What practices help prevent infection when handling wounds in the field?

• A. Use sterile dressings, maintain clean technique, wear gloves, irrigate wounds with clean water if available
• B. Reuse contaminated dressings
• C. Handle wounds with bare hands
• D. Apply only iodine without gloves

Answer: (A)

Prevent infection by keeping everything clean, using proper barriers, and actively removing contaminants from the wound. Sterile dressings prevent introducing bacteria into the wound, and maintaining clean technique means performing care with clean hands, clean supplies, and minimizing contact with the wound. Wearing gloves creates a barrier that protects both the patient and the caregiver from transferring germs. Irrigating the wound with clean water helps flush out dirt and bacteria, reducing the bacterial load when clean water is available. Together, these steps minimize contamination and support safer healing in the field.

Reusing contaminated dressings, handling wounds with bare hands, or applying iodine without gloves do not provide the same protection and can increase infection risk.