In your opinion/experiences what antiseptics/ disinfectants are the best, or the worst? which ones work the best, which ones are useless? Is there a difference in the ones that are best used at different ages?
Currently I keep hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. Recently the oh ah of the bubbling of the peroxide has lost its effect of distraction.
I have found a spray bottle with peroxide in it. For some reason this has caused happiness to spread across the land. That and the bandaids that have the antibiotics in the pad.
I have used Neosporin as my go-to for some time now. This subject came up once when my BIL was here (he's the head nurse guy who runs the ER at a major hospital), and he said any triple antibiotic ointment is good. Neosporin is one, so that's fine. It doesn't really matter the brand. What matters is that you get the triple effects as some are more effective against certain germs than others.
I grew up using hydrogen peroxide, but more recent information says that it can actually be damaging to healthy raw tissue that it comes into contact with. So I'd be more judicious in my use of it than I once was.
Betadine (what they use to disinfect before surgery) and peroxide. Use both on my 3 yr old.. neosporin after..
Bactine
Water/Soap, Neosporin, bandaid. (I put the Neo on the bandaid, not the scrape)
I too have heard lately, like others, that peroxide is not the best thing for wounds and can damage healthy tissue. Not sure where that's coming from but it's pretty commonly talked up among parents now. It's worth asking your pediatrician about.
We use soap (NOT antibacterial soap!) and water; alcohol if it's a small scrape or cut, or maybe a Bactine-type liquid, and most of all we keep a scrape or cut covered in Neosporin and covererd with a band-aid. Keeping cuts and scraps moist with Neosporin can do a lot to prevent scarring, I've found. My daughter has had a couple of larger scrapes that would probably have scarred some if we hadn't kept them moist. Leaving cuts and scrapes to "dry out" used to be done but our doctor said it's actually better to let them heal "moist" instead.
LOVE Bactine...... good for burns, scrapes, mosquito bites.. you name it..
Also have in the fridge, a chilled bottled of pure Aloe Vera in the event someone gets burned, particularly when cooking... I also have several aloe plants in the backyard, the stuff is very good for burns, scrapes, toner for the face... even stomach ulcers...
Hydrogen peroxide is actually not he best to use... It is fine for immediate cleaning, but it damages the tissues and actually slow the healing of the wound.
I keep a spray bottle of Bactine for cleaning, then some triple antibiotic ointment if the cut is severe enough to need covered. (Put it under the band-aid.)
Oh, if you are going to be using rubbing alcohol, try using an ice cube to cool the area before applying. The sting we feel from rubbing alcohol is actually our own body temperature registering as painfully high, because the alcohol makes the nerves that sense heat super-sensitive. (Which is why blowing lessens the sting... but isn't good because that is blowing germs straight into an open wound.)
Alcohol, Neosporine, bandaid, repeat...
I keep a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide and use it on scrapes. I don't expect it to do the healing. I use it as a spray to wash the area--to clean and to give me a better view. I dab dry and spray again, maybe a total of three sprays. Then, I apply Neosporin and cover with a bandage, if it needs covering. I tend to let these things breathe and only cover when it will come into contact with something.
