Storage - 53 Years | Nearly Sliced My Finger Off

Because of the keywords used in searches to find this page, I'm going to say three real quick things up front - if you are bleeding, apply direct pressure to control it - if you think you need a tourniquet, apply it above a pulse point - if your cut is deep, you may have cut a nerve or tendon so please let a professional take a look at it.

Nearly Sliced My Finger Off - Monday April 6 2009

I was trying to cut a piece of carpet with one of those four or five inch razor blades. I wanted to get a good angle, so I took a brand new blade out of the package instead of using the one secured safely in the handle of the cutting tool.

Not thinking, I gripped the blade with my index finger on top and wrapped my other fingers around it. The second I applied pressure, I knew that was the wrong way to hold it. I switched position and somehow cut my middle finger slightly. Darn, that was sharp!

The new plan was to make sure every finger was above the blade. I dragged the blade once over the carpet. It didn't cut all the way through, so I went over the same line again. This time I pushed down hard on the blade. I don't have the slightest clue what happened, but suddenly I felt the blade pop out of my hand, catching my finger in the process.

I knew it was bad. All I could do was say "ow, ow, ow" over and over as I got my finger under some cold water. I thought the cold water would stop or at least slow the bleeding, but it didn't. I tilted my finger around so I could see the damage and then I really freaked! There was a wide gap and the top part of my finger was at an angle to the rest of the finger. I never looked again. I called for Alex to help. I needed some sort of tourniquet, but I couldn't think straight as to what. Alex went looking for something and I grabbed a twisted piece of foil that just happened to be close. I wrapped it around my finger, above the cut, and tightened it. Alex brought me an elastic bandage that I carefully wound around my finger over the cut.

We headed off to the emergency room. When we arrived, I told them I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to bleed to death. I wanted to see what I should do to make it stop bleeding and I wanted to get by without stitches if possible. They went to look at it at the front desk and when they loosened the bandage, it started pouring blood again. They were pretty quick with the gauze. They slapped it on and then put a new elastic bandage over it, apologizing for their roughness the whole time. The one guy told me I would need stitches, but I didn't think he had gotten that good of a look at it. He took the foil off and told me a tourniquet goes above a pulse point.

Well, I stressed about it for a long time and then decided I really, really didn't want stitches. I didn't want them messing with that finger at all. It was obvious I was going to live, so sitting there was pretty pointless. I didn't care if it healed pretty. I told the receptionist we were leaving and we drove home.

Now what? The consequence of my decision was starting to dawn on me. I was going to have to doctor my own wound. I gathered some antibiotic ointment spray with pain relief, an antimicrobial non-stick pad, a fresh elastic bandage, and my camera. I thought I might try to get a picture of the cut and then I could show the different stages of healing. After about an hour of meditation, I proceeded to take the bandage off.

The gauze the guys had put on was stuck to (and in) the wound. I ran water over it until I could pull it loose. In the meantime, the cut was bleeding freely again and it was stinging sharply with each movement. Forget the camera! I quickly sprayed the ointment and wrapped the pad and then the bandage around my finger. Afterwards I thought I should have paid more attention to making sure I had closed the wound, but I wasn't about to go back in and check it.

Well, at least I learned how to stop the bleeding. You're supposed to cover the wound with something and apply gentle pressure. In my case--coward that I am--I didn't apply all that much pressure. Simply having the bandage on was enough to stop the blood from flowing. (Update: When I went to change the bandage later, I found I had wrapped it slightly tighter than I thought.)

Part two: Changing the Bandage

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