Grazes which is also called scrapes, abrasions are some of the most common injuries to skin. They are very painful as the top layers of the skin are scraped off and the broken skin surface is covered by many small bleedings where tiny blood vessels are broken. Bleeding in grazes is not usually severe, since only small blood vessels are damaged. While Cut, the other form of skin injury go through deeper tissues, therefore larger blood vessels can usually be damaged, causing a lot more bleeding than grazes.

How the body heals Grazes and Cut: The body has a powerful healing ability when the skin incurs a wound, platelets in the blood flock together at the site of the wound to form a temporary clot. This usually happens as soon as a wound is exposed to the air.

White blood cells gather around the wound site to kill invading microbes, helping to prevent infection. Then new cells eventually grow into the wound to replace the damaged tissue. For a small cut or graze, this usually takes a couple of days. Soon the clotted material, which has formed a scab, falls off to reveal the new skin underneath.

While many wounds can heal without treatment because the body's immune system is able to fight the infection, some wounds are gets infected, if the wound has not started to heal within 2 days this could be infected.

Signs of infection includes; increasing pain and inflammation, pus seeping out of the wound, tenderness in the groin or armpit (from infected lymph glands), fever. If there is signs of infection give him/her antibiotics and seek a health worker advice.

First Aid for Grazes and Cuts:

• Graze: Wash the grazed area with soap and water make sure to remove any trace of soil or dirt. An antiseptic is usually not needed, but could be useful if clean water is not available. Cover with a dressing that has holes in so that the air can get through
• Cut: To control bleeding, apply pressure to the cut area with a clean cloth. Raising the injured part will slow down blood flow and help control the bleeding. Do not use a tight bandage which stops blood flow to an area because it may lead to a lot of damage to the rest of the limb. If bleeding does not stop within a couple of minutes, or if the blood is spurting out (which means a large blood vessel has been cut) seek medical treatment urgently, but go on applying pressure while waiting for the help to arrive. For a cut to heal well it needs to be clean (no dirt, glass etc in it) and the two sides need to be close together.

Natural Remedy for Grazes and Cut:

• Lemon juice, apply a freshly squeeze lemon juice to a cleaned wound, if the wound is minor you can leave it open because the air can make the wound dry faster, but if you are exposed to unclean environment cover it with a dressing that has hole so that air can get through.
• Guava leaves, boiled guava leaves is an excellent natural remedy for all kinds of wounds. Put 8 guava leaves in 2 cups of water, and then boil for 5minutes in low heat. When the water is cold enough either pour it directly to the wound or use cotton to dab it in the wounded area. It is also advisable to drinking this guava tea because it contains many antioxidants that will make your immune system strong.