Deep or puncture wound, this needs a vet

What this tends to look like

• Edges that do not sit together, or gape when the animal moves
• You can see tissue, fat, muscle or bone rather than just skin
• A small entry hole with no obvious bottom to it
• Bruising or swelling spreading out from the site over hours
• Sometimes very little bleeding, which is not reassuring in a puncture
• Frequently the animal is more subdued than the visible wound explains

What is usually going on

Two things decide whether a wound can be closed: how deep it goes and how long it has been open. Full thickness wounds closed within the first several hours generally heal cleanly and quickly. The same wound left for a day is contaminated, and it then has to heal slowly from the base upward, which takes weeks instead of days and leaves considerably more scar. That is the single reason this page says go now rather than watch it.

Punctures deserve their own warning because they look like the least serious wound and are often the most serious. A narrow deep tract carries dirt, hair and bacteria to the bottom, and then the skin at the top seals within a day or two and traps all of it. That is the standard route to an abscess, and it is why a puncture almost always needs flushing and antibiotics rather than cream. Punctures over the chest or abdomen carry a further risk, because a wound that entered a body cavity may look identical from outside to one that did not.

We are deliberately offering no remedy here. Calendula is a reasonable thing for an intact graze. It does nothing for a wound that needs flushing, exploring and closing, and putting anything into a deep wound before it has been examined makes the vet's job harder.

What you can do at home

• Firm direct pressure with a clean cloth or pad if it is bleeding. Do not lift it to check every thirty seconds
• Do not use hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, iodine at full strength, or antiseptic cream. They damage tissue and make healing slower
• Clean water only, if anything. Do not probe, flush deeply, or try to pull anything out of a puncture
• Leave any object still in the wound alone. Removing it can start much worse bleeding
• Cover loosely with a clean non-stick dressing to keep it clean on the way in, and stop the animal licking it
• Note the time it happened and what caused it. Both change the treatment

What progress should look like

How long to give this before you conclude it is not working.

• First few hoursThis is the window in which a wound can usually be closed cleanly. It is the entire point of going now.
• 24 to 48 hoursWatch for swelling, heat or discharge even after treatment. Punctures declare themselves late.
• Ten to fourteen daysTypical point for stitches out and for a closed wound to be sound again.
• If it was left openExpect two to six weeks of managed healing, with dressing changes. Slower, but it does still heal.

When to stop and call your vet

• Bleeding that will not stop with five minutes of firm pressure
• Swelling, heat, or discharge developing over the following days
• Lethargy, refusing food, or a fever, which means it has gone beyond the skin
• Any puncture over the chest or belly, or any bite wound at all