-
posting this here because of the heavy traffic this sub-forum gets.
a slip of a drill w/ a Phillips bit tore up my fretting index finger @ the second joint.
probably should have gotten a stitch or 2 but now it's too late, gig tomorrow night and a double on Sat.
the bit caught the skin while spinning, so it's not a clean knife cut.
looked like it was healing ok but opened up today in the shower, only slight bleeding that appears to have stopped now. flexing the joint makes it want to open up again.
I've heard of people using crazy glue or liquid bandage.
I need to retain flexibility in the joint so don't know if those methods are the way to go?
any suggestions to get me through these 3 gigs appreciated
-
11-30-2017 02:26 PM
-
Superglue. No joke
-
Try closing it up with super glue, patched up many cuts with it.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
thanks but need to retain flexibility in the joint
-
Liquid bandage is more flexible, but less permanent. Surgeons use superglue. Both will involve some temporary stinging when applied.
-
Wintermoon, superglue is used by surgeons, as already stated. Don't get it anywhere you don't want glued. The stuff is intense. Then, I'd put something like tegaderm dressing on it, which is a sheer, clear, almost skin-thin breathable bandaid made by 3-M. Good luck, and sorry about the accident! Also, I'm not a doctor, so, any advice I give is based only on life experience! My wife recently had a hip replacement and the surgeon used superglue to close the 8" incision. No stitches!
-
While I have used superglue to close cuts in the past. Where you cut your finger and the need for flexibility makes the use of superglue or some other method involving closing the cut a bit of a waste of time. Myself, when cut in the same or similar location, I have found it best to just leave it exposed and keep it flexible and carry a styptic pencil in case it starts bleeding. I was on warfarin for a number of years due to a heart condition and any tiny cut e.g. sticking ones finger with the end of a cut string produced a mini gusher so I kept one in the case
-
I just wanna wish you well, wintermoon, and do take care now. I'd use Liquid Bandage and cover it with Tegaderm as sky suggested. Anything by 3M I trust.
-
Put peroxide on it every 15 munutes, it should close up
-
I would put pressure on it up until you are ready to gig.
-
I'd put some lidocaine ointment on it right before you start playing. (But be careful to keep it away from your fingertips). That way, it might bleed, but at least it won't hurt.
-
Is it in a part where you can wrap a bandaid and still play?
-
no, the band aid gets hung up on the high E string
-
It is so deep that it needed stiches ? and you did it with a drirty drill bit ?
then the only proper advice is, indeed to have it cleaned, desinfected, stitched, and cancel the gigs
not worth risking a serious infection for
-
I sliced my left middle finger across the pad near the tip about a year and a half ago. Had a gig scheduled 6 days later. I sought treatment and they closed it with a butterfly. I stayed away from using it (playing guitar)for three or four days and then only lightly played . Used liquid skin or nu skin and the smallest tightest bandage I could find to get me through the gig.
Sounds like yours is a little more troublesome because it opens when you flex the joint. Best to make sure it's clean and closed up first otherwise you might end up missing a whole lotta gigs. Keep it immobilized for a couple of days if you can and then rebandage in a way you get some flexibility but protect the wound. Just accept that you won't be able to do your usual stuff and live with it. Or cancel a gig or two due to injury and count on playing the last one. Good luck,
Zig
Edit - consider using a finger cot too.Last edited by Zigracer; 12-01-2017 at 01:20 AM.
-
>> Best to make sure it's clean and closed up first otherwise you might end up missing a whole lotta gigs. Keep it immobilized for a couple of days if you can and then rebandage in a way you get some flexibility nut protect the wound. Just accept that you won't be able to do your usual stuff and live with it. Or cancel a gig or two due to injury and count on playing the last one. Good luck, <<
Basically, this!
The cut is on the dorsal side of the finger, not the palmar side? That sounds better - you or your doc just have to be sure that the cut isn't so deep that the joint capsule has been opened.
I'd never use crazy glue on potentially infected cuts. Disinfect with a non-alcoholic spray, wait until dry, then put on appropriate sized sterile Steri-Strips skin closure application (for instance by 3M), so that the cut is closed. Put it on while holding your finger in a middle flexed position. If it starts bleeding, press softly through a sterile compress for some minutes or apply a local mini pressure bandage - never apply a tight circular finger bandage!
Against the pain Lidocain spray, applied before the gig, could help - if the cut is superficial. If not, it had to be applied near the cut through the intact skin in a small dose with the finest needles. If too much is applied the joint mobility will suffer, and if incorrectly, through the vessels and nerves, the finger tip will get numb...
Rest your left hand in a higher position, use cool packs intermittently.
Rapid convalescence and successful gigging!
-
I had to play a gig 3 fingered due to a cut. It is good for you as a player. Duct tape it so it doesn't bleed on things and to protect it against the odd bump and play with what you have and let it heal. If people see you have a reason for the odd fluff they'll be more impressed by what you are doing versus watching you alternate between wincing and mopping up.
-
made it through the 3 gigs, just wore one of those fancy new waterproof bandaids and avoided barre chords
the downside was it looked worse after the gigs than 3 days after I first cut it due to it being @ the joint and constantly flexing, but was a couch potato yesterday and it's finally starting to heal.
thanks for the suggestions everyone
-
Good to hear how it turned out! Thanks, and keep on healing up!
-
Wow, how I fear your situation, being a working carpenter. I have done the "jumping drill bit" routine too.
Best of luck with it, hope you can rest the finger and hand now.
-
Superglue is your friend! Way better than Liquid Bandage. I've sealed many a cut on a gig night. I carry it with me everywhere.
Lil tip...put it on in thin layers, and allow it to dry in between layers.
Side note in case you didn't already know..Super Glue was actually shelved, years ago, at the invention stage, because it was too darn sticky. Then it was brought back to use in the Vietnam War and used on the battlefield to quickly cauterize wounds, just enough so the wounded could get to a hospital.
-
Good to hear it's starting to heal!
Superglue can be great for closing fresh wounds (ca. < 8 hours), though the fine adaption of wound edges is achieved better by suture. Older wounds, or wounds that burst open again after a period, are usually surgically cleaned, disinfected and then reclosed (if not infected), or partially reclosed, etc. Exceptions are superficial cuts - and children.
War surgery has slightly different preferences: availability, speed and ease of application, subordinate cosmetic and (partly) functional results... shot injuries call for the surgeon.
-
the mans man right there..
Originally Posted by wintermoon
-
Now that the gig's behind you, keep the wound packed in Neosporin and covered. It'll speed up the process.
Reply With Quote
4 Micro Lessons, all under a minute, no talking.
Today, 05:16 PM in Theory