Can I wash a wound with soap and water?

Yes. Gentle or mild soap and water is right for minor wounds, stage I pressure sores, open surgical wounds and wounds with wet-to-dry dressings. Avoid soap with antibacterial chemicals, which can damage wound tissue and slow healing.

Yes. Soap and water is the standard advice for several kinds of wound.

For minor wounds, clean your wound with gentle soap and water. For a stage I pressure sore, wash the area gently with mild soap and water. For a surgical wound being managed open, you may use a gauze pad or soft cloth with a normal saline solution or mild soapy water, soaking the gauze and gently dabbing or wiping the skin. For a wound with a wet-to-dry dressing, use a clean, soft washcloth to gently clean your wound with warm water and soap.

Four wound types, the same answer. Soap and water is the default, not a compromise.

There is one kind of soap to avoid. For an open surgical wound, do not use skin cleansers, alcohol, peroxide, iodine, or soap with antibacterial chemicals. These can damage the wound tissue and slow healing. Antibacterial is the word to check on the bottle, and it’s the opposite of what you might expect.

How you clean matters as much as what you use. Be gentle every time. For a closed surgical wound, do not rub or scrub the wound. When changing a dressing, rinse, pat dry with a clean towel, and don’t rub it dry.

Two more things to avoid afterward: do not put any lotion, cream, or herbal remedies on or around your wound unless your provider has said it is OK, and do not apply antibiotic cream or other products unless your surgeon tells you to.

A cleaning routine given for your own wound comes first. This is the default; your clinician may have a reason to do it differently.

What to watch for

Do not use skin cleansers, alcohol, peroxide, iodine, or soap with antibacterial chemicals. These can damage the wound tissue and slow healing.

Don’t rub or scrub the wound, and don’t put lotion, cream, or herbal remedies on or around it unless your provider has said it is OK.

If a wound becomes more painful, redder, or starts draining more after a change in how it is being cleaned, that is worth reporting rather than sticking with the new routine.

Wound Wizard is general education and can’t assess your wound. A routine given for your own wound comes first.

What we look at

  • Examining the wound and the skin around it
  • Advising what to clean it with and how often
  • Checking that the routine is not damaging the wound
  • Building a treatment plan based on what they find

Sources

  1. How wounds heal — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000741.htm
  2. Surgical wound care - open — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000040.htm
  3. Wet-to-dry dressing changes — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000315.htm
  4. How to care for pressure sores — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://www.medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000740.htm