What would do - dh injured himself

[ForFuckSakeWhatNow]

So dh fell over and ‘skimmed his knee’ - his description.
I can see a bit of skin hanging through a hole of his trousers so I’m going to say it needs looking at.

There is no minor injury clinic where I live. I’ve just checked.

What would do? Dh will not go to A&E. won’t be able to see a doctor or nurse for a few days either.

Im at loss at what to advise him - esp as he is extremely reluctant ‘to make a fuss’
He is currently in the shower and told me he will just ‘cut the hanging skin off’

OP, can you phone or call into your doctors surgery and see if a nurse will see him? This is feasible at our surgery but obviously might not be at yours.

GP or 111 might recommend a Nursing Practitioner to look at your Surgery?

You want it sterile to clean the wound. Boiled water that's cooled is safe, not hot/cold water straight from the tap that contains microbes you'll introduce into the wound.

Get him to go to your local chemist , most have a separate room where the pharmacist can have a look and advise him on what the best next step is.

As long as there is debris in the joint as this can cause septic arthritis at a later date, and its a week in hospital on a drip jobby then.

GP surgery nurse. At the very least, nurse can clean it properly, apply steri-strips and advise if he needs to go elsewhere if it needs stitching

a & e will have a minor injuries area

I'd have it checked by a Pharmacy, and steri-strips or a&e for gluing depending on what they say.

Will he let you look at it, wash it and dress it? My DH is the same about minor injuries but I can usually persuade him to let me sort it out for him.

He banged his head the other day, really hard and was going to carry on working (up a ladder!), I managed to get him to sit down and I put a cold compress on the growing large bump! Got him reluctantly to take a couple of paracetamols and take it easy for a few hours. I was on a bit of a concussion watch (ready for a trip to A&E), but he was fine.

I used to run and fell over a fair few times. Usually some Savlon (diluted) and a faster healing plaster was sufficient, but if you are unsure, as others have said, a pharmacist will know whether it is serious enough to warrant a GP appointment or trip to A&E, or if not, they will tell you how to keep it sterile.

You say he has done this before. Does he have balance issues? This may be worth checking via the GP.

Tell him to go to a pharmacy for some appropriate dressings and advice.

And that’s only after a paramedic told him to go because they could see the knee bone. He wouldn’t have gone otherwise…

That's the useless bit. You said it, not me. No need to be wowed that I'm agreeing.

It all makes sense now. In A&E, they know if a farmer is coming in they need to prepare the arrest trolley 😉

Steristrip it after a good clean.

I have them in all sizes and carry a few tucked away with my credit card.

lost count of the times I’ve been thankful I’ve carried them. Always had them in the house after that’s what A&E put on my DD cut arm and I had the hugest one I’ve ever seen right across my tummy after a hysterectomy.

Being from a farming background you'd think he would know basic first aid and wound management.

What would he do if a cow or sheep did the same?

You don't just leave it as that leads to a much bigger vets bill. You clean, sterilise and dress the wound then call a vet if it needs stitches or antibiotics. Same with humans (but go to the doctor rather than the vet).

Your husband is an idiot.

I’d try and get an appointment with the practice nurse for them to dress it.

I'd let him learn his lessons me. He's an idiot for not cleaning it out properly.

Go to a pharmacy and see what they say. If it's bad they will advise A&E if no Minor Injury Unit close by. Otherwise they will be able to sell him some plasters/bandage and antiseptic cream.

I was about to say the fact he's a farmer is a key piece of info!
how did he injure his knee? Was it a fall? Machinery related?
at the very least it needs cleaning... salt water or TCP.
ciuld he have had a local anaesthetic rather than a general? (General means completely knocked out, a local anesthesises the immediate area)
practice nurse or walk in centre are good suggestions if the wound is more serious.
medical professionals generally take farming injuries very seriously as other nhs posters have already said!

What I would do is tut, sympathise, suggest he cleans it, might perhaps offer to clean it and then, as he's a grown man, leave him to it. I would not in 100 years seek professional advice, of any kind.

A wound like a scrape is unlikely to be able to be stitched and even if you could, you would be stitching the dirt in.

I came off my bike when I was a kid and exposed both elbow joint capsules and my left kneecap. All wounds were washed then dressed for weeks as they had to heal by second intention. It was surprising the volume of crud that came away and surprising how small the final scars were compared to the original wounds.

Clean dress and get him seen if he is feverish/off food/obviously ill.

I'm really interested to know what's happened that he's skinned his knees so badly more than once, the last time being that he needed two general anaesthetics for treatment. What's he doing to cause this?! And he needed a general anaesthetic to clean it? Just all sounds so bizarre.

I like steristrips too!

Have put some of dh when he opened his thumb with a wood chisel (yes another injury!).
The pharmacist was horrified when I explained why I needed some…..

I wouldn't go to A&E for that. I'd clean it out (dettol, saline or similar) and make sure all debris is out (might hurt a fair bit). Then antiseptic cream and non adhesive dressing. Change regularly, use the cream but don't wash it out again (unless you clearly missed gravel or something). Keep an eye on it and if it starts to feel hot, weep, or change colour go see the doc.

Agree with the poster who said do what you'd do for an animal - you wouldn't call the vet for it, you'd iodine and vet wrap it.

Yep! Farmers are always far too stoical in my experience and inclined to glue themselves back together etc!