Will my ridiculously crushed fingers heal on their own or am I going to be left with reduced sensation and function?

December 9, 2007 4:36 PM

My fingers got crushed when my clothes airer decided to fold up. Now I have a numb bent index finger and a numb little finger. Will they stay like this, or heal in time?

OK, so I don't mean that my fingers are crushed to a ridiculous extent, I mean it happened in a ridiculous way.

I loaded my clothes airer with 2 washing machine loads of wet clothes and then decided to move it nearer the heater. In the course of lifting it, it decided to fold up, pinching the index finger of my right hand and the little finger of my other hand in in between the metal arms, with the considerable weight of the wet clothes providing leverage. I managed to extricate myself after a minute or so and the external damage was just a rather bloody cut on my index finger.

However now, 3 days later, my index finger is still numb on the tip (kind of like it has felt when I've had a nasty burn from the oven in the past) and it won't fully straighten. If I try and straighten it, it doesn't hurt, but the ball of my finger turns white. The whole finger looks a little swollen compared to my other index finger. My little finger is numb over the whole of the inner side and the palmer side and the tip, but I could live with that. However, since I'm right handed I would really rather not remain with a numb, bent right index finger.

Additional factors - 1) was a medical student for a few years in my youth, so tend to assume that all symptoms signify the worst possible thing, because of course medical students spend a lot more time on interesting diseases and injuries than ones which just go away if you leave them alone :-)
2) I'm currently a missionary in Kosovo so don't really have easy access to a family doctor.

Anyone have similar experiences with which to reassure me? Or medical knowledge to impart?

Many thanks in advance.

posted by alicegoldie to health & fitness (8 comments total)

I'd pull traction in line on it and then splint it. Basically, that means grasping firmly past the joint and pulling slowly but firmly. That should reseat the joint and make sure it's popped correctly into place. Of course, 3 days later it might be too swollen to actually want to GO back in. Even if you broke it, they'd only buddy tape it (tape and immobilize to the finger next to it), so really traction won't hurt it. Just the other day I smashed the ever loving hell out of my finger and had to pop my last joint back into place. Hurts like 5 hairy sons of bitches, but then it feels way better.

So yea. Traction in line. Ice. Immobilization for a day or 2 by splinting and taping to the finger next to it, Tylenol or generic equivelent. You be fine.

IANAD. But I am an EMT, but I swear I'm not giving you medical advice over the interwebs.
posted by TomMelee at 5:24 PM on December 9, 2007

You think that is a ridiculous way to get a finger injury, the tip of my right ring finger was once crushed by a lottery machine (if you really want to know how I will tell you since it did not involve anything illegal). Man did that hurt. They couldn't believe that I started laughing because otherwise, I was going to start crying from the amount of pain. You went to medical school for awhile, you have to know there are a lot of nerve endings there. Anyways, it was not pinned underneath there for as long as yours was, literally it was a quick pinch but but still it took a long while until I could bend that top knuckle easily and it was bruised pretty nicely for awhile. It was numb for awhile but I would say it is 99% normal now. I still cannot bend the knuckle as far as back as the rest of my fingers but it is not oversized or anything and this occurred February or March 2007. While right after I could not knit, I can knit again and I do not have any writing problems. (Right handed also)

However, I am not a doctor, I did not go to the doctor, and you should probably go to the doctor. I wish I had gotten an x-ray to see if it was broken or more likely cracked slightly.
posted by lilacorlavender at 5:27 PM on December 9, 2007

I did not mean bend it back (not double jointed) I meant, like bending it to make a claw like motion (like a cat swiping) or a fist.
posted by lilacorlavender at 5:29 PM on December 9, 2007

Also, there are a lot of blood vessels in your hand. Pinching one or more of those could lead to necrosis and, worst case, loss of a finger. It may sound silly, but if it has been that long, it is still numb and you have not talked to a doctor, I would suggest it ASAP.
posted by slavlin at 11:01 PM on December 9, 2007

I will share my crushed fingers story with you: I was trying to open a double-hung sash window by curling my fingers over the top of the bottom window and pushing it upward. It was jammed. Unbeknownst to me, the top window had lost both its weights and my efforts loosened it, causing it to drop at 9.8m/s^2 right on to my hands. The best(?) part was that because I had both my hands in just the right place, the window caught all eight of my fingers between the first and second joints, neatly trapping my hands, and preventing me from doing anything at all to free myself. I had to shout for help. Yee-ouch.

I had indentations in my fingers for several days after that, but they seem to have made a full recovery (no medical treatment). I don't recall any real numbness, though.
posted by alexei at 12:31 AM on December 10, 2007

This is only my experience...

When I was a kid, I worked at Utah's biggest theme park, in the arcade. The arcade had huge garage doors. One night when I was closing up, I managed to get all of my fingers crunched in the door as I was closing it.

The pain was amazing, and the numbness after was frightening. There was visible flattening of my fingertips after, and that lasted longer than I had thought possible.

But...the problems all disappeared in a week or two, and here I am over fifteen years later, just fine.

I hope yours is the same.
posted by SlyBevel at 6:59 AM on December 10, 2007

I caught my finger in the car door about six months ago. I slammed the door bad enough to break my finger. The finger had residual numbess for about five months. The doctor said that was from swelling. Now, half my nail has grown back (and I expect the other half to grow back in time), and my finger is no longer numb.
posted by bananafish at 12:27 PM on December 11, 2007

My experience is closest to SlyBevel and bananafish - fingertips caught between panels of a fast falling garage door. Broken tip bones, cuts and a nail lost. Hurt... VERY MUCH. Currently in splints, very anxious about recovery. Sadly, I am a working musician, who will not be working for a while. Looking for similar experiences because I dearly hope to regain my ability to play.
posted by LeeNicholson at 1:17 PM on February 18, 2008