Have you sustained an injury, and you think you might need stitches? If so, turn to our family physicians at Physicians Medical Urgent Care, located in San Jose, California. Physicians Medical Urgent Care offers walk-in appointments and extended hours, so that you can get proper treatment, whether or not you hurt yourself during normal business hours. To find out more, reach out online or over the phone today.
Stitches work by pulling and holding tissues together as they heal. They speed up healing, minimize scarring, and decrease the chances of infection.
To place stitches, your provider attaches thread-like materials called sutures to a needle and sews, or stitches, the wound shut.
Typically, stitches don’t hurt.
Physicians Medical Urgent Care can use a few different suture materials to stitch up your wound, depending on the location and severity of the wound. In general, these materials fall into either the absorbable or non-absorbable category.
Absorbable sutures break down naturally, without anyone having to remove them. They are natural or synthetic materials that your body’s tissue enzymes can naturally break down, dissolve, and digest. Such materials include:
Non-absorbable sutures don’t break down; instead, they require your provider to remove them, unless they say that you can leave the sutures in permanently.
Non-absorbable sutures work best for soft tissue repair. Examples of non-absorbable suture materials include:
Also, suture threads can be braided for extra strength or single-threaded for ease of passage through tissues.
You may need stitches if you have a wound that is:
Also, if you’ve applied pressure to the wound for 15 to 20 minutes, and it still hasn’t stopped bleeding, go to Physicians Medical Urgent Care immediately for stitches.
If you were cut by a rusty or dirty object, you need a doctor to check your wound and may require a tetanus shot.
If you think you need stitches, don’t wait. Head over to Physicians Medical Urgent Care for immediate treatment. The practice offers extended hours, short wait times, and walk-in appointments. To find out more, call or reach out via the online booking tool today.