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I cut my finger accidentally a couple days ago. Not too deep, but it was painful for a few seconds, and there was some bleeding. I debrided it with hydrogen peroxide 3% solution, and then applied a "liquid bandage" that dried and stopped the bleeding in less than a minute. Finally, I put a band-aid on top of it to protect the wound from being disturbed or reopened accidentally.

Тoday I removed the band-aid, and the "liquid bandage" easily came off itself. The wound looks good: clean, dry, no bleeding, with only slight redness around it. It feels like it is healing okay. The problem is it got very itchy a few hours ago, and it is not easy to ignore.

What would be the best (fastest and safest) way to stop the itching of a healing wound (in particular, a cut)?

Usually, when I have an itch, an over-the-counter hydrocortisone 1% cream is a very good and fast remedy. But I'm not sure if it is safe or wise to put it on an itchy healing wound. Is it? What are other ways to help?

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  • Welcome to Lifehacks! This question isn't the kind we usually answer here. There are two reasons: this is question can be answered with just "yes" or "no", and it is about a health issue (which we aren't really qualified to answer). The kinds of questions on this community usually start with the words "How can I". For example, "How can I put sunscreen on my own back?" or "How can I find a ring I lost in the grass?"
    – BrettFromLA
    Dec 31, 2018 at 14:23
  • Thanks. I reworded my question so that it asks for the best solution, instead of just confirming that the solution I had in mind was good. I believe answering questions about over-the-counter medications (when they are used for the purposes that they are intended to be used for, not off-label) does not necessary require a medical training. I hope these questions are in scope here (at least, I see some tags related to this area). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
    – Vladimir Reshetnikov
    Dec 31, 2018 at 17:24
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    Nicely done! I retracted my "close" vote, because you changed your question into a "how can I" question. Other community members may still object because of the medical nature of the question, but I personally think of this as a question about your comfort rather than about a serious medical issue.
    – BrettFromLA
    Dec 31, 2018 at 18:41

3 Answers 3

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I have had success using variations of the following:

A pinch of an aloe plant and squeezing the juice onto the healing wound. If this is a serious surgical would, I suggest obtaining your physician's permission before embarking on any of these recommendations in order to avoid the possibility of infection.

Also, I have used a broad spectrum antibiotic ointment that also contains Lidocaine. The Lidocaine does a good job dampening the itching feeling, but for some reason, after about 30 minutes it returns.

Finally, a pure, undyed container of aloe with Lidocaine added. These can often be found where ointments for sunburn are located, or you could probably find it online. Be aware of possible additives. The purer the aloe gel, the better.

I cannot recommend any of these officially because an open wound is always a pathway for potential infection. While these are generally benign measures, out of an abundance of caution I must suggest that you first clear these or any other measures with your physician if this is a would that is healing from surgery or is a major wound requiring many sutures.

Best of luck!

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This answer applies only if your itching is of the type that comes and goes frequently and you don't want to apply the ointment. Try giving yourself a stimulus somewhere near the cut. You could just try pinching near that area or moving a pointed ( not sharp) object around the cut. Your brain will pay more attention to this new and stronger stimuli and hence you will not realise the itching any more.

For those who want to understand this in more scientific way, then searching for the Gate Control Theory will provide you with more information about this.

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You probably shouldn't use hydrocortisone because its a steroid cream and they cause the skin to thin, though I think that effect is more likely after several applications. It's probably best to ask a pharmacist, but what I'd do is stick a non waterproof silver plaster (or band aid as I think you call them) over it and change it daily if necessary for the next couple of days or so; that will keep it clean and infection free and also prevent you from scratching it, especially at night during sleep.

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