Guidelines for treating Minor Cuts and Scrapes
1. Stop the bleeding - Minor cuts and scrapes usually stop bleeding on their own. If they don't, apply gentle pressure with a clean cloth or bandage. If the blood spurts or continues to flow after 20 to 30 minutes of pressure, seek medical assistance.

2. Clean the wound - Rinse out the wound with clear water. Try to keep soap out of the actual wound because it can irritate the wound. If dirt or debris remains in the wound after washing, use tweezers cleaned with alcohol to remove the particles. If debris remains embedded in the wound after cleaning, see your health care provider. Thorough wound cleaning reduces the risk of tetanus. To clean the area around the wound, use soap and a washcloth. There's no need to use hydrogen peroxide, iodine or an iodine-containing cleanser — these substances irritate living cells. If you choose to use them, don't apply them directly on the wound

3. Apply an antibiotic cream - After you clean the wound, apply a thin layer of an antibiotic cream or ointment such as Neosporin or Polysporin to help keep the surface moist. The products don't make the wound heal faster, but they can discourage infection and allow your body's healing factors to close the wound more efficiently. Certain ingredients in some ointments can cause a mild rash in some people. If a rash appears, stop using the ointment.

4. Dress or cover the wound - Exposure to air speeds healing, but bandages can help keep the wound clean and keep harmful bacteria out. Cover blisters that are draining until a scab forms.

5. Change the wound dressing - Change the dressing at least daily or whenever it becomes wet or dirty. If you're allergic to the adhesive used in most bandages, switch to adhesive-free dressings or sterile gauze and paper tape. These supplies generally are available at pharmacies.

6. Seek medical-professional help if stitching is needed - A wound that cuts deeply through the skin or is gaping or has jagged edges and has fat or muscle protruding may require stitches. A strip or two of surgical tape may hold a minor cut together, but if you can't easily close the mouth of the wound, see your health care provider. Proper closure also minimizes scarring.

7. Get a Tetanus shot - Health care providers recommend you get a tetanus shot every 10 years. If your wound is deep or dirty and your last shot was more than 5 years ago, your health care provider may recommend a tetanus shot booster. Get the booster within 48 hours of the injury.

8. Watch for signs of infection - See your health care provider if the wound isn't healing or you notice any redness, drainage, warmth or swelling.

Guidelines for Stopping Self-Injury
1. Do something creative with your hands - painting, drawing, collages
2. Entertain your mind - engage in mentally stimulating, demanding activities
3. Talk - focus on relationship-building and emotional intimacy with trusted others
4. Channel the violence safely outward - hit a pillow, write the words you want to cut with permanent ink, buy a punching bag, rip apart a pillow, take a self-defense class, scream, sing at the top of your lungs
5. Journal - talk to yourself on paper until the urges pass. Use dominant/non-dominant hand writing (write questions with your dominant hand and answer with your non-dominant hand) for additional clarity
6. Limit SI opportunities - if you feel you must self-harm, set strict time/severity limits and ask for help as soon as you can
7. Listen to expressive music that engages your emotions and 'feels' for and through you until the urges pass
8. Get out of your danger zone by leaving the house/car and seeking public places to sit until the urges pass. Go to a movie theater, a mall, a coffee shop or bookstore - someplace where other people are gathered
9. Help someone else - volunteer, mentor a younger SI, help out around the house or in the neighborhood, make support crafts for other SI's and send them
10. Call a member of your support team and ask for help
11. Engage in physical activity - sports, swimming, jogging, dancing around your house, something strenuous enough to produce endorphins through exercise rather than SI
12. Hold an ice cube for several minutes or stick your hand in very cold food or water and focus on the sensations. Make a hot cup of tea or coffee and wrap your hands around the cup as you drink it, focusing on the sensations. Snap a rubber band against your wrist and pay attention to the stinging sensation.
13. Buy a henna kit and tattoo the henna over areas you want to cut - then pick off the henna dye the next day
14. Avoid getting online unless it has been a positive support in the past - studies have shown that web surfing increases feeling of depersonalization and dissociation. If you do log on, join a supportive chat forum where other recovering SI's gather or surf for positive music and images to support feelings of peace and connectedness
15. Play with/talk to your pet - pour out all your feelings. Take your dog for a walk, admire nature, tune into the world around you and the people in it and practice feeling that connectedness to nature, animals, people and the world you live in

Guidelines for Family and Friends

1. Don't take the self-harm behaviors or apparent rejection of offers of help personally.

2. Educate yourself about the reasons why your loved one harms him/herself.

3. Feel and understand your own feelings about the self-harming behaviors.

4. Support without shaming, blaming or reinforcing the self-harm behaviors.

5. Acknowledge your loved one's pain.

6. Do NOT use ultimatums. They NEVER work.

7. Work with the person to find qualified, quality professional help. A combination of medication, intensive outpatient, day therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and family support generally works best. A strong desire on the part of the self-harmer to heal is critical.

8. Visit Suggested Weblinks for links to recommended Self-Harm Online Resources and referrals to treatment professionals.

9. Visit THERAPISTS for local referrals in the Houston/Metro area for self-harm specialists.

Source: selfinjury.com, palace.net, healthyplace.com and others