Chapter XXII: How to Keep Germs Out of Wounds

[Sidenote: How germs get through the skin]

Germs get into our bodies through breaks in the skin. These breaks may be made by a cut or a scratch, by the bite of an insect, or even by the pulling out of a hair. There are some special germs, such as those which cause yellow fever, which are introduced by the bite of an insect; but at present we will consider only those germs that would naturally enter through any break in the skin.

[Sidenote: Effect of germs in wounds]

The skin of the human body acts as an armor against certain germs that are constantly trying to get through it. There are several germs of this class. Some of them cause white pus, or matter, but this is the least dangerous kind of all. Another kind causes boils or even blood poisoning, and another kind causes erysipelas.

We cannot get rid of these germs, for they are everywhere, to a greater or less degree; but they are more abundant in dirty than in clean places. They cause every degree of inflammation, from a slight redness of the skin to the blood poisoning that brings death.

[Sidenote: Real cause of suppuration]

Sometimes you will hear people say that a wound suppurated (that is, became inflamed and full of matter) because the blood was in bad condition. As a matter of fact, there would have been no suppuration if germs had not got into the wound. It was not the condition of the blood that caused the suppuration, but the germs.

Sometimes, when only a few germs get into a wound, and when the cells of the body are all in good condition and doing their work properly, the suppuration will be very slight, because the healthy cells of the body will kill the germs. But if very many germs get in, even healthy body cells cannot kill them all.

We have said that the germs which cause suppuration are everywhere, so it would seem almost impossible to keep them out of a wound. This is true in a sense; but even after they have got into a wound, you can wash them out if you use plenty of soap and water to cleanse the wound thoroughly. When I said that it is impossible to keep them out of a wound, I meant an accidental wound, for it is quite possible to keep them out of a wound that is made intentionally, as is done by the surgeon.

[Sidenote: How the surgeon prevents suppuration]

Do you know how a surgeon gets ready to do an operation? The first thing he does is to see that the room is perfectly clean. He has the carpet taken up, the curtains taken down, and the floor and walls washed. This is to get rid of all the dirt and germs in the room. If you should look at the surgeon's instruments, so clean and bright, you would think it impossible for a germ to find a place to live on; but the surgeon knows how closely the germs cling, and therefore he boils all the instruments he is going to use. Then he puts the towels into a place where they are made so hot by steam that all the germs on them are killed. After everything in the room is perfectly clean, the surgeon cleans his patient with a very stiff brush, using plenty of soap and water which has been boiled to kill all the germs in it. He scrubs the part where the wound is to be made and the skin around it until it is red. Even then he is not satisfied, for he washes it off with alcohol and ether, to be sure that any germs that might be sticking in the fat are removed. He scrubs his hands in the same way. After all this is done, he can perform the operation without fear that any of the germs which cause suppuration will get in, for he knows that he has killed all of them that would touch the wound.

[Sidenote: How to prevent suppuration]

Boys and girls cannot do all this before they cut their hands or skin their shins, but they can do the next best thing--they can keep their hands and the rest of their bodies clean at all times, and thus have as few germs on them as possible. Then, when they have cut themselves, they can go straight to some place where there is soap and water, and can wash the wound thoroughly. After this is done, a clean bandage should be placed on the cut part to prevent any other germs from getting in. If this is done every time you cut yourself, you will probably never have an infection--that is, a wound that suppurates.

Two boys were playing together one day. They ran into each other and each got a little cut on his hand. One boy went home at once, washed the wound, and put on a clean bandage. He lost a little time from his play, but was soon back and never had any trouble on account of the cut. The other boy thought it was foolish to quit his play to take care of such a little thing, so he tied his hand up in a dirty handkerchief. Two weeks later he was very ill. His arm was badly swollen and had to be cut open in several places; indeed, he came near losing his arm. It always pays to take care of a wound, be it never so slight.

Deep wounds made with small instruments, such as small knives, nails or toy pistols, are especially dangerous, because they are hard to clean and because they quickly heal up on the surface and leave the germs to grow at the bottom of the wound. Such wounds as these are dangerous for another reason.

[Sidenote: Where germs of lockjaw grow]

There is a germ that gets into wounds but does not cause suppuration. It is the germ of tetanus, or lockjaw. It lives in the ground, especially in the ground about barns, and its peculiar feature is that it will not grow in the air. If it gets into a large, open wound, it is easily killed, because it cannot grow where there is air. But when it gets into a small, deep wound where it cannot be reached, it stays there until the wound heals over on the surface, and then it begins to grow. It does not make the parts swell, as the germs of suppuration do, but quietly continues to grow, without the wound showing any sign of infection. Finally it develops a very severe poison that is taken up by the blood; then the victim suddenly begins to have spasms about the face, and finally these spasms extend to the entire body and kill him. Whenever you get a wound so deep that you cannot wash it thoroughly, go to a doctor and let him clean it out with some medicine that will kill the germs that cannot be reached by washing.

[Sidenote: How boils are caused]

Sometimes the germs that cause suppuration get under the skin at a point where a hair has been pulled out, or even work down beside the hair itself. When this happens, they cause suppuration under the skin, and the result is a boil. A boil is merely an infection with the germs that cause suppuration.

=Questions.= 1. How do germs get through the skin? 2. Can we
get rid of all the germs that cause suppuration? 3. Why is it
impossible for "bad blood" alone to cause suppuration? 4. How
does the surgeon prevent suppuration? 5. How may you prevent
suppuration? 6. What is the danger of cutting corns with an
ordinary knife or razor? 7. Where do germs of lockjaw grow? 8.
What causes boils?

=Remember.= 1. Germs and not "bad blood" are the cause of
suppuration. 2. Always keep as clean as possible, and immediately
wash any cut, no matter how small. 3. If you have a deep wound,
go at once to a doctor, and let him clean it out and kill the
germs that may be at the bottom of the wound.