exposed tissues together. With this kind of wound, medical stitches do not only help the wound heal faster, but also minimize the scars.
• The causes of the wound
  • A deep puncture wound which is caused by animal bites are not advised to be stitched up, as the procedure might lead into trapped infection, which can be life-threatening.
  • A deep wound with strange objects or debris should not be stitched up as well before the object is extracted. This is also an important understanding for keeping an infection away from the wound.