Cut

An area of severed skin. It is important to wash a cut with soap and water, and keep it clean and dry, but avoid putting alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine into a cut, which can delay healing. Delay in getting medical care can increase the rate of wound infection. If a cut results from a puncture wound through a shoe, there is a high risk of infection. Redness, swelling, increased pain, and pus draining from the wound also indicate an infection that requires professional care.