Turns Out We’ve Been Cleaning Wounds The Wrong Way Our Whole Life

It's 1985. I'm 8 years old and riding my bike down the gravel alley behind my house.  I, of course, was not being supervised because it was the 80's and we were raised as free range children.

My wheel catches a rut made by my neighbors car who was trying to show off in his new (used) Chevy Nova and I end up flying over my handlebars...you guessed it...right into the gravel.

The blood didn't race to the surface. In fact, I wasn't sure I would even need a Band-Aid for a few seconds.  But when it did I let out a scream and the tears started to flow.

My Savior?

My mother comes out to see what is wrong and sees blood running down from my knee.  She picks me up and carries me into the bathroom where she pulls the dusty brown bottle out of the cubby hole and says, "This might sting a bit".

That's ok.  A little pain to clean the potential infection seems to be a good trade.

Turns Out She Was Wrong!

According to USA Today, you're not actually supposed to use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to clean cuts.  They say both cause "corrosive tissue damage," which can actually slow down the healing process and make SCARS more likely.

What Are You Supposed To Do?

Just wash your cut and use triple-antibiotic ointment instead.  Which by the way is way less fun than watching the bubbles foam up around the wound. It really makes you feel like you're doing something.  Like you're watching the germs get eaten away like those scrubbing bubbles in the commercials.