Minor Injuries Treatment Clinic Q&A

Minor injuries are injuries that will not have any long-term lasting effects on patients, however, they can still be extremely painful when they happen. Minor injuries can include burns, shallow lacerations, sprains and strains, bug bites, stings, and bruises. Minor injuries can include injuries that are physical or mental injuries since the situations that cause minor injuries can also include traumatic events like being in a car accident, however, it is important to remember a minor injury that has effects that last longer than 12 months and will then become considered a chronic injury. Because of this, it is important to have your injury evaluated by a medical professional in the hours or days following the injury you have received, as some injuries that involve the cranium (head) still carry risks of injury even if you feel fine or the injured person appears to be the same as before the injury occurred, especially if it involves a motor vehicle accident. Since minor injuries are ‘minor’ some patients feel that they will not need medical assistance, but it is still worth having your injury checked as the medical professionals at Medallus Urgent Care can not only advise of the severity of the injury, but they can also treat the area if there is a cut that needs to be closed. In the case of a strain, you may have to have an X-ray to make sure the anatomy is still correct and look for signs of potential re-injury. In the case of bites or stings they can recommend antibiotic or antihistamine medications to treat the area.

This will greatly depend on the injury that has occurred, as someone who has potentially hit their head falling off a swing may need to ice the area, whereas someone who has been bitten by a bug will need to clean the area thoroughly with soap and water, and if they have been stung, they may have to remove the stinger from the affected area.

If your minor injury is a cut or scrape, you should apply pressure to the area if there is any bleeding present, and once that has been managed you should clean the area thoroughly with soap and water to remove any debris in the area, and remove any larger debris still stuck in the wound with sterilized tweezers, and then bandage the area.

If you have suffered a minor burn injury, you should run tepid water over the area, you do not want the water to be too cold or too warm to injure yourself further. Using a non-injured area, you want to check the temperature and aim for the temperature to be just slightly lower than your skin temperature. Once you have cooled the area some patients may think they should wrap or apply aloe to the area, and this should be avoided as covering the area with anything can increase the heat to the area and cause more discomfort and pain.

If you have suffered a minor injury that has involved damage to the skin, it is still worth seeing a doctor, as they may recommend you have a tetanus shot done if you have not had one within the last 5 years.

Major injuries are injuries that will affect the patient for the rest of their life or will need medical interventions to be able to control, whereas minor injuries are injuries that in most situations can be managed by the patient.

Examples of major injuries that need medical attention are avulsions which involve layers of skin being removed from the area by the mechanism of injury, or fractured bones as casts will be needed to manage the injury. Another example of a major injury is a patient who has suffered a burn that involves not only the skin but the lower subcutaneous layer or the muscle in the area, also known as third-degree burns.

Minor injuries would be injuries such as scraping your knee when falling off a bike or roller-skates or bug bites that do not involve allergic reactions or sunburns.

Yes, there are minor injuries that if left unmanaged and untreated can become major injuries, such as a cut or scrape that was improperly cleaned, that could potentially become an infection which can be life-threatening when left untreated as well. This is why it is still important to seek medical attention after suffering a minor injury so that you can receive appropriate medical treatment. Minor injuries can affect your life and become more costly to manage the longer they are left unmanaged. For more information please contact us or see our business hours online. We serve patients from Jamestown ND, Valley City ND, Devils Lake ND, Fargo ND, Mapleton ND, Horace ND, Mandan ND, Bismarck ND, Lincoln ND and surrounding areas.