Any doctors out there?!

Any doctors out there?

I am a 64 yr old woman. About 3 hrs ago I fell out side in the dirt. I landed on my right elbow and split it open pretty good. I held a wet wash cloth on it and it is not bleeding anymore. I covered it with a 4x4 inch gauze pad and wrapped an ace bandage around it. It hurts but not worth a 3-4 hr trip to the ER. My question is: Is there a salve that I might have on hand to help with bateria that I can put on the gauze pad? I think peroxide would be too painful because it is a fairly large tear? Thanks for any help you can offer.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm an RN. Clean the wound with soap and water. Use Neosporin, Polysporin, or Bacitracin on a clean gauze. Change the gauze and continue with the ointment at least twice a day. If it gets red around the wound, starts oozing, or if you start running a temperature, you will need to go to a doctor. In a few days , if the wound doesn't look infected and it starts to scab, you can stop the dressings and leave it open to air.
You need to judge now if the wound is deep enough for stitches. You have said it is a fairly large tear. If so, you can go to a walk-in medical clinic for that. From the way you have described it, it doesn't sound serious enough for a long drive and wait in an ER.
Tetanus is usually not a problem with a wound of this kind. It's an anerobic microbe that thrives in puncture wounds such as a rusty nail. Still, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, get a booster the next time you see your doctor.