Wound Healing: How to heal cuts fast with a reduced risk of scarring

Minor injuries, like a small paper cut on the finger, or a minor burn while cooking, can disrupt our busy lives. If you’ve suffered an injury, you’ll want to know how to heal wounds faster and how long a cut may take to heal.

However, wound healing is a complex process and many factors can interfere, delaying the healing process. Find out how to make a wound heal faster and which Elastoplast products will reduce the risk of scarring.

A wound describes an injury that breaks or impacts the skin, such as a cut, scratch, puncture wound or burn. You may also hear people talking about “closed wounds”. These are injuries whereby the skin is not broken, but there’s damage to tissues beneath, such as bruises.

In this article we’ll be specifically focusing on how to heal open wounds quickly. As a result of an open wound, the body's internal tissues become exposed to the external environment and bacteria.

While the majority of cuts heal naturally over time, there are ways to speed up the healing process to heal wounds faster. Most minor open wounds will not require medical treatment. To heal cuts fast, follow the three-step Elastoplast Wound Care Routine:

A clean and cleansed wound is an essential first step for optimal wound healing. Cleanse your wound from dirt, bacteria and visible particles with the Elastoplast Wound Spray to prevent infections.

This is an easy to use spray for the antiseptic cleansing of minor acute wounds by mechanical irrigation, treating grazes, abrasions, first and minor second-degree burns and open blisters.

The second step to heal wounds faster is to protect your wound from dirt and bacteria to enable an undisturbed healing. Cover your wound with a plaster, sterile wound dressing or compress from Elastoplast.

Research shows that the quickest way to heal a cut is by covering it with a plaster, reducing the chance of an infected wound. Elastoplast products provide protection until the wound is completely healed. Learn more in How do plasters work?.

Studies have shown that under moist conditions cells will grow, divide and migrate at an increased rate to optimise the wound healing process. In a moist healing environment, scabs- which inhibit the formation of new tissue – are prevented. This helps reduce the risk of scarring, improving the aesthetic outcome.

Learn how to make a wound heal faster using Moist wound healing.

To support and speed up wound healing, apply the Elastoplast Wound Healing Ointment daily until the wound has healed completely and cover it with a Elastoplast plaster, sterile dressing or compress if needed. This ointment forms a protective barrier on the wound while creating an ideal moist healing environment that promotes up to 2x faster healing and helps to reduce scarring.

In a clinical study using an Abrasive Wound Model, wounds treated with the Elastoplast Wound Healing Ointment have been proven to heal faster and with a better cosmetic outcome than untreated wounds*.

*W. Wigger-Alberti, et al. Assessment of local tolerability and wound healing efficacy of a novel wound healing ointment. An intra-individual comparison of four different regimes in an abrasive wound model. Submitted for publication. EWMA Conference (European Wound Management Association), May 2018.

Wounds heal faster covered by a plaster to promote moist wound healing. The length of time it takes for a cut to heal depends how large or deep it is. Small cuts and scratches will usually heal in 1-2 weeks, while larger wounds may take 2-3 months, or longer.

Open wounds tend to take longer to heal than closed wounds. Large or deep wounds will heal faster if treated with sutures, so surgical wounds usually take less time to heal than other wounds. Surgery cuts take around six to eight weeks to heal. A wound which takes longer than the expected time to heal is known as a chronic wound. These types of injury may take years to heal, or may never heal at all.

Wound healing is a complex process that can be subdivided into the four phases below:

1. Blood clotting
2. Exudation and Inflammation
3. Proliferation and granulation
4. Epithelialization and regeneration

For more detail on the four stages of wound healing, visit our article on the topic.

There are a number of risk factors which may make a person more susceptible to slow wound healing. We can’t change some of these, but others can be impacted by lifestyle choices, meaning you have a degree of control over the speed at which your wound heals. Risk factors include:

• Age: Unsurprisingly, wounds usually take longer to heal for older people, who have reduced capacity to create new body tissues.
  Immune system: Those with a weakened immune system, either naturally or as a result of treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, may find that their cuts heal more slowly.
• Diseases: Conditions such as diabetes and heart disease can slow the body’s wound healing abilities.
• Nutrition: People who don’t eat a healthy and balanced diet are likely to experience slower wound healing than those who do. Healthy foods rich in nutrients like vitamin A, C, potassium and zinc provide your body with the fuel it needs to speed up wound healing. Power foods like dark, leafy greens, as well as ginger, mushrooms, beets and yoghurt will also help your body heal wounds faster. Avoid foods heavy in spices, sugar and nitrates, which can cause inflammation or strain skin-tissue.
• Smoking and alcohol intake: Carbon monoxide in cigarettes lowers the oxygen level of blood vessels and causes them to constrict. This limits the blood flow to damaged areas, and effectively makes it harder for your body to fight infection and rebuild tissue. Excessive alcohol consumption impacts key parts of your body for healing, such as the liver and immune system. Consider avoiding both to optimise wound healing.
• Lack of sleep: Our immune system consumes lots of energy when repairing tissue damage and fighting infection. Recent research shows that disruption to sleep cycles can significantly delay the wound healing process, so make sure you’re getting your 8 hours each night.
• Inactivity: While getting enough rest and sleep is important, regular exercise improves blood flow and reduces inflammation. Even less intense activities like walking can speed up the wound healing process.
• Poor wound management: Make sure to follow the Elastoplast Wound Care Routine when you first sustain a wound. Over time, even if it looks like the wound is healing, keep it clean and apply new dressings or plasters until your doctor or treatment plan advises otherwise. Learn more in Wound dressing know-how.

There are a number of “home remedies” which have been suggested to heal wounds faster, including:

• Aloe vera
• Lavender oil
• Turmeric
• Garlic
• Coconut oil
• Tea tree oil

However, none of these natural options have strong scientific evidence backing them. We recommend following our Cleanse, Protect and Heal wound care routine for the best results.

Always see a doctor if the wound is deep, bleeds heavily or shows signs of infection like reddening, swelling or warmth.

Please note that, although these were compiled with great care, the tips and advice given on this website by no means substitute medical advice and treatment. If you have or suspect a health problem, consult a doctor and follow medical advice regardless of what you have learned on this website.

Always read carefully and follow the instructions for use or the leaflets of our products. For further information about our products, please contact us via email at ConsumerRelationsUK@Beiersdorf.com