Is it true that antibiotics are not used for a deep wound?

Answer 1

* Yes. Please go to the doctor if the wound is deep and that serious.

* First, I think the questioner means "antiseptics." Antiseptics are different from antibiotics in that they're applied directly to the injury, whereas antibiotics are injected, swallowed, etc. (although there are cases of topical antibiotics -- a weird exception).

For really major wounds, hospitals and such will typically irrigate with a sterile saline and wash the wound thusly. Saline is not usually a super-healthy environment for many bacteria, but mostly, the washing action will physically remove a lot of the problem. The reason for this is that antiseptics are -- when you really get down to it -- toxins. They're intended to kill really small things, bacteria, mold spores, the occasional healthy cell, etc. But they're still toxins.

On small wounds, the number of healthy cells damaged is minimal and offset by the good that the antiseptics do. On really big wounds, however, much more surface area is involved, more healthy cells can be damaged, and there are now ways for the antiseptic to make it into the subject's system -- which can be a real problem.

Instead, with a major wound, a hospital will clean the surrounding areas with an antiseptic, and flush the wound with sterile saline. Typically, after closing, they'll administer a systemic antibiotic prophylactically, to stem off any infection the flushing missed. === ===