What is a wound culture
Wound culture on children and adults is a test that looks for germs like bacteria, fungi or viruses.
If the wound is infected the culture can help determine what kind of germ produced the infection. This helps your provider determine which antibiotic to use. There is nothing to prepare for except telling your child or adult that a q-tip will swab inside the wound and it will sting or burn. In some cases there may be wound bleeding after the culture.
The culture is taken to a lab and tested and if there is infection the culture will be positive and if it does not it is negative. The results will be called to your provider and he or she will decide what antibiotic treatment should be used.
References
Wound Drainage Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/wound-culture.html?view=ptr&WT.ac=p-ptr