Bad cut on finger. What to do?

[Aiden Pettengill]

Cut my thumb pretty deep today but it dried out too much before I would have had a chance to superglue it shut. Any thoughts other than bandaids and Neosporin?

[William Fretwell]

Bad cuts get stitched, lesser cuts get steristrips and dressings. Small cuts get bandaids. All cuts need observation for infection.
Of course nothing is quite that simple, you have to eliminate ‘swarf’ from the wound, when was your last tetanus shot?
Only you know how ‘clean’ the cut was, how bad the cut was. If you think it’s dirty or opens repeatedly get medical help sooner not later. Know a guy who lost his thumb by doing nothing.
My advice is to clarify your thoughts and is not a substitute for a medical opinion.

[Frederick Skelly]

As William said, only you know how bad this cut is. But if it's deep, I"d go see my doctor. I wouldn't screw around getting opinions on a woodworking forum. Take care of yourself and I hope you heal quickly.
Fred

[Dave Zellers]

You should have had it cleaned and sewn shut.
Having said that, I've been guilty of this as well.
Watch it like a hawk and at any sign of discoloration get thee to a clinic PRONTO.

[Aiden Pettengill]

It is VERY clean and has sealed itself now. Just got a little concerned as it formed a dead/ dried open lip that was part of a callus. For those of you that are into trees it was done with a grafting knife (which is sharper that a razor blade and more like the edge of the sharpest scalpel around). Whoops!:rolleyes: Dave theres not a lot to sew shut on my fingers as they are as my grandmother called them "pianists fingers" meaning very long and very skinny. Not as bad as when I cut myself on my knuckle bad enough that ou could see muscle but even then I superglued that shut and it healed well enough that you have be looking for the scar.

[Stew Denton]

+1 on seeing a doctor about it. I had a cut on a finger when working with a jig saw this past summer. A retired nurse in our church small group looked at it the next evening, a Sunday, and told me to go to the doctor. He looked at it Monday and put me on antibiotics.

A co-worker at the plant dropped a weight of some sort on his foot, this not at work, and attempted to do his own doctoring. He is coming home from the hospital tomorrow, or maybe it was today. He spent more than a week there with a badly infected leg.

In short see a doctor just to make sure, as he may decide you need antibiotics.

Stew

[William Fretwell]

Kevlar diving gloves might be a good idea for grafting, a very bad idea for any power tools!

[Aiden Pettengill]

Probably but it gives less dexterity.

[John K Jordan]

Cut my thumb pretty deep today but it dried out too much before I would have had a chance to superglue it shut. Any thoughts other than bandaids and Neosporin?

I've had plenty of "clean" cuts (with a sharp blade) over the years and always taped them together. Some were pretty deep when I was a kid doing a lot of carving and was not very careful.

I always put a bit of mercurochrome on the outside, applied tape (butterfly closure if available), then bandage. Not once did I get an infection although I got plenty of scars on my fingers which faded over the years. (If I had noticed the beginning of an infection I would have done something about it.)

If it was a rough cut with a saw blade or a abrasion cut which tore flesh I'd see the doctor immediately.

When doctoring cuts on farm animals I clean with water and disinfect with a 1% iodine solution further diluted to maybe 1/4%. These wounds are not always in the cleanest conditions. I either superglue or suture the flesh together or bandage and then secure the bandage to keep from coming off. (If it's an abscess I treat differently.) The success rate is almost 100%. (One guinea who was severely mangled by a hawk didn't make it.)

Ha, this reminds me of a story. As a child, an older sister once cut the tip of her finger off with a big kitchen knife while chopping up a big candy cane. She was afraid she would get in trouble if she told our mother so she washed off the tip under running water and stuck it back on her finger and bandaged it up. She said it throbbed and hurt like crazy for a while but it grew back together ok. Yikes!

JKJ

[Bob Andre]

Ouch sorry for your cut as I recently enjoyed the same. Advice- as a Veterinarian and Ski Patroller over the years I have to myself and others; sutured, stapled, superglued, and just plain bandaged my wounds. Anything deep and longer than a cm or in a sensitive area needs to be seen by the medical folks for repair likely by sutures and a tetanus shot within 10yrs. Sure my last excursion with a deep cut on my little finger from installing LEDS in my shop was my first thought super glue. I knew better and fortunately my wife was having none of it. 7 sutures later-and evaluation of the underlying tendon and I'm fine. Best of healing to you or stop in and Dr Bob will check you out.

[Rafael Herrera]

When I cut my fingers by accident I think to myself, will this close up in a crooked way without stitches? I don't care to end up with more mangled parts, i have enough of them. The doctor's office is close enough. Rafael

[Jerry Olexa]

Go see your MD....

[steven c newman]

Then, there is the old "soak it insider..":rolleyes:

[Andrew Hughes]

I was taught by my wood carving teacher to put regular black pepper and a tight bandaid on cuts.
Then get back to work. The piece isn’t going to carve itself.:)

[Aiden Pettengill]

Lol thats great! Its healed to the point that the second layer of skin is partially sealed and the first is dried and dead at the edges. Thankfully I heal quickly!

[Mike Brady]

Chris Schwarz recently recommended a powder - can’t recall the name- for stopping bleeding. Searching his blog might yield the answer.

[John K Jordan]

Chris Schwarz recently recommended a powder - can’t recall the name- for stopping bleeding. Searching his blog might yield the answer.

There is a Blood Stop powder for animal use we keep on hand at the barn. Handy on rare occasions. I have no idea if it useful for humans.
But if I got a cut with bleeding that couldn't be stopped by squeezing the skin together I think I'd hie to the medical professional!

[mike stenson]

There is a Blood Stop powder for animal use we keep on hand at the barn. Handy on rare occasions. I have no idea if it useful for humans.
But if I got a cut with bleeding that couldn't be stopped by squeezing the skin together I think I'd hie to the medical professional!

Styptic powder, same thing (alum) that's in styptic pencils for shaving cuts. I'm not recommending using it in lieu of getting medical assistance, but that's what it is :)

[carey mitchell]

If it was a clean cut, and is sealed shut, a tight band aid to hold it closed is about all I ever do. That said, I seem to have a very robust immune system; nothing seems to become infected; never had the flu, a cold maybe every 5 years.

I've had some deep cuts without stitching. Super glue works fine in most cases. Took the end off a finger, folded it back and taped it tightly, mostly so I would not have to hear "I told you so" -- it healed fine.

The nastiest looking I ever had came wile installing a storm door. Was drilling a hole for the screws and the bit slipped and went through my thumb beside the nail. looked at and there was meat (mine) in the flutes of the bit. Thought the traditional "Oh, s***, this is gonna hurt." The problem was that I was alone and pinned to the door. It never hurt at all. It still gives me the willies.

I buy super glue in the .1 oz. tubes so I always have some that is not solidified.

[John K Jordan]

I buy super glue in the .1 oz. tubes so I always have some that is not solidified.

I told about drilling through my finger in another thread!

As for super glue setting up, this may be useful to some:

427499

Since moisture in an opened bottle can cause it to set up AND since moisture can actually go through the plastic bottles, I keep CA glue in a sealed container with indicator desiccant beads inside. These turn from blue to pink when they've taken on a lot of moisture so you know when to change it. (Needs changing only rarely depending on how often you open the container and the humidity outside.) The beads can be dried out in an oven and reused indefinitely. I haven't had one set up yet.

JKJ