You’ll usually notice if you have a cut or scrape immediately. Signs and symptoms include broken skin, marks on the skin, redness, swelling, pain and bleeding.

If you fall onto a road surface or track, you may also notice debris or splinters under the surface of your skin. This could be the material that makes up the road, dirt, gravel, broken glass, wood splinters or a different type of foreign body (that’s something that doesn’t belong there).

Other physical symptoms of cuts and scrapes include:

• Bruising in the affected area
• Moderate to severe pain
• Irritation if a foreign body is involved
• Severe bleeding if an artery has been affected
• Haemorrhagic shock following heavy blood loss (symptoms include rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, blue lips and fingernails, chest pain, sweating and loss of consciousness)