Is a nurse or a doctor on duty?

[CharlieD]

I cut a tip of my thumb couple of weeks ago. Knife was pretty sharp and I was in too much of a hurry, well, the cut is pretty dip. It's healing of course, but it's weird. Looks like it's healing on the edges but inside the cut looks like there is pus. I hate to go to doctor, who probably is going to tell me to soak it or something. What say you?

 

[cjmmytunes]

I cut a tip of my thumb couple of weeks ago. Knife was pretty sharp and I was in too much of a hurry, well, the cut is pretty dip. It's healing of course, but it's weird. Looks like it's healing on the edges but inside the cut looks like there is pus. I hate to go to doctor, who probably is going to tell me to soak it or something. What say you?

I would go to the Dr, but I'm diabetic and can't really afford to get any type of infection.

 

[roadfix]

I'd say squeeze the pus out and let it heal on its own....

 

[GotGarlic]

I cut a tip of my thumb couple of weeks ago. Knife was pretty sharp and I was in too much of a hurry, well, the cut is pretty dip. It's healing of course, but it's weird. Looks like it's healing on the edges but inside the cut looks like there is pus. I hate to go to doctor, who probably is going to tell me to soak it or something. What say you?

Did you do any kind of first aid when you first cut it? Did you clean it and cover it with a bandage of some kind?

If there is pus, there is an infection. Depending on what you have been doing since, and whether it has been covered, you could get tetanus. Have you had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years?

I would put an antibiotic cream on it and cover it with a Band-Aid. Clean it and reapply the antibiotic cream and Band-Aid every day and note whether the pus seems to be going away. If it isn't better in a couple of days, I would go to a doctor.

 

[Chef Munky]

You could check here.http://www.webmd.com/
Then decide.

 

[CWS4322]

I would clean it with hydrogen peroxide, pack it with sugar, and leave it open. That is what we did with rescue dogs that got infections following spay/neuter or dog fight bites. This worked for dogs.. .you can skip the step putting toothpaste around, but not in, the wound to keep the dogs from licking. However, you might want to go to a doctor.

 

[GotGarlic]

I would clean it with hydrogen peroxide, pack it with sugar, and leave it open. That is what we did with rescue dogs that got infections following spay/neuter or dog fight bites. This worked for dogs.. .you can skip the step putting toothpaste around, but not in, the wound to keep the dogs from licking. However, you might want to go to a doctor.

This is not recommended practice: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=1&contentid=2978

 

[Cheryl J]

Charlie, be on the safe side and go to your doctor.

 

[Dawgluver]

Is nurse or a doctor on duty?

No peroxide. My cousin cut the tip of her finger off a few years ago. Unfortunately, she's a professional church organ player. This did not bode well. As I recall, she bandaged it up well and used one of those stiff braces that protects the end of her finger. It took a long time to heal.

If it's infected, you do need to go to the doctor. Urgent Care might be able to advise, and they're quicker than a dr. appointment. They can also give you antibiotics, soaks, etc. if you need them.

 

[CWS4322]

Well, my vet always recommended that before we moved to antibiotics and it worked. As I said, go to a doctor. I had a dog that ended up having 5 drains following a horrific dog fight. At 1:00 a.m., I cleaned the wounds (which were open to the bone) with saline and packed them with sugar. We had to wait 5 days for the swelling to go down, but she didn't get any infections. The reason we used saline was we weren't sure if we were going to stitch the edges. My grandma always packed wounds with sugar.

 

[CWS4322]

If you are going to stitch the edges, you don't want to use hydrogen peroxide. However, if the wound is an "old" wound (more than 48-72 hours), chances are, you aren't going to stitch the edges. Saline is my choice for flushing wounds or just water, but I keep a bag of saline in the house at all times. I flushed and repacked the dog's wounds every 4 - 6 hours. It wasn't fun, nor was it pretty. I also have a surgical staple gun, scalpel, IV pump and pole, and xylocaine in the house, to name just a few of the items in my dog first aid kit, but that is another story. My vet came over and did emergency surgery on my dining room table more than once.

 

[GotGarlic]

Well, my vet always recommended that before we moved to antibiotics and it worked. As I said, go to a doctor. I had a dog that ended up having 5 drains following a horrific dog fight. At 1:00 a.m., I cleaned the wounds (which were open to the bone) with saline and packed them with sugar. We had to wait 5 days for the swelling to go down, but she didn't get any infections. The reason we used saline was we weren't sure if we were going to stitch the edges. My grandma always packed wounds with sugar.

Well, doctors have learned a lot in the last 30 years. Everyone used hydrogen peroxide when I was a kid, but they have found that it actually damages skin cells, so it's not a good idea.

I have no idea what sugar would do, since it would fall out pretty quickly.

 

[dragnlaw]

Use honey before sugar. It does have antibiotic properties. Some hospitals believe in it and do use it.

On what kinds of wounds? I don't know/remember
For how long? don't know/remember
change how often? don't know/remember

When I removed 1/3 of my little finger with the mandolin, my friend (a nurse) said to soak in salt water first. I found it stung too much and couldn't handle it. Soaked it for just a few minutes then just went straight to polysporin and bandaged it up.

At that time it was fresh where as your injury is older, but I had to change it frequently due to the bleeding. My friend brought me some sterile water in syringes to rinse it with so I just kept on truckin' with the sterile water, polysporin and bandages.

About 10 days later it suddenly started to get red and hot... infection. Went to the hospital and they prescribed me some antibiotics and to continue doing what I was.

It was very close to the bone and I thought it would be a problem but once it started to heal it was amazingly fast! Have a funny looking little finger though... looks like I got carried away while filing my nail.

 

[Caslon]

Get back to us when you have to have that damn digit cut off, lol.

 

[dragnlaw]

caslon! who're you talking to ... Charlie D or moi?

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Because you are soooo much into self-treatment, maybe you should amputate the arm at the elbow. Or, you could go to the closest Urgent Care facility!

 

[medtran49]

Is it a deep beefy red color or much hotter than surrounding skin? Is there any red streaking? If yes to any of those questions, suck it up and go to the doctor pronto!

If not, you could always look up a recipe for a poultice and just watch it closely.

I suffered a cat bite, not 1 of ours, that nearly took off a good chunk of the tip of one of my fingers. I did go to the hospital though since it was potentially a stray that wandered into our house, and I was looking at potentially needing rabies shots. Fortunately, it belonged to somebody down the street. Anyway, it healed from the edges in, but took a good while and took even longer for all the feeling to come back.

 

[caseydog]

I cut a tip of my thumb couple of weeks ago. Knife was pretty sharp and I was in too much of a hurry, well, the cut is pretty dip. It's healing of course, but it's weird. Looks like it's healing on the edges but inside the cut looks like there is pus. I hate to go to doctor, who probably is going to tell me to soak it or something. What say you?

I did the same thing on a mandolin last year. I couldn't get the bleeding to stop. I went to the local doc-in-a-box, and they cauterized it. No novocain. Pain beyond description.

My wound healed like that, too, but no puss. It looked like a crater as it healed. To my surprise, I can't see any sign of it, today.

You need to get a tentus shot, if you haven't had one in the last five years.

As for other infections, I would play it safe, and see a doctor.

CD

 

[Steve Kroll]

Charlie, I'm kind of like you. I'm a big baby tough dude. I don't like going to doctors, either.

If it were me, I'd put Neosporin and a band-aid on it. Maybe some alcohol on the cut. Maybe some alcohol for me.

All kidding aside, if it's red and "angry" looking, just go to the doctor. That's what insurance is for. If he tells you to soak it... well, that's a cheap fix.

 

[Caslon]

Howard Carter opened King Tuts tomb. Months later he nicked himself shaving, and died from it. Just saying, don't allow it to fester.