Plenty of cuts heal fine with soap, water, and a bandage. Head to urgent care when the edges gape open or won't stay closed, the cut is deep enough to see fat or muscle, bleeding continues after 10–15 minutes of firm direct pressure, the wound crosses a joint or is on the face where scarring matters, or the cause was a dirty or rusty object or an animal or human bite — those also raise the tetanus question, and we can update your tetanus shot at the same visit.
Timing matters: wounds close best within the first several hours. Come in the same day whenever possible.
Go to the ER instead for spurting or uncontrollable bleeding, amputations, deep wounds to the neck, chest, or abdomen, or any cut with numbness or inability to move the area.
Daystar handles wound cleaning, closure, and tetanus updates on a walk-in basis in Forest Park, six days a week.
