Max Holmes decided to slowly pull off his giant scab and uploaded the video to Youtube

Many of us have been tempted to pick off an itchy scab.

But one teenager took it to a whole different level with a scab that spanned the entire length of his arm, filming as he went.

The video, not for the faint-hearted, captures the moment Max Holmes slowly peels the giant scab off his arm, revealing raw and weeping skin beneath.

Mr Holmes acquired the wound - that covered most of his upper arm - when he fell off his motorbike while travelling through Vietnam.

The painful-looking scab is yellow-brown and crusty, with raised bits towards the centre and patches of pink, healed skin emerging at the top.

Mr Holmes decided to pull off the scab, watched by a group of jeering friends, and upload it to Youtube.

‘It’s coming off very easily,’ he says, laughing. ‘It doesn’t hurt, it’s good.’

The thin, yellow piece of scab peels away from the skin easily, catching slightly around the outline of the wound.

Unhealed wet skin is revealed beneath and he holds the green flap of scab tissue, which is still intact, up to the camera.

However, dermatologists have warned that picking scabs in this way leaves a person prone to infection.

In worst cases, this could lead bacteria-causing gangrene to get into the cut, and the person might eventually risk amputation.

Bacteria could also get into the bloodstream and travel around the body to other organs like the liver, heart or brain.

It may also take longer for the wound to heal, and lead to unsightly scarring in the future.

Scabs form in order to stop a cut from bleeding and to prevent harmful bacteria from getting into the body.

When a person gets cut, the cells nearby release signals.

One signal brings immune cells - white blood cells which travel around in the blood waiting for an attack - to the area to fight off any bacteria trying to get in through the cut.

Some, called macrophages, can ‘bite’ holes in bacteria to kill them, while others ‘eat’ them and digest them with acids.

Others, called B-Cells, make proteins called antibodies which surround the bacteria with helper cells and summon ‘killer’ cells to destroy them.

The other signal the body sends out when a person gets cut, is for blood cells called platelets to rise from the bloodstream to the cut.

The platelets stick together and react with clotting factor proteins to build a clot.

The clot is made from fibrin, a stringy protein that stretches across the wound, pulling the edges together and plugs the gap between them.

'DON'T PICK SCABS', DERMATOLOGIST WARNS Dr Daron Seukeran, a consultant dermatologist at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesborough, advises not to pick a scab. Here, he explains why… ‘A scab one level acts as protection against external agents and infection. ‘Producing a scab is nature’s way of creating a protective environment. ‘Underneath, wound healing is taking place. Wound healing takes time. ‘If you take a scab off too quickly, there’s an increased risk of secondary infection. ‘Worst case scenario is gangrene, it’s unlikely. Someone with an impaired immune system or diabetes is at an increased risk of gangrene. ‘Most people are at risk of staphylococcus, a common bacteria, which causes infection. ‘Bacteria gets into the wound and causes localised infection. ‘You may have had an impact on the process of wound healing. You could lead to an increase risk of scarring. ‘We would not advise picking scabs. You’re impacting on nature’s natural healing. ‘There is one exception. In leg ulcers, a scab can be so thick and causing contraction of the wound. Very occasionally a dermatologist would choose to remove a scab. ‘That’s rare, and the general advice is to not pick scabs.’ Advertisement

This helps to stop bleeding, and prevents bacteria from getting in.

The scab will then fall off of its own accord when the wound has healed and the skin underneath has re-grown, dermatologists advise.

Dr Daron Seukeran, a consultant dermatologist at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesborough, said a scab is 'nature's way of creating a protective environment'.

He strongly advised against picking it.

He said: ‘Underneath, wound healing is taking place. Wound healing takes time.

‘If you take a scab off too quickly, there’s an increased risk of secondary infection.

‘Worst case scenario is gangrene, it’s unlikely. But someone with an impaired immune system or diabetes is at an increased risk of gangrene.

‘Most people are at risk of staphylococcus, a common bacteria, which causes infection.'

Bacteria can into the wound and cause a localised infection, he warned.

He added: ‘You may have had an impact on the process of wound healing.

You could lead to an increase risk of scarring.

‘We would not advise picking scabs. You’re impacting on nature’s natural healing.

However, there is one exception, he said.

'In leg ulcers, a scab can be so thick and causing contraction of the wound. Very occasionally a dermatologist would choose to remove a scab.'

But he concluded: ‘That’s rare, and the general advice is to not pick scabs.’