Interfering with wounds?

How bad is this?

And, is it a completely BAD idea to re-open a cut, wash, and disinfect it if it's infected? I have horrible insurance, and refuse to go unless I'm getting a fever or worse from it.

It is not a good idea to re-open a wound that is not infected. If the wound starts getting red around the edges or starts to form a pus or liquid, then it is infected. But if it isn't red around the edges, there is no pus or liquid coming from it, and you do not have a fever, then I would wash it and put a triple antibiotic cream on it. If the cut is deep, however, I would wash it good and then use surgical tape and make butterfly stitches and keep the wound closed so that it heals.

It depends how bad the wound is. If it's a relatively small wound, I don't see a problem with re-opening it. Just make sure your hands are clean when you do it. And you should never fiddle with it if your hands are dirty as this alone may cause infection. You could disinfect it with hot salt water, boiled and then cooled down.

GOOD LUCK

You can run the risk of actually doing more harm than good depending on the infection, the doctor seems to be the option of choice, but if it seems to be working than OK
Just be really careful, they say sometimes Warm Salty water can heal

Hope you feel better soon

If it's infected, your insurance WILL cover it.

If they don't fight tooth, nail, and large mallet for it. Infections generally require professional medical attention. An attempt to "backwoods medicate" or self-treat could potentially make things worse if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing.

Document everything, and have a doctor fill out a certificate of medical necessesity. If the insurance won't cover it and deny your appeal, contact your state's attourney general.

It depends on how deep the wound is. If its deep don't do it. You could cause it to be come infected. It can even be bad with small wounds because reopening the wound could cause bad scarring.