Our skin reacts to trauma by initiating an intricate wound-repair response that can be disrupted through a number of traditional home remedies. Cuts, scrapes, burns, and surgical incisions all initiate similar wound-healing processes and should be treated in clinically-proven ways. Unfortunately, a number of household products and methods commonly used to help wounds heal are now understood to do the exact opposite. Items like hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol and ice, and the method of “airing out” your wound, can have adverse effects on wound-healing. It’s always important to listen to your doctor and do research prior to experimenting with any homeopathic treatments.

Continue reading to learn more about poor wound care treatments and to discover clinically-proven ways to help your skin heal and reduce scarring.

When you expose your wound to outside agents, you run the risk of tissue damage and skin dehydration, which can inhibit wound repair. Therefore, it’s best to avoid certain products if you wish to minimize healing time and reduce scarring. Let’s take a look at several potentially harmful treatment methods commonly used to help wounds heal.

Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a clear, viscous liquid made of combined hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Traditionally, hydrogen peroxide has been used as an antiseptic for disinfecting cuts and scrapes. Hydrogen peroxide is a strong chemical, and while it may help to disinfect wounds by eradicating microorganisms, it can also irritate and damage skin cells. Only in very low concentrations, and without being continuously applied, might this substance facilitate healing. However, it’s best to keep hydrogen peroxide away from your skin altogether as misuse can prolong healing time and increase scarring.

Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol, also known as isopropyl alcohol, is a clear, flammable liquid consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules. Much like hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol is a strong chemical formula that can burn and irritate your skin, preventing wounds from properly healing. Isopropyl alcohol can also dry out your skin, creating a suboptimal environment for wounds to heal. In addition, this substance has a noxious fume that can burn the eyes and irritate the throat.

Ice
Treating burns and cuts with ice has been traditionally suggested by concerned mothers for years. However, from what doctors now understand, using ice on burns and other wounds can cause frostbite and tissue damage. Ice may temporarily allay the initial pain caused by a burn or cut, but it can complicate the wound-healing process and delay recovery. Regardless of what you’ve been told for years, it’s best to abstain from using ice on your wounds.

The “airing out” method
Skin hydration is required for maintaining skin durability, strength and flexibility. Damage to the top layer of the skin—the stratum corneum—can cause imbalance to the skin’s natural hydration mechanisms and complicate wound-healing. Therefore, it’s best to keep a wound clean and damp to facilitate new tissue growth and cellular development. Allow only moderate amounts of oxygen to penetrate the wound site.

Traditional approaches to wound care heavily influence our misconceptions about it. And given that treating wounds is one of the oldest medical practices in the world, there are bound to be outdated methods of care. But the best approaches are always the simplest ones.

Cool, running water is a good way to clean a wound by removing harmful agents from the area. Water can further induce hydration, creating an optimal environment for healing to take place. You can also use a mild soap or cleanser to help clean and sanitize cuts, scrapes, burns, and surgical incisions. Once you’ve cleaned your wound, it’s a good idea to cover it with bandage or wrap, protecting it from infection. Lastly, applying an emollient like Aquaphor or Neosporin can soothe and further hydrate the wound.

Once the wound is healed, new skin cells will begin to congeal in the form of a scar. If a wound is properly treated, scars from small wounds typically fade over time. But larger wounds from burns, road rash, or other accidents can leave cosmetically unappealing scars. Many types of surgical procedures like C-sections, tummy tucks, and breast reductions can also lead to significant scarring.

For some, excessive scarring in the form of keloids and hypertrophic scars are burdensome realities. To prevent or reduce abnormal scarring, silicone gel sheeting should be worn.

Clinically-proven scar therapy