First Aid for Kids: How to Treat Grazes on Knees and Elbows
It’s a certainty—children fall over and will end up with grazes on their knees and elbows! It can happen whether they’re riding bikes, playing football, skipping rope, or simply at the local park.
The good thing about grazes is that they are easy to deal with, but they can be painful and become infected. They also scab over and create a temptation for children to ‘pick’, which can cause further bleeding, scabbing, and scarring.
👣 Steps to Treating a Graze
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Clean the graze with warm water.
There will probably be dirt particles in the abrasions, which can be easily removed with the gentle use of wet gauze.
Be warned – they probably won’t like this part! But it’s a necessary evil. -
Once the wound is clean, dry it with a piece of lint or other clean dry cloth that won’t leave fibres stuck to the wound.
We love Verasoft low linting towels—they’re also great when wet. -
Use an antiseptic cream or swab on the wound to sterilise the area.
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Cover with a light non-stick dressing.
You might also want to put a dab or two of wound healing gel on the graze. -
If the dressing becomes wet, you’ll need to change it.
Best not to let this secret out of the bag or they’ll use it as an excuse to skip a bath 🙂
⚠️ What to Do If the Graze Gets Infected
If a graze becomes infected, it may:
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Fill with pus
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Swell and redden
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Cause a fever or flu-like symptoms
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Feel warm to the touch and become more painful
If these symptoms appear, you should seek advice from your doctor, who will probably prescribe antibiotics.
🛏 A Final Tip
Be careful of sticking bed sheets—dressings often fall off in bed, and the sheets can stick to a wet graze as it dries.
Keep the graze covered until healed to prevent this and reduce the chance of infection or scarring.