There are many reasons why our skin gets cut and becoming a wound. Normally the wounds heal on their own. But there are cases it takes a long time to get healed automatically and needs special care or stitching.
Healing of a wound
When we get a wound or a cut on our skin, the blood vessels break. These blood vessels become very narrow immediately to prevent excessive blood loss. This narrowing of blood vessels helps in keeping the germs out of the blood. Some substances are released into the blood which cause the blood to clot. The blood clot holds the edges of the wound together and a protective scab is formed.
At the same time, Neutrophils – white blood cells rush to the wound and begin to attack the germs of dangerous bacteria entering through the wound. Larger white cells called Monocytes also appear and engulf the germs. A third kind of white cells – Lymphocytes takes care of preventing and destroying any germs escaping out of the first two.
White blood cells then start producing antibodies for the antigens or germs and stop germs from affecting the body.
New skin formation
Special cells called fibroblasts are formed in the lower layer (Dermis) of the skin and move into the wound producing new tissues. In the upper layer (Epidermis) the cells around the wound start multiplying. This fills the gap. When the process of new skin formation below the scab is complete, the scab falls off and the wound gets healed completely.
In some cases where the wound is deep and blood loss is heavy, special treatment will be necessary and the wound may need stitching for it to heal properly.
