Some small lacerations (cuts) heal on their own, but others may need to be fixed. Sometimes health care providers do this with skin glue instead of stitches. The glue will fall off on its own in 5–10 days. A healing cut can get infected, so follow these instructions to help prevent an infection and protect the cut while it heals.
The cut:
How do health care providers treat cuts? Health care providers use stitches for wide or large cuts. For small, shallow cuts, they might use skin glue instead of stitches if they feel it's the best choice. Most cuts will leave a small scar.
What happens when a cut fixed with skin glue heals? Skin glue holds the edges of a cut together while it heals and helps protect it from infection. Slight redness or itchiness around the cut is normal. After 5–10 days, the cut should be healed and the glue will fall off on its own.
Why does a cut get a scar? When the deeper layer of the skin is injured, the body uses a protein (collagen) to help fill in the cut area. The filled-in area becomes a scar. A scar can form even if a cut is fixed with skin glue. Over time, some scars fade or get smaller.