Step 1: Plug the leak
When you get a small cut, a few tiny blood vessels open up, and a little blood comes out.
Right away, tiny pieces in your blood called platelets (PLAYT-lets) rush to the spot. They stick to the edges of the cut and to each other, like a crowd holding hands.
Then your blood makes sticky threads that weave through the platelets like a net. This plug is called a clot, and it stops the bleeding.
Step 2: A scab, your built-in bandage
The clot on top of a cut dries and hardens into a scab. It's a natural bandage that helps keep dirt and germs out.
Under the scab, white blood cells, your body's germ fighters, get to work cleaning up the spot.
It's normal for the skin around a cut to be a little pink and tender for a day or two while this happens.
Step 3: New skin grows
Under the scab, new skin cells grow in from the edges of the cut, closing it up like a zipper.
When the new skin is ready, the scab gets loose and falls off by itself. Underneath is fresh new skin, often a little pinker at first.
Picking a scab can pull off the new skin and let germs in. It can make the cut take longer to heal or leave a mark. So, as hard as it is, no picking!
A deeper cut may heal with a scar, a patch of extra-strong skin. Many scars fade a lot over time.
Bruises, a color show
A bruise happens when you bump into something hard and tiny blood vessels under your skin break. Your skin stays closed, but a little blood leaks out underneath and shows through.
A new bruise often looks red, blue or purple. As your body breaks down and cleans up that blood, the bruise changes colors, often to green and then yellow or brown.
Most bruises fade in about 2 weeks.
On darker skin, bruises may look dark purple, brown or black, and the color changes can be harder to see.
Taking care of a small cut
Get a grown-up. Wash your hands, then rinse the cut with clean, cool water to wash out any dirt.
If it's bleeding, press on it gently with a clean cloth or tissue until it stops.
A grown-up can put on a bandage to keep it clean. Change the bandage if it gets wet or dirty.
For a fresh bruise, a cool cloth or an ice pack wrapped in a towel can help it feel better.
When to see a doctor
Tell a grown-up about every cut. Some cuts need a doctor, like a cut that is big or deep, one that keeps bleeding after you press on it, or one from an animal bite.
A doctor should also look at a cut that gets more red, puffy, warm or sore after a day or two.