So My Daughter Cut Her Hand

Updated on February 06, 2019
J.L. asks from Rochester, NH
20 answers

So we told the school she cut her hand and if she came down to the nurse to leave the dressing on apparently that’s an issue the nurse says and if my daughter goes to see her the nurse needs to assess the situation by removing my dressing now I told her not to touch it an argument insued am I wrong all I want it to be there before they start touching my lil girl I was under the impression when bleeding u never remove dressing or gauze leave and rewrap or add hemostatic agents then dress

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M.G.

answers from Portland on

Why did your daughter go visit the nurse? Was it bleeding through her bandage?

Of course a nurse is going to look at what's causing the bleeding. That would be negligence if she didn't. She's a trained medical provider - if there was a piece of glass or something that was now visible, she's not just going to apply more bandage to it. That would be like putting a bandaid over a bandaid.

It should have stopped bleeding by now.

You're supposed to change dressings over the course of the day as needed - if they become soiled or if some blood gets on them.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cuts/basic...

13 moms found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

If the cut was bad enough that you are this concerned to not allow a school nurse to check the cut then you should have gone to a Dr to have it properly dressed when the cut happened.

ANY child a school nurse sees is written up in a report so that the care of that child is noted for future. If a child goes to the nurse crying with an injury that is bandaged WTH do you think the nurse is required to do by law???

Take your child to a Dr.

11 moms found this helpful
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J.T.

answers from Dallas on

If your daughter is cut so severely she’s still actively bleeding more than 20-30 minutes later, she needs medical care, not a dressing applied by a parent... of course you can remove gauze while bleeding, I have no idea why you think otherwise?? You swap it out for a fresh one. Again, if your child is actively bleeding, she should be at an urgent care or ER, not sent to school with instructions for a nurse to not intervene. How can the nurse tell if there’s some type of debris or infection if she doesn’t look? Something tells me you’d be mad about that as well. Yes, you’re being unreasonable.

11 moms found this helpful
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D..

answers from Miami on

I don’t understand. You act like a nurse is just somebody who is “touching your little girl” instead of a medical professional who knows a heck of a lot MORE than you do about medical issues. Shame on you for treating a professional like this. You have too much pride and it’s hurting your daughter.

You should have taken her to the doctor instead of trying to manage it yourself. If what you had done was proper, she would not have had to go to the nurse.

Take her to the doctor!

9 moms found this helpful
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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

"I was under the impression when bleeding u never remove dressing or gauze leave and rewrap or add hemostatic agents then dress"

Those sound like instructions that might be given if you are taking a Red Cross First Aid Class. If you are tending to someone in an accident and they are bleeding through the gauze, just add another layer.

But nurses change dressings all the time, and they are trained on what to look for and how to properly change them. In fact, if you took your daughter to a doctor to be seen, the doctor would likely look at her hand and then give the nurse instructions. So it would still be a nurse tending to your daughter.

8 moms found this helpful

D.D.

answers from Boston on

No if there's active bleeding then your daughter should have been kept home for the day. If she goes down to the nurse then the nurse, a trained medical professional, will do whatever she feels is correct for the situation. That's how it works.

7 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

If there's a chance the cut is deep (might need stitches) or get infected (might need antibiotics) or your daughter has not had a tetanus shot (within the last 10 years if she got cut playing outside) then it's probably best that your pediatrician should take a look at it.
The dr can give a note to excuse her from gym for a short while if the cut/bandage is a problem.

If the cut is bandaged already then what does your daughter need to see the nurse for?
Did the cut happen at school?
If it happened at home did she see a doctor or is it just so small a bandage from home was all it needed?
Not quite enough information but it sounds like an argument over a hypothetical situation.

7 moms found this helpful
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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Well, my opinion is that if there is a chance of active bleeding and/or your daughter is in pain (I assume that it why she might go to the nurse), then she should stay home for the day at the very least, and should probably have it checked out by a doctor. The doctor could then write out instructions on caring for the wound on a prescription pad that you could take to the school.

7 moms found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I don't understand. Why would you argue? The nurse told you what she would do or had already done. She's a professional and has to do what she's taught to do. There are procedures that have to be followed. She's trained. She's not going to change her mind. If you don't agree with her, take your child home where you can make decisions about her care. When she is at school, the school is responsible to see that all students are safe.

How old is your daughter? How serious is the cut? Was blood visible on the bandage? If the cut doesn't need to be treated by a doctor, why does your daughter need to go to the nurse? Perhaps an adult saw the condition of the bandage and sent her to the nurse.

Be aware, that in this day and age, people are concerned that blood can harm other people. The school and the nurse have to act to reassure parents that their children are safe. You aren't concerned with her blood. Others are.

I suggest there is more to this story. Your post, as written, does not make sense. You don't want anyone to touch your little girl. What?! She is touched everyday at school. Why does it matter to you that you be present? What are you afraid will happen?

To answer your question, you are wrong

7 moms found this helpful

C.T.

answers from Santa Fe on

Yes, you can change the dressing of a wound...and yes you should have the nurse look at it. Yes, you should trust the nurse to look at it without you being there. It's just a cut on her hand. It should have stopped bleeding by now. If not that means it probably needs stitches. If you leave on a dirty dressing you can get infected. The nurse can look at it to assess if she needs stitches or not, put on an antiseptic/bactine or whatever and then re-wrap it.

6 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

why did your daughter go to the nurse in the first place?

why do you think your dressing is so special that a licensed nurse shouldn't touch it?

why do you need to be there before they 'start touching my lil girl'?

this sounds creepy.

i'm sorry schools have to deal with parents like this.

khairete
S.

6 moms found this helpful
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S.W.

answers from Boca Raton on

Did your doctor tell you not to remove the bandage while still bleeding? It should not b bleeding if the wound was properly cleaned and compressed to stop bleeding. Your school nurse is a professional and should be trusted. How did the cut happen? An accident in the kitchen or self-inflicted? Did you take her to ER? Stay on top of it but going into panic mode will get you nowhere. Let the school nurse and administration help you to their best capacity.

6 moms found this helpful

W.W.

answers from Washington DC on

J.

it's her HAND not her vagina. If you were THAT concerned about the cut? You should have taken her to the doctor and had it checked out.

WHY did you want your daughter to go to the nurse?

HOW OLD is your daughter?
HOW bad is the "cut" on her HAND?
Did she cut her hand at school?

If the cut is STILL bleeding after an hour? She should be seen in the ER and most likely needs stitches.

Breathe. Dad. Breathe.

6 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Atlanta on

If your daughter is actively bleeding for more than 30 minutes to an hour? She shouldn't be in school. She should be checked out by a doctor who can ascertain if she needs stitches or not.

Why would you argue with a nurse at school? You realize they are trained, right? They aren't volunteer moms. They are actual nurses who get certified and registered to practice. At least that's how it is in our district. I don't know about yours.

6 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

I don't understand why she is going to the nurse if you don't want the nurse to do anything.

Are you saying you don't want the nurse to touch your child's hand unless you are there? Why? I find that highly unusual and there's no way that can be construed as an insult to the nurse's professionalism. Are you better trained medically than the nurse is? If so, you should remove your daughter from school and tend to her wound until she heals well enough to go back to school. Otherwise, that's what the nurse is there for.

I always relied on the school nurse to responsibly tend to my lil boy. It was far better for my son to know that he was in the hands of competent professionals - teachers, administrators, nurses, coaches, etc. If I had any doubts about the professionalism of school personnel, I'd put my child in another school. The worst thing in the world is for kids to fail to respect the expertise of those to whom we entrust them. And a school cannot stop its operation of educating children because they have to wait for parents to arrive to supervise every little thing.

If there's more to this story, please edit your question and explain more details so we can edit our answers to be more helpful.

5 moms found this helpful
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B.A.

answers from Minneapolis on

Why would you not want the nurse to look at her hand? It also sounds like you are reacting to a situation that has not even happened. Of course the nurse would have to remove the dressing to assess the situation. If she needs to go to the nurse because her hand is bleeding perhaps you would rather pick her up and take her to your own doctor or health professional of choice. Any one of them will need to actually look at the injury. Besides, dressings on wounds should be changed daily, more often if bleeding.

5 moms found this helpful
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N.K.

answers from Miami on

I am not sure what you're so worried about. This is a nurse, someone with proper training to handle cuts and other situations, and prevent infection. I would have no problem with a nurse assessing a cut, maybe it's worse than I think and she, being a qualified professional, can tell me it's deep or infected and should be stitched up. I am wondering if you're worried that this cut can somehow can get you in trouble with the authorities? Maybe you have already encountered a similar situation and this would make it an issue for you in terms of retaining custody? I cannot understand, otherwise, the need to get all up in arms and get upset over something relatively minor. I'd be glad to have a professional check on my kid and put a new bandage on her for free, if possible. Not many people have the time or money to go to the doctor, and not all schools have nurses.

5 moms found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Chicago on

A school nurse is a nurse. An actual nurse. If a child comes to her with a medical need, she is mandated to address it. If your daughter is bleeding, then, yes, she needs it attended to. Dressings are frequently changed with wounds. The nurse can see if there are any irritants or infection. If you don't clean the wound and inspect it, an infection can cause her to become very sick. If there is debris in the wound, it needs to be cleaned out. It sounds like you wrapped the wound, which is fine, but if she is still bleeding then she does need a medical professional to check it out. The school nurse is perfect for this and I would be thrilled to get her opinion on what needs to be done.

4 moms found this helpful

L.U.

answers from Seattle on

She probably wants to check and make sure there isn't an infection. If your daughter needs to go down and be seen by the nurse then the nurse needs to be able to do her job.

4 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Houston on

Your comments are ridiculous. You got upset because the nurse wanted to evaluate the wound since your daughter was in pain and felt she needed to miss class and go to the nurse's office? Am I really reading this correctly? Good grief. If your daughter is bleeding that much why didn't you take her to the ER. She might have needed stitches.

Yes the nurse needs to check the wound to make sure there is no infection. She (the nurse) can put another bandage on.

4 moms found this helpful
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