Eli5: if you picked a scab over and over again each time it formed, how would a cut ever heal? Would you have this wound forever or would it heal eventually regardless if you kept ripping off the scab?

Question

Eli5: if you picked a scab over and over again each time it formed, how would a cut ever heal? Would you have this wound forever or would it heal eventually regardless if you kept ripping off the scab?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The short answer…yes.

Why? Wounds heal from healthy tissue outwards (generally). This healing tissue (often called granulation) is interwoven into existing tissue and it doesn’t peel off easily. Scar tissue is seriously tough stuff, much tougher than the skin and tissues around it. The scab you peel is an accumulation of dead skin, intermediate healing and protective tissues and dried blood.

Part of my practice as a Community Paramedic is advanced wound care, and quite often I end up removing scabs to promote tissue growth and manage infection.