Butterfly stitches, also called "Steri-Strips," are small, shallow wounds that are closed with sticky bandages. Butterfly stitches can be used instead of traditional needle-and-thread sutures when a wound is big, uneven, or bleeding a lot. Some traditional bandages don't stick well to parts of the body that move a lot, are wet, or have hair on them. The butterfly stitch is a good alternative for hard-to-bandage parts of the body.
How to Check a Cut or Wound
Before you use butterfly stitches, you need to make sure the wound can handle this type of bandage. When judging the wound, keep in mind the following:
The cut should be less than half an inch long and not too deep.
Before you use butterfly stitches, you should stop the wound from bleeding. If the wound bleeds for more than 5 minutes, put pressure on it with a clean cloth and go to the hospital.
Butterfly stitches are made to keep wounds with straight edges together. Use a different bandage if your wound is jagged.
Butterfly Stitches: How to Do Them
Step 1: Wash your hands and use cool water to clean the wound. Make sure to clean the wound of any dirt or other things that are in it. Then use soap and water to clean the skin around the wound.
Step 2: Hold the two sides of the wound together and use the butterfly stitches. Don't use the butterfly stitch along the length of the wound, and make sure the middle of the bandage goes across the wound. Place the butterfly stitches about 1/8 of an inch apart, and use as many as you need.Butterfly stitches, also called Steri-Strips or butterfly bandages, are narrow adhesive bandages that are used instead of stitches (sutures) to close small, shallow cuts.
If the cut is big or gaping, has rough edges, or won't stop bleeding, these bandages aren't a good choice.
They're also not a good choice if the cut is in a place where the skin moves a lot, like a finger joint, or if it's in a wet or hairy spot. In these situations, the bandages might not stay on well.
Read on to find out how to use butterfly stitches, how to take them out, and when to use them.
When you should use butterfly stitches?
Certain things about a wound determine whether or not it is a good candidate for butterfly stitches. When deciding whether or not to close a wound with butterfly stitches, you'll first want to:
Check out the edges. Butterfly stitches work well to keep the clean edges of shallow cuts together. If you have a scrape or cut with rough edges, you might want to use a larger bandage or a liquid bandage.
Check for bleeding. Press on the wound for 5 minutes with a clean cloth, towel, or bandage. If the cut keeps bleeding, you should get help from a doctor.
Check how big it is. Butterfly stitches aren't the best way to fix a cut that is too long or too deep. You shouldn't use butterfly stitches for cuts that are longer than 1/2 inch.
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