Treating a fingertip wound
February 20, 2006 2:49 PM Subscribe
Is it OK to leave some gauze stuck to a wound?
My wife sliced the tip of her finger yesterday, nasty but not bad enough for an E.R. visit. Once we got the bleeding controlled, we wrapped her fingertip in a gauze bandage, with some polysporin, and taped it up.
This afternoon she tried to change the bandage, but it's stuck to the wound pretty good. She's averse to pain, so giving it a good yank is out of the question. We've tried soaking it in warm salt water, but even after a few hours of that nothing's coming loose.
Can we just trim off the excess and leave the gauze there? (The part that's stuck is probably a quarter inch, on the side of her fingertip.) Or is that going to mess up the healing? If it's better to remove it, is there anything beyond warm water that we can try?
My wife sliced the tip of her finger yesterday, nasty but not bad enough for an E.R. visit. Once we got the bleeding controlled, we wrapped her fingertip in a gauze bandage, with some polysporin, and taped it up.
This afternoon she tried to change the bandage, but it's stuck to the wound pretty good. She's averse to pain, so giving it a good yank is out of the question. We've tried soaking it in warm salt water, but even after a few hours of that nothing's coming loose.
Can we just trim off the excess and leave the gauze there? (The part that's stuck is probably a quarter inch, on the side of her fingertip.) Or is that going to mess up the healing? If it's better to remove it, is there anything beyond warm water that we can try?
Well, the gauze gives it something to clot to. If you yank it off, it might yank out a bit more than you want. Might cause a bit of a scar. If it won't be too much of a PITA, you oughta consider having her go to the doctor. It kind of sounds like it's a bit more severe of a cut than you think. :-)
/me is not a doctor, but does deal with sick & injured people.
posted by drstein at 3:12 PM on February 20, 2006
/me is not a doctor, but does deal with sick & injured people.
posted by drstein at 3:12 PM on February 20, 2006
I second the "go to a doctor" thing.... just remember, you don't necessarily need to go to the E.R.- you should be able to schedule an appointment with a GP, or (gulp!) even a walk-in clinic.
posted by crazyray at 3:19 PM on February 20, 2006
posted by crazyray at 3:19 PM on February 20, 2006
IANAD but I would guess a long soak in warm water might loosen the gauze enough to be safetly removed. It will also clean the wound some more. I am a fan of soaking. I think you can try it with nothing to lose.
posted by snowjoe at 4:25 PM on February 20, 2006
posted by snowjoe at 4:25 PM on February 20, 2006
A few months ago I had the exact same problem. After receving a nasty cut, gauze was applied, and since it hurt too badly to mess with it, I just left it alone overnight thinking that I would take it off in the morning.
It hurt to even gently tug on it, and I tried various menthods to try and aid the removal (soaking, steam, lots of crying) to no avail. Since I'm far too poor to go the doctor, I went to a pharmacy to ask a pharmacist what he thought. He told me I had to try and remove it, and that I should probably go to the emergency room for stitches.
That was just flat-out not an option. I have a friend who was in med school and he told me (after also going through a similar experience) that there was no problem with just leaving the gauze there. Despite seeing his recovered wound with no gauze imbedded in it permanently (which was my main, misguided concern), I didn't really believe him. I spent the next week or so freaked out every day that this gauze was just going to be a permanent part of my finger. I did clean it often, as I was also very worried about infection, and applied neosporin every day. I also pretty much constantly kept it bandaged, as it hurt to much to be exposed.
Eventually I was able to peel the gauze off without any pain, leaving behind a virtually fully healed finger. This may not have been the best way to handle it, but I'm pretty sure if she goes to a doctor, they'll want to remove the gauze, which just turns my stomach to think about. I do have a scar, but I think that would have happened either way.
Good luck, and please let us know what you decide to do!
posted by a red so deep at 4:57 PM on February 20, 2006
It hurt to even gently tug on it, and I tried various menthods to try and aid the removal (soaking, steam, lots of crying) to no avail. Since I'm far too poor to go the doctor, I went to a pharmacy to ask a pharmacist what he thought. He told me I had to try and remove it, and that I should probably go to the emergency room for stitches.
That was just flat-out not an option. I have a friend who was in med school and he told me (after also going through a similar experience) that there was no problem with just leaving the gauze there. Despite seeing his recovered wound with no gauze imbedded in it permanently (which was my main, misguided concern), I didn't really believe him. I spent the next week or so freaked out every day that this gauze was just going to be a permanent part of my finger. I did clean it often, as I was also very worried about infection, and applied neosporin every day. I also pretty much constantly kept it bandaged, as it hurt to much to be exposed.
Eventually I was able to peel the gauze off without any pain, leaving behind a virtually fully healed finger. This may not have been the best way to handle it, but I'm pretty sure if she goes to a doctor, they'll want to remove the gauze, which just turns my stomach to think about. I do have a scar, but I think that would have happened either way.
Good luck, and please let us know what you decide to do!
posted by a red so deep at 4:57 PM on February 20, 2006
Best answer: You don't want foreign body granulomas forming inside the tip of your finger. Get that gauze out of the wound.
In future, do not place anything inside a wound that you would not put in your eye. Let me repeat that: do not place anything inside a wound that you would not put in your eye.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:17 PM on February 20, 2006
In future, do not place anything inside a wound that you would not put in your eye. Let me repeat that: do not place anything inside a wound that you would not put in your eye.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:17 PM on February 20, 2006
No, I'm serious. Would you put that in your eye? No? Then don't put it in the wound.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:18 PM on February 20, 2006
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:18 PM on February 20, 2006
In my personal experience.
Soaking in warm water and hydrogen peroxide can soften a scab up.
of course I'm also the guy who superglued a cut closed because I didn't have the cash for emergency room stitches and visit. (if my mother the nurse ever finds out about that one she is giving me a beating)
posted by Megafly at 6:16 PM on February 20, 2006
Soaking in warm water and hydrogen peroxide can soften a scab up.
of course I'm also the guy who superglued a cut closed because I didn't have the cash for emergency room stitches and visit. (if my mother the nurse ever finds out about that one she is giving me a beating)
posted by Megafly at 6:16 PM on February 20, 2006
Megafly: I read "of course I'm also the guy who superglued a cat closed". Yikes!
posted by evariste at 7:21 PM on February 20, 2006
posted by evariste at 7:21 PM on February 20, 2006
Don't screw around with wounds involving your hands. You need to remove the gauze. Soak it more.
posted by desuetude at 8:18 PM on February 20, 2006
posted by desuetude at 8:18 PM on February 20, 2006
Noise, I know, but ikkyu2—if it'd foam up something wicked, definitely. Cool party trick!
posted by disillusioned at 11:00 PM on February 20, 2006
posted by disillusioned at 11:00 PM on February 20, 2006
I've got a doozy of a scar on my right calf, where I had a nasty fall off my bike whilst doing some XC. I cut my leg on the chainring. A quick fix in the field involved a lot of TCP (disinfectant), some cotton wool (cotton balls), and some superglue. It stung, a lot, but the bleeding stopped, and I didn't die.
And no, ikkyu2, I wouldn't put that stuff in my eye.
posted by veedubya at 2:43 AM on February 21, 2006
And no, ikkyu2, I wouldn't put that stuff in my eye.
posted by veedubya at 2:43 AM on February 21, 2006
Response by poster: Thanks AskMe for all the thoughts.
ikkyu2's advice sealed it. (FWIW, we also remembered about Telehealth, and while I'm sure the nurse there just read from a script, it was the kick in the arse my wife needed to suck it up and see a professional.) The doctor did exactly what herrdoktor described, minus the sutures.
Cheers!
posted by ParsonWreck at 6:23 AM on February 21, 2006
ikkyu2's advice sealed it. (FWIW, we also remembered about Telehealth, and while I'm sure the nurse there just read from a script, it was the kick in the arse my wife needed to suck it up and see a professional.) The doctor did exactly what herrdoktor described, minus the sutures.
Cheers!
posted by ParsonWreck at 6:23 AM on February 21, 2006
For what it's worth I've had gauze get stuck in a wound only to have it scar, then open 10 years later. Removing the gauze at that time allowed the wound to heal and the scarring to minimize.
Also, it's worth noting that there is a difference between gauze and kerlix. Kerlix is not cottony. It is stringy and therefore difficult to lose any in a wound. Highly recommended.
posted by kc0dxh at 7:47 AM on February 21, 2006
Also, it's worth noting that there is a difference between gauze and kerlix. Kerlix is not cottony. It is stringy and therefore difficult to lose any in a wound. Highly recommended.
posted by kc0dxh at 7:47 AM on February 21, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Bondrake at 3:05 PM on February 20, 2006