Everybody gets cuts, and some cuts are bigger than others. That's why a lot of
kids need stitches at one time or another — usually on their face, chin, hands,
or feet.
Stitches aren't for scratches. They're for bigger cuts
that probably wouldn't heal well on their own. You might take a fall and hit your
head or step on something sharp — ouch! Or you might have surgery
and get an incision, a cut a doctor makes.
That's where stitches come in. They join the sides of the cut together so that
it can heal. If you need stitches, you don't need to worry, but you do need to take
care of the stitches until the skin heals.
What Are Stitches?
Stitches are loops of thread that doctors use to join the edges
of a cut on your skin. It's a lot like sewing fabric together. But after a few days
or a week, the skin heals and the stitches come out.
Once the edges are touching, the doctor
ties a knot in the thread so your skin will stay that way until it heals. Doctors
have many different kinds of thread, called sutures (say: SOO-churz),
including some made of nylon, silk, and vicryl (say: VY-kril). Vicryl thread actually
dissolves in your skin, so you don't even need to get those stitches removed. This
kind of thread is used mostly on the lips, face, or in the mouth.
Another way of closing a cut is to use glue! Sometimes, if a cut isn't too deep
or wide, and is on a flat area like the forehead, the doctor will use special skin
glue to keep the cut's edges together until it heals. It usually dissolves by itself
in 7 to 10 days.
Another option for tiny cuts is a small sticky strip called a butterfly
bandage. It keeps the edges of a shallow cut together for a few days, and then
it usually comes off in the bath.