Tried to cut off my thumb today...

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   habeeposted 12 years ago

   while slicing an onion. I have nerve damage, so that hand is sometimes completely numb. I didn't realize I was sawing through my own digit until I was almost halfway through. My nurse-daughter was here in a couple of minutes, and she and hubby tried to make me go get stitches, but I refused. She did her best to hold it together with a bandage. Fun, fun!
   
   Anyone here that didn't get stitches for a wound when they should have? What was the outcome?

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      mistyhorizon2003posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't bother getting stitches for a nasty cut on the top of my finger, caused by leaving the ball of my index finder over the edge of a scalpel's foil wrapping when a vet I worked for removed it from the packet for the operation he was about to begin. It sliced really deeply into my finger tip, and it took weeks to heal. Pretty horrible to look at as you could see all the tissue a good few mm below the skin. I just kept it well taped up and it all knitted back together again, and the scar is hard to see 26 years later. Hope you heal up soon

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, Misty. A scar won't bother me. I have ugly hands, anyway. lol. I have nice feet, though. Hubby has beautiful hands, but very ugly feet. Isn't it strange how that works? Wow - that was random, huh? I blame it on blood loss.

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            mistyhorizon2003posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            LOL, no such thing as 'nice feet' if you ask me, (didn't you ever see my hub on my phobia of bare feet). Truly feet have to be the least attractive part of the human body. I can't believe your hands can be uglier than a foot, no matter how aesthetically pleasing that foot might be,

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               habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I'll have to check out that hub. You sound like a student I used to have. She lived with her dad and brother, and she had such a foot phobia that the guys weren't allowed to go barefoot, even in the house. They had to wear socks at all times. I also knew a guy who was a member of a club that hubby and I are members of. He had a terrible foot phobia, and all the guys in the club knew about it. One night, they all took off their shoes and put them in the guy's lap. He literally threw up!
               
               I don't have a foot fetish, but I do think feet can be attractive. I do know several men, however, with a foot fetish.

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                  mistyhorizon2003posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep, she sounds very much like me, I can't bear my Husband's feet even to look at, never mind touching me. I even had to look away when my Step Dad cut my Mum's toenails the other week, Yuck!

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      Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What was the Outcome?
      
      I believe Bobbit went on a national tour showing how ugly digits can be when stitched back on too late and mistakenly reattached sideways!
      
      Damn Onions really can make you cry Habee

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Know what, PD? It really did make me cry, and I rarely cry from physical pain. I think part of it might have been because I did it to myself due to nerve damage. I keep re-living that moment when I looked down and saw myself cutting through my own flesh. Bummer!

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            Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Don't re-live it mate.. I understand that feeling from putting my foot through the spokes of my bike when I was young... and the flying and landing lesson my face learned from the road
            
            Think about decapitating Randy's swamp worm logo!

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      Jeff Berndtposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, that's pretty scary-sounding. One time I shaved off the tip of my thumb doing exactly that. The onion juices made it really sting! I felt silly, 'cos I should have been paying better attention. The knife was so sharp (as it should be) that I didn't even feel the slice until the onion juice got in. Stitches weren't an option, since it wasn't a cut, but a small patch of skin shaved off.
      
      I have to say, I was incredibly proud of my son, who was home with me, and only about 4 years old at the time. I told him, "Alex, I've cut myself pretty badly. Go get me a clean washcloth from the closet." He didn't panic, got me the washcloth, and followed all of my instructions quickly and without question until we arrived at the clinic, where the doc used a cautery tool to seal off the wound.
      
      If you got halfway through your finger, you really ought to see a doctor ASAP.

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That's really mature for a 4-yr-old kid!

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            Jeff Berndtposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            He is an amazing kid. Smarter than I am, too, which can be problematical.

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   mega1posted 12 years ago

   Gee, I hope you're ok.  Why would you not get stitches, though?  If it is really a deep cut, it should be looked at and stitched up - you could lose your thumb!  I don't know, but it sounds serious to me and it doesn't take long to get stitches.  Now I will have to worry about you, you naughty girl!

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      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      See, Mega, you really are a nice hubber, no matter what you said on another thread! lol. I'll see how the wound is tomorrow. I'll have nursie daughter check it for me.

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   LeanManposted 12 years ago

   I sliced one of my fingers through to the bone when I was a youngster and just wrapped gauze and tape around it as I was so brave  lol - now the end is permanently bent over as all the ligaments are cut and there is nothing there to straighten it - thankfully it is only my little pinkie.

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      wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I cut the back of my hand once, just above the pinkie finger to the point that I could watch the ligament move back and forth as I flexed the finger.
      
      Unlike you, though, I had it looked at and stitched.  The concern was that as I had cut down to the ligament (and actually past it) that I may have nicked the ligament and it would fail to stay together.  Not wanting to chance that I had a doctor look at it and verify the ligament was undamaged and of course he then stitched it back up.
      
      Habee - take note here - this is what can happen. even if the skin and other tissues heal very well.

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Leanman and Wilderness, I don't think a ligament is involved, but by daughter thinks I might have destroyed the nail bed. The cut starts at the base of my thumb nail and wraps halfway around my thumb. I know I sliced through a lot of blood vessels. I can't believe how much that sucker bled. In fact, it's still bleeding a little, and the injury happened hours ago.

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            JamaGeneeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            habee, you'll know soon enough if you destroyed the nail bed because the nail will fall off and won't grow back.
            
            But I'm with you on not getting stitches. Unnecessary expense, for one thing, and for another, your nurse-daughter probably gave you better care than you would've gotten in the ER (think it's called A&E in the UK).
            
            At different times, I've nearly cut off the tip of three different fingers.  Each time I just wrapped gauze and tape around the wound (after a good cleansing), and they all healed fine. Had no feeling in the ball of the finger for months (or years in the case of an index finger), but eventually all the nerves reconnected.

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               habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Oh, I do hope the nail doesn't fall off!

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            Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            My father sliced his thumb when he was a kid and working a deli-type counter.  He said it was hanging by a thread, so he held it in place and they did sew it.  His thumb was fine, but he did always have a black section (not too bad a one, though) on his thumb.
            
            You may be better off without stitches as far as I'm concerned (as long as the bleeding stopped, of course).  Every time I've had something stitched I've ended up with keloid, which is worse than some scars.

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               habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               It only bleeds now if I bump it.

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                  kirstenblogposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Don't bump it!

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   Gordon Hamiltonposted 12 years ago

   Habee, I hope you're OK and not talking through blood loss! You should've had it stitched. Don't want to risk infection or perhaps nerve damage and loss of use of a digit for future kitchen chopping duties!
   
   Here in Scotland, we combat the risk of infection with a bottle of whisky when proper medical attention is not available. A wee dram to sterilise the wound - and the rest of the bottle as an anaesthetic

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      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The nerve damage is already so bad in that hand...what's a little more? lol. Hubby insists that he will take over all chopping and slicing duties from now on. We'll see.

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   rmcrayneposted 12 years ago

   First and foremost, can you bend and straighten the thumb at both joints? 
   
   I'd say the thumb would heal faster with stitches, so get the d@mn stitches, but if you're hell-bent on not, you should at least go buy some steri-strips and pull tight, and place close. 
   
   Elevate every spare second if swollen, and use an ice pack a couple times a day.

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      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, my thumb joints work. It's been soaked down with antibacterial. Daughter-nurse irrigated and cleaned it. BTW, did you have a nice birthday?

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         rmcrayneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I did, thanks, and thanks for the thread.  I went to Copeland's of New Orleans for lunch with my brother and a friend from work.  I've had rhinitis for about a week, so I couldn't really taste anything that well.  That was a little disappointing, but the fellowship was not.  I also used my BD as an excuse to write hubs and Wizzley pages Friday-Sunday with no guilt about the shoulder PowerPoint presentation I should be working on instead!

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   kirstenblogposted 12 years ago

   Not sure we should let you use the knives anymore Habee! Hows that thumb today anyway? I wonder why you didn't want stitches? I don't like going to the doctors myself so can understand that reason . I had a fractured pinky finger that I kept bandaged myself for several months that healed up just fine on its own, couldn't be bothered to go waste hours and hours of time at the ER just so they could do for me what I could do for myself at home. Pinky finger healed up perfectly, no joint pains or anything, so lets hope your thumb heals up just fine too!

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      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Kinda my thinking, too, Kirsten! As for today, when my hand is numb, the thumb doesn't hurt, of course.
      
      MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!!! I HEART YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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         kirstenblogposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You take care of that thumb and give it all the care it needs to heal up good
         Good thing you got a nurse in the family, she should be able to give good advice on anti-inflamatories or what have you

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   Nell Roseposted 12 years ago

   Hi habee, Ouch is the only word I can think of at this moment! I have done damage twice without getting them stiched, purely for cowardly purposes you have to understand, in other words, it hurt the first time, you think I am going to let them hurt me again? lol! first one was a stanley blade straight across the palm of my hand when I was at work, one guy passed out the other was sick! may have been something to do with the blook dripping down my hand in a straight line, but like splitting a bag open with tomatoes behind it! and the second was getting my arm stuck for a couple of seconds, in my belt and ripping, yep, ripping the skin back so it flapped open like a barn door! I yelped, shoved it under the tap and wrapped it, kept it like that for two days, tentatively looked, it had gone green blue and red, very colorful, so I went to the docs and refused a stitch! so now I have a v shaped scar with a roll of skin where it folded over and healed! ho hum, so much for bravery not!

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   50 Caliberposted 12 years ago

   Holle, why is it your thumb was numb? I have diabetes and bilateral nerve damage that is neuropathy in my hands and arms and I have "LOSS" of feeling, that I consider different than numb. I had a busted up cervical spine that has been caged and fused from C2 to C5 and the Lumbar spine on the L3 to L5 S1 and some thoracic spine work done. It resulted in loss of feeling vs numbness. A persons spine is like a wiring harness that sends nerves out like wiring at each level between the vertebrae. The cervical has "brachial Plexis" nerves that at certain levels like between c-3 and c-4 might be related to a strip that runs down the shoulder on down the back of your arm to your right pinky and ring finger, I don't know exactly which are which, just that they are and I have loss of feeling due to problems of ago times. The lumbar goes on to L-4 and L-5 where many have back pain their travels on down their legs to feet. I have that problem to foot. I also have Agent Orange induced type 2 diabetes and neuropathy that makes you feel like you have a sock on, a loss of feeling and as it gets worse some loose feeling altogether, some get pain, like a blanket laying on their foot may feel like a brick, going to the other extreme.
   I have been trained in austere immediate action medical. When something bad happens and you need a paramedic right now they are an hour away.
   SO Everyone needs to carry a kit with them and have one in each vehicle and at home. Even if you don't know how to use some stuff in there, you may have a guardian angle who shows up and knows but he/she has no kit.
   #1 STOP the bleeding. So you can see what the damage is. A scratch on the scalp will bleed like the skull has been smashed and is often worried with while an artery pumps out your blood.
   A quick tourniquet would have been hand for your cut thumb, and knowing to place it high up under tour arm pit, sense the blood vessels are not blocked bu the routing in the recesses of arm bones. After you have the blood stopped a few wet-ones and clean the blood from the area, don't worry with germs, just stop the bleeding. If you had a gaping wound to your thigh and the only thing I had to pack the wound to apply pressure to stop the bleeding was horse shit, guess what I would use....... no blood left? your dead, so still # 1 stop the bleeding. Fortunately I have H-bandages, pretreated gauze with a chemical clotting agent and packs of powdered "Quick Clot" along with tourniquets. Don't throw away the plastic wrappers as they can be used to seal off a wound by using the duct tape in the kit to secure it in place.
   After you triage your wound you can make an informed decision about what you saw as to doctor or not. I have a surgeons kit as well, military surplus and can and have stitched my self up when out alone in the wilds and pull a boo boo.
   I hope your OK and it turns out like planned.
   I need to hub the contents of a kit and where you can learn techniques that 3rd year med student don't know at a car wreck or other trauma like getting shot or a whole restaurant got shot by a whack job or tornado..... so many to list when it comes to trauma.
   Peace, Dust

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      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, Dusty - you old desert rat! (AndI say that with love. lol) I have nerve damage in that hand/arm from what the neurologist calls a "double crush." The nerve is impinged at both ends - at my cervical spine and from carpal tunnel. It's not numb 24/7, however.

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   prettydarkhorseposted 12 years ago

   That hurts and hope it will heal soonest!!

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    Shanna11posted 12 years ago

    I used to work at Jimmy John's (a sandwich chain), where the motto is 'subs so fast, you'll freak'... so of course, one day when I was trying to hurriedly churn out a sandwich for the only customer in the store, I sliced through a loaf of bread and straight through my thumb as well. It was the first time I've ever cut myself. I was dazed and managed to mutter to my manager "I cut myself" and wander off, dripping blood everywhere. Of course, she had to instantly throw the cutting board and knife into bleach and remake the sandwich, so she didn't have time to tend to me, so I was left alone in the back room, trying desperately to get my thumb to stop bleeding, paranoid about stitches.
    
    I probably should have gotten stitches, but I just wrapped it up and didn't touch it for a month. I still have the scar, and it still hurts when you put pressure on it, and it made me paranoid around knives for months after, but it healed alright. It was still easily one of the scariest experiences of my life. I've never been woozy around blood, but I legitimately thought I was going to pass out at that moment. Hope your cut heals okay!

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    mega1posted 12 years ago

    How IS that thumb now?  It was your thumb right?  Hope its doing well.

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       habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Hi, Megs. It's not bothering me much now.

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