Redness around Graze on hand

[Missmiller]

Hi
my daughter fell off her scooter at about 6:30pm last night. She grazed her hand. I cleaned it with warm water and cotton wool, put savlon on it. Anyway, this morning, it is really red and I am worried this is a sign of infection. Obviously it’s Friday and I don’t want to leave it over weekend if she requires anything to treat it.
Is this a normal looking graze or should I contact GP for advice?
Thanks

It looks swollen - a sign of the body healing itself and don't forget she probably hit her hand pretty hard when she fell. If you're sure you cleaned it thoroughly and there's no grit or dirt in it I wouldn't worry, it looks normal for that kind of injury.

draw a line around the redness now. I don't like the way the red is branching out.

Ring your GP as soon as possible.

It looks ok for a recent injury. I'd see how it looks in a couple of days

I would ring 111 for advice. DS came off his bike the other week and ended up with a badly swollen top lip and a cut from some gravel (yes he had a helmet on thank goodness!)
They were really helpful and gave lots of advice about how to treat at home and what to look out for with possible infection.

It doesn’t look like it’s tracking out , it looks like part of the graze but it’s difficult to tell

As above, draw a line round the edge of the redness with a marker and see if it spreads, which would mean it’s infected

The redness has spread down her arm already so I’ve phoned GP now. Waiting to hear back.

If she landed on that hand the redness is probably from the impact of hitting the ground with all her weight on the side. Hope the gp reassures you

I don't think it would be infected so quickly. I swear by cooled boiled very salty water to clean wounds. A bowl full of it and soak for five mins few times a day. But obviously keep close eye on it.

Well it looks infected to me! Glad you’ve rung the GP, it’s best to stay on top of these things as they can get nasty very quickly.

I'd be concerned about the way the redness is tracking. It could easily be an infection. Some infections are slow to develop and others fast.

Yes doctor thinks it’s an infection and has prescribed antibiotics. Hoping they’ll sort it as she warned she may need IV antibiotics if not :(

It's red because it's grazed and sore. That bit didn't get the brunt so didn't break any skin. Keep an eye on the redness/heat spreading but looks perfectly normal for now

Sorry should have rtft

I think you should collect the anti biotics but watch and wait. I’m really think it will clear up. Anti biotics have lots of side effects and are really bad for the gut.

Like others said - use salt wAter first.

FFS don't listen to a bunch of strangers on the internet. Listen to your GP!

for what's it's worth. At the speed its spreading I think its likely IV antibiotics will be needed.

To some of the others posting, blood poisoning is very serious and not something to sit around watching, it get bad very very quickly.

Definitely listen to the trained medical professional over MN.

It’s tracking up her arm which is a sure sign of infection, definitely give the antibiotics and keep a close eye on it.

But everyone suggested watching and call if it started to track or spread- and it did so she called, and now dc has treatment. Advice given was correct for the most part!

Thanks all. I appreciate any advice given and appreciate the time you’ve spent responding. First dose of antibiotics already taken so hopefully the redness will stop spreading ASAP xx

midnightstar66
I'm not surprised you missed the posts after yours, about not giving the antibiotics and just cleaning with salt water.
When you couldn't be arsed to even read the the very short thread before you just had to post your own Pearl's of wisdom.

My dd has similar tracking from an infected chicken pox between her toe. The antibiotics did stop it quickly but she ended up needing a second course as it wasn't totally better, once they got a culture back they realised they'd prescribed the wrong ones however the second course had done the trick against the odds so thankfully she didn't need a 3rd. Apparently it was an unusual bacteria. Trust my child! Just get back on touch if it doesn't seem to be clearing.

We're just stopping by to reiterate the HQ statement at the top of all threads in this topic -

Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention; if you think your problem could be acute, do so immediately. Even qualified doctors can't diagnose over the internet, so do bear that in mind when seeking or giving advice.

OP, we're relieved to see you're following the GP's advice and have started your DD on the prescribed antibiotics.

We really hope she's on the mend soon.

Thanks all . Definitely a good call getting antibiotics, it worsened significantly as the afternoon went on and began to track to about a third way down her arm...but after second dose of antibiotics and a clean in warm salt water, it’s calming down and tracking line is fading. Trust your gut. I knew it wasn’t right as the initial cut seemed small compared to the redness and tracking that appeared today. I am confused as to how cellulitis has developed so quickly .Literally in 12 hrs from cut to first sign of infection. Am doing nightchecks on her hence why I’m up at midnight!
Key message from this , take skin infection seriously and don’t wait and see

I've had cellulitis a couple of times. It happened really quickly. First time it was in my foot (broken skin after getting a blister on my toe and scratching it). It went halfway up my leg before a colleague mentioned I should go to a GP, I'd never heard of it! Something that really helped was keeping my foot cool and elevated.
So glad you listened to your instincts. Hope your DD is fully better soon.

It took less than 12 hours between cutting myself and ending up in A+E once with cellulitis, it can come on very fast.

Well done on getting antibiotics so quickly, hopefully she's better soon. It took 6 days I think for mine to start to improve drastically.