topic Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice in Community Chat

🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

sidsmom — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:14:01 GMT

GAH! I cut my pinky w/ my chef’s knife!

The tip of the knife caught the outside fleshy part, bleeding stopped &

I can freely move the finger so a trip to the doc is not needed,

but I will probably wear a band-aid this coming week.

After a quick (really quick) glance, I noticed a ‘flap’ of skin.

(momentary passout! ha)

My question to all the caregivers:

Do I cut the loose skin or leave it to adhere back to the finger?

(Shallow flap is about a 1/4-1/2 in long).

Obviously I haven’t had a minor boo-boo in a while.

I’m still shaky it could’ve been much worse.

I kick myself for having a dull knife & wet produce...I know better!

GAH, again!

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

QueenDanceALot — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:19:17 GMT

Don't cut it;

Clean it, put some antibacterial ointment on it, and cover it!

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

Mustang Shar — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:19:29 GMT

leave it adhere and keep it bandaged, changing often

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

twinny70 — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:19:32 GMT

I had a similar experience and the Dr. told me to cut it off and to use an antibiotic cream and a bandaid. Also don't get the area wet for a few days. Hope that this helps.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

Preds — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:30:57 GMT

When I sliced my thumb open I washed it out, DD put neosporine on it (after several washing and drying offs) and put a tight bandaide on it. It needed changing often and should have been sutured, but I thought it was like a paper cut. Each time I changed the pad, I cut a little of the skin off. Somehow, it worked for us, but I have a very pretty scar there.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

sidsmom — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:50:50 GMT

Thank you all for responding (upthread & future posts, if any)!

I hope I don’t come off sounding like a baby! 😿

Those superficial wounds, especially on the hands, bleed alot

and hurt like the devil (papercuts anyone?), but still get woozy.

I’ll watch surgery on TV/YouTube, but when it’s your own...(faint)!

Why is that? 🧐

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

ItsME — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:56:48 GMT

@sidsmom wrote:
GAH! I cut my pinky w/ my chef’s knife!
The tip of the knife caught the outside fleshy part, bleeding stopped &
I can freely move the finger so a trip to the doc is not needed,
but I will probably wear a band-aid this coming week.

After a quick (really quick) glance, I noticed a ‘flap’ of skin.
(momentary passout! ha)

My question to all the caregivers:
Do I cut the loose skin or leave it to adhere back to the finger?
(Shallow flap is about a 1/4-1/2 in long).

Obviously I haven’t had a minor boo-boo in a while.
I’m still shaky it could’ve been much worse.
I kick myself for having a dull knife & wet produce...I know better!
GAH, again!

@sidsmom ..... I'm glad that's all that happened. And, it's your pinky! Clean it peroxide, antibactial ointment, cover it, and let it heal.

If you had seen what I did to my thumb in June, you might have actually passed out. Completely crushed it. Shattered the bone and an open wound that required stiches on the top and bottom. it was grotesque for a while. After 2.5 months, the old nail is 3/4 off. Bone is mostly healed now. But thumb is still swollen, partly numb, partly pins and needles, and worst of all, hardly bends. I need to find out what the next steps are to make it functional again.

So, again, clean it, cover it, and let it heal. Be grateful that there wasn't major damage. And, if there had been, you'd still have a fully functioning hand! Oh, and next time, be careful with that knife!

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

suzyQ3 — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:57:39 GMT

@sidsmom, they are a real pain in the...pinky. If you can, use waterproof bandages because you are constantly getting your hands wet.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

shoesnbags — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 22:05:51 GMT

@sidsmom

A few years ago I caught my forearm on the corner of a piece of furniture (shaking a plastic trashbag open!). There was a fairly deep gouge with a flap of flesh still attached. No way I could possibly remove that flap, so I just cleaned the wound and put that flap of my precious flesh right back down where it belonged. Kept it covered and applied antibiotic salve. I thought maybe the flap would just protect the wound for a while and then fall off, but it took and grew right back onto the spot it had come from. So I'm in favor of leaving a flap of skin right where it is. Mine was a lot more than just skin and it all worked out really well. Needless to say, I keep my distance from that piece of furniture lol.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

QueenDanceALot — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 22:06:16 GMT

@sidsmom wrote:
Thank you all for responding (upthread & future posts, if any)!
I hope I don’t come off sounding like a baby! 😿
Those superficial wounds, especially on the hands, bleed alot
and hurt like the devil (papercuts anyone?), but still get woozy.
I’ll watch surgery on TV/YouTube, but when it’s your own...(faint)!
Why is that? 🧐

@sidsmom

For some reason I have a more difficult time seeing someone else's blood. So I can't answer your question!

You might want to get the Neosporin that has "pain relief" written on the label. It has saved me a number of times from the throb-throb=throb of a cut.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

Still Raining — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 22:55:41 GMT

I did something like this with a pruning tool and went to urgent care (my was longer). They cleaned it up, wrapped gauze and put on a splint. These seem to reattach OK but need be kept dry for several days.

Then the nurse asked what color of wrap I wanted and since it was “tall man” I went with neon. Fun times at work the next week!

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

RedTop — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 23:25:53 GMT

I would leave the skin in place; rinse twice a day with a solution of 3 parts water to 1 part peroxide, apply Bacitracin and cover with a small gauze pad and gauze wrap.

When it heals enough to be considered a dry wound, and has a scab, then I would feel comfortable covering with a bandaid when you have to go out in public. Bandaids hold moisture close to the wound, and that is not what you want in healing this cut.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

MickD — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 23:38:05 GMT

@sidsmom Oh ouch! My son sliced the top of his foot from the fin of his surf board a few days ago. The lifeguard recommended liquid skin and butterfly bandages. He had a dr appt for another issue.....anyway the doc told him that the wound was lookin good and healing.

it's worked! He's out surfing right now!

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

stevieb — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 23:36:20 GMT

Trim off what you comfortably can of the loose skin, use a triple antibiotic oinntment (it's better than neosporin) and cover with a butterfly style bandage.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

graciesmom1003 — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 23:57:13 GMT

Think about liquid bandage to seal the cut, protect it and allow it to heal

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

viva923 — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 00:19:34 GMT

don’t cut it off.

dh cut his nose at work a year or two ago. A flap was sliced, but not off. He pasted the flap back on. The nose healed

just leave things be

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

Carmie — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 03:32:02 GMT

@sidsmom I did the very same thing you did. It was pretty hairy looking. I just pushed the flap of skin back into place and bandaged it tight. The flap grew back onto my skin. My cut was very deep...skin and flesh.

Do not cut anything. That is a good way to introduce bacteria or other germs into the wound. Your own skin is the best covering.

i used a triple antibiotic cream and kept the wound clean and dry and covered....keep hand out of water.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

kivah — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 04:03:40 GMT

Knives freak me out. I can't watch those cooking shows on the Food Network - I cringe when they're cutting and chopping. I'm cringing just typing this.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

BeccaLou — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 05:43:57 GMT

Keep the bandage covered with a finger cot for extra protection.

Re: 🔪🤕 OUCH! Need advice

GusMo — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 06:12:38 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
I would leave the skin in place; rinse twice a day with a solution of 3 parts water to 1 part peroxide, apply Bacitracin and cover with a small gauze pad and gauze wrap.

When it heals enough to be considered a dry wound, and has a scab, then I would feel comfortable covering with a bandaid when you have to go out in public. Bandaids hold moisture close to the wound, and that is not what you want in healing this cut.

Actually, hydrogen peroxide is not recommended for wound care anymore. It can damage tissue. I’m a nurse practitioner and would recommend cleaning with soap and water once a day and put a bulky bandage on it for a few days. Be careful with Neosporin, some people have a local reaction. We use Bracitracin. Good luck! I sliced off a good chunk of my pinky with a mandolin a few years ago, so,I feel your pain!