dumb question...when should you go get stiches?9update..on way to hospital

[Maurice Metzger]

Folks, do yourself a favor - call 911 when something like this happens. You'll get a fast trip to the ER with someone else driving very fast and an IV to keep your blood pressure up.

- Maurice

[andy Needles]

How are you typing? I'd hate to see your key board I hamburgered the end of my thumb w/ a bandsaw once. We humans cut like butter!

[Jim Bell]

Try super glue. The good news is bled plenty. Wash it clean then aplly the c/a. It will hurt some but it's cheap. Surgeons use the stuff so wht not "do it yourself".
Jim

[Julio Navarro]

I agree Tyler, taking the kids might not be a good idea. Maybe waking a neighbor and letting them know you are going to the hospital would be a good idea.

BTW, is it me only or does anyone else think your banner looks like a thong? (not criticizing, just an observation)

[Tyler Howell]

3 stiches..deeeep cut. now ordering that carving glove made of metal and kevlar that woodcraft sells

Ninja Tape
Glad we got that fixed. Speedy recovery

well i am out of commission fo a while. The location is such that I cant turn on the lathe and now my left hand i useless since i cant move my finger for a few days per doc orders.

I also cant cut the grass, train on my bike due to sweat or work in the garden...guess its beer and basketball time...

You planned all this didn't Rob???

[Kevin Halliburton]

Folks, do yourself a favor - call 911 when something like this happens. You'll get a fast trip to the ER with someone else driving very fast and an IV to keep your blood pressure up.

- Maurice

Yikes - and a bill to keep it there for a while! I sprayed meat out a dust chute once. If I hadn't had someone handy to drive me to the emergency room, 911 was a no brainer on that occasion. If I've got a cut that I have to debate stitches on though, I go for my peroxide and my tube of "stupid glue" first. I'll follow up with a trip to the family doc for a tetanus shot if it's been a while.

I'm all for doing the smart thing as quickly as possible after doing something stupid, but if I had an ambulance trip bill for every scary puddle of blood I've spilled I'd have died of a shock induced heart attack at the mail box long ago.

[Maurice Metzger]

Oh, so it's cheapness keeping you from doing the right thing ? Good to know you're out there sharing the road, blood pulsing out onto the windshield, head nodding from blood loss...

Seriously though, if you don't have health insurance, you should be able to get the bill waived, or at least that's the case where I live. It's great that you won't call 911 for a minor cut, there are many people that treat it like a taxi service.

- Maurice

[Tom Jones III]

I was interested in this thread because 2 weeks ago I busted my coconut when my father kicked over a piece of wood just when I bent down to look at it. The cut was minor, but it was on the top of my head, so it bled like a stuck pig. My first thought was someone is getting blood all over my future salad bowl, stop that. My second thought is, hey that looks like my blood. When I straightened up, I looked like I just stepped out of a horror movie, my face was covered and blood was dripping off my chin. I covered it with my handkerchef to stop the bleeding and I thought everything was fine. Unfortunately both LOML and my mother (SWMBO Major) saw me before I could get cleaned up. Of course SWMBO minor and major were debating 911 or drive to the emergency room while I was debating if the bloody log was a keeper.

It was really just a scratch, just very dramatic looking since it was on the top of my head. Nothing useful up there anyway. From reading this thread, it looks like the only rule of thumb (maybe that is not the best expression for this thread) is go to the Dr. if it does not stop bleeding in 15 minutes. Any other ideas?

I told LOML that if she could sew curtains then she could sew me up, but she looked like she would be sick so I dropped that idea.

[Bob Nieman]

I tried to shorten my thumb with a 1/2" chisel a couple weeks ago. My thumbnail stopped the chisel from going all the way through. There wasn't any thought besides getting to the ER. If I had used a bigger chisel I would have taken the tip all the way off. The problem was I asked my son to call LOML who was at work. He didn't have sufficient detail, so he elaborated and it became cutting my hand severely with the table saw (one of her greatest fears). A few steri-strips, superglue and a giant blue wrapping and I was sent home with one mighty sore thumb.
Fast forward to last weekend (also a Sunday afternoon). Despite my best efforts, that same chisel homed in on my left hand and cut a deep groove between my thumb and pointer finger. Lots of blood and a visibly gaping wound--again, no decision to be made. I did stop by to tell my wife what was going on and she drove me to the hospital. First words out of my mouth: "Not Again!" (another Sunday afternoon ruined). This time 4 stitches and a hand sized blue wrapping. Did I ever hear about it Monday! (my wife wasn't too happy either)

Now, I have to promise to get a carving glove. I have seen some that are puncture resistant and others that are cut resisitant--is there a preferred type of glove I should look for?

(for the record I was removing dried glue the first time and removing wood so I could remove a buried nail the second time). I will use my scraper for the glue from now on.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Bob, glad to see you got patched up, but you might want to look into some of those Nerf chisels.

- Vaughn

[Corvin Alstot]

3 stiches..deeeep cut. Doc said definitely needed stiches.might have nick or cut the nerve since i couldnt feel the finger tip.
...now ordering that carving glove made of metal and kevlar that woodcraft sells

Rob - If you have to ask . . . then its time to go see the doctor.

Could have been worse. Glad your on the mend.

[Chris Barton]

There is a lot more to making this decission than the depth and length of a cut. It is true that CA glues found an early application as skin closures but, for anything more than a nick on your hand, it is not a good choice. Also, the CA glues used in medicine are very different than what we use for woodworking. Fingers move and the tissue on your finger act like compression fittings when your fingers are clinched. If it is a finger and you can see more than 3 mm deep you should see a pro (MD, DO, CNP, PA). Another reason you want to do this is because your fingers can easily become infected at the wound site if not properly cleaned with the kind of disinfectants only available to pros. A last reason to see a pro is tetanus. While it is exceedingly rare these days in developed countries, it can happen and can be fatal. Deep wounds also need to be evaluated for damage to tendons and blood vessels. You don't want to glue something on that will only fall off 4-5 days later because of poor circulation.

[Rob Bourgeois]

Stiches have been out for a while..dont see why this got bumped...

I have complete useage of the finger, it is still raw and tender in the area. It is also numb in the area..cant use it to thread nuts on bolts since their isnt much feeling. That will improve according to the doc. Hurts like heck if you hit it or put alot of pressure on it, like trying to un screw a faceplate and bowl off the lathe.

The cut only took 3 stiches, I needed to keep it straight without flexing for 3 weeks. And it was stiff and tight for another week after...

I put away the carving tools and went back to other stuff...carving can wait till I get the gloves in May( woodcraft B-day discount).

[Frank Fusco]

While you are correct about how/why super glue was first developed, it is debatable whether one should self administer for injuries. My son, an ER doctor, says that the danger of sealing in bacteria is worse than the injury might be in many cases. He advocates just pressure until it stops bleeding and/or going to a doctor for proper cleaning and stitches.
Frank

Super Glue - No kidding, that's what it was initially designed for. If the cut is one of those maybe/maybe not, type cuts I clean it well, seal it with glue and hold pressure on it for a minute or two. I have had a few deep cuts that I backed up the glue with butterfly bandaids for good measure, but I've yet to have a cut in that category that super glue didn't take care of.

That's not to say I've never had stitches or staples mind you, just that on the occasions where I had to be buttoned back up it was pretty darn obvious I didn't have a choice.