Q: Will all my cuts turn into scars?

Answer:

It depends on where the cut happens on your body, how deep it is and how it happened. Cuts over joints, like over your finger knuckles or your knee where the skin moves every time the joint moves, may not heal quickly or neatly because of the pulling forces on the cut. In a deep cut, the wound edges may be far apart, or you might cut into muscles or tendons under the skin. Cuts that occur in “dirty” circumstances such as cutting your foot in the ocean or a lake, or falling on a stick and having it stick into your skin, insert bacteria under the skin and make such a cut more likely to get infected.

After a cut happens, body processes quickly work to stop the bleeding. Next, fibroblast cells start to work to fill in the gap under the skin surface. Over the next few days, fibroblasts continue their work and the skin cells at the surface also grow to bridge the cut on top. The new skin gradually changes until it looks like the rest of your skin. If there is something still in the cut, if the wound edges are constantly moving, if there is a very big gap to fill or if you pick at the scab over the cut, a scar may result because the body’s repair processes have to work extra hard to seal the cut.

After you get a cut, you should tell an adult as soon as possible. Ask them to wash it out well with soap and water and inspect it. A cut that gaps open is very deep. Cuts like these, and ones that won’t stop bleeding after applying pressure and a bandage, need to be looked at by a doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or nurse. This would also be true for cuts that are still very dirty after washing. Such cuts may need medical cleaning, stitches or medical superglue to help them heal properly.

Cynthia Shimer, PA-C

Activity:

It's Only Words!

fibroblast – cell producing connective tissue: a large flat cell that secretes the proteins that form collagen and elastic fibers and the substance between the cells of connective tissue

muscle – body tissue producing movement: a tissue that is specialized to undergo repeated contraction and relaxation, thereby producing movement of body parts, maintaining tension, or pumping fluids within the body.

tendon – tough band connecting muscle to bone: an inelastic cord or band of tough white fibrous connective tissue that attaches a muscle to a bone or other part.