Owwie! (Little gross)

[ArcticChicken]

This is just me whining, please feel free to ignore me.

Friday night I managed to slice open my thumb really good, right through the nail. Blood all over the sink. Luckily it stopped bleeding seriously after a few minutes and I was able to get a bandaid on. Which reminds me, why do they only sell knuckle and fingertip bandages in the same package? I've gone through most of a package of fingertip bandaids since then, and am on my second. I'd really like to finish this without three or four half empty boxes of bandaids in my medicine cabinet.

I can mostly use the thumb, the cut was on the top towards the left side of my left thumb, so I can use the ball and the right side of my thumb. Which is a problem, I think, if it hurt to use my thumb at all, I probably wouldn't keep accidentally using parts that hurt.

Luckily I had literally just finished sharpening the knife about thirty seconds before it slipped. Although, if I hadn't sharpened it, it might have just wacked off my nail and cut only a bit of the tip. Would have still hurt like a bitch, but I wouldn't be nearly as worried about infection.

My point is, Ow!!

[Food Lady]

Please watch for infection; it sounds nasty! I don't wanna hear you're in the hospital!

[Seshat]

Keep it clean! As Food Lady said, we want to hear it's healed up well, not that you're in hospital.

[kpzra]

Just slap some superglue on it, that's what we did when I almost chopped the end of my finger off with an axe (yeah, I'm that clumsy/stupid but it's still not as bad as falling out of the ambulance I was working on and getting staples in my knee). It was through the nail also and healed just fine.

[ArcticChicken]

Don't worry, I am being very paranoid about infection. I was it out every time I change the bandaid and am using liberal neosporin.

24601, I thought about the superglue, but I don't have any of the medical-grade stuff, and I'd hate to discover it causes and allergic reaction the hard way.

[Sapphire Silk]

Just slap some superglue on it, that's what we did when I almost chopped the end of my finger off with an axe (yeah, I'm that clumsy/stupid but it's still not as bad as falling out of the ambulance I was working on and getting staples in my knee). It was through the nail also and healed just fine.

Don't worry, I am being very paranoid about infection. I was it out every time I change the bandaid and am using liberal neosporin.

24601, I thought about the superglue, but I don't have any of the medical-grade stuff, and I'd hate to discover it causes and allergic reaction the hard way.

Good. I can't recommend using regular superglue as a bandage.

Sorry to hear you're hurting, sounds like you've done the right things.

I wish you could get a pack of the right bandages, too. I always end up with a bunch of sizes I seldom use, and the adhesive eventually does go bad and you lose sterility.

I guess packs of single types just don't sell.

[ralerin]

Wound up with a rather deep knife cut in the tip of my thumb (cutting up leftover meat with a medium dull knife). I bandaged it with 2 regular bandages (yeah, I work at a pharmacy and couldn't be bothered to buy a package of finger bandages, but in my defense we have 3 boxes at home that need to be used). Antisepctic ointment, tons of it, still wound up with a rather small scar. Doesn't bother me and it feels nifty to the touch.

I would recommend using a finger splint on it if your thumb is able to tolerate it. Mine was. I kept whacking my thumb at work, reopening the wound and causing pain. With the splint, although it was awkward and I kept whacking it, the splint absorbed the whacks and kept the wound from opening.

[kpzra]

Good. I can't recommend using regular superglue as a bandage.(

Considering my local ER kept me waiting bleeding and in pain for 2 hours after taking my bandage, complaining about how bored and slow there were, I did what had to be done. I talked to an SF PA buddy who said if it was all we had, to use the new/unopened tube.

[Seshat]

Seconding the finger splint. Or rather, thumb splint.

With the other fingers - or with any toes - I typically splint any badly injured digit to its neighbour.

Fresh cotton ball to act as wound protector/absorber. Roll of medical tape. Betadine on the wound, followed by the cotton ball, followed by a round or two of the medical tape around just the digit itself. Then use the tape to bind the injured digit to its neighbour - closely enough that they can't move independently, but loosely enough that it's not painful and the blood flow is good.

[ShootMePlease]

I use Superglue all the time on my cuts. Never had a problem and the cuts always heal nicely.

[Sparky]

This:

I always end up with a bunch of sizes I seldom use, and the adhesive eventually does go bad and you lose sterility.

Panacea, what do you mean the adhesive "goes bad"? Do you mean it no longer sticks?

I ask because I have a sometime allergy to band-aids. That is, sometimes they give me an allergic reaction, and sometimes they don't. In general, I find that cheap bandages are more likely to cause a reaction than name brands, and I'm sure it's the adhesive, not latex, that I'm allergic to.

Generally, I find that if I have an injury, I'm more likely to get a reaction. Duh, why else would I use a bandage? But if I have a cut, it's more likely to cause a reaction than if I get a flu shot. I thought this was because my immune system was "woken up." But maybe it's because my bandages are old?

Curious.

[lilnizzie]

for me, my bandaid allergy runs the other way. it's the expensive name brand ones that make break out in blisters and skin sloughing and the no name ones that i can tolerate!

I find though that my allergy tends to happen on my fingers, inner arms and chest / torso. It never happens on my outer arms, legs or inner parts of my fingers. I think it's because the skin in those areas is tougher, and the reaction doesn't get a chance to seep in before you've healed. And the adhesive is never over the open wound.

[LadyAndreca]

for me, my bandaid allergy runs the other way. it's the expensive name brand ones that make break out in blisters and skin sloughing and the no name ones that i can tolerate!

I find though that my allergy tends to happen on my fingers, inner arms and chest / torso. It never happens on my outer arms, legs or inner parts of my fingers. I think it's because the skin in those areas is tougher, and the reaction doesn't get a chance to seep in before you've healed. And the adhesive is never over the open wound.

Do you have a latex allergy? I have the same reaction to name brand (which have latex) but can use store brand (which don't have latex) perfectly well.

[wolfie]

Panacea, what do you mean the adhesive "goes bad"? Do you mean it no longer sticks?

I ask because I have a sometime allergy to band-aids. That is, sometimes they give me an allergic reaction, and sometimes they don't. In general, I find that cheap bandages are more likely to cause a reaction than name brands, and I'm sure it's the adhesive, not latex, that I'm allergic to.

I believe that's what Panacea meant. As for the "losing sterility", I find that the glue holding the 2 pieces of the "envelope" fails with time - once the perimeter is breached, the bandage is no longer sterile.

Bandages (and masking tape) used to be made with a latex-based adhesive, so if you're allergic to the adhesive, it could be a latex allergy. Many brands of bandage are now boasting "latex free" - try switching to one of them.

[lilnizzie]

i don't think i have a latex allergy, since I can blow up balloons, use condoms and have never had a reaction at the hospital to gloves (do they still use latex gloves at hospitals?)

With further investigation, there seems to be a link between fabric bandages and the allergy. Rubbery bandaids, and the more plasticy ones don't cause an allergy (or a far lesser one ) but the fabric bandages will cause me to break out in a rash within 20 minutes (and they will cause the rash no matter where I put them on my body)

Now, whether there's a different type of adhesive on fabric versus other bandaids, I don't know. But it's very disconcerting to cut yourself badly, and then need a bandaid, and having to run around to find one that won't make the whole situation worse. Trying to heal both a bad cut, and a rash ON the cut???