View Full Version : how to help heal a wound (graphic pics)
Bill Bryant
01-31-10, 21:37
New Year's eve I severed the end of my left pinky.
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w36/ttkt57/IMG_1996.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w36/ttkt57/IMG_1994.jpg
It was a small wound as wounds go, but its location made for some of the most excruciating pain imaginable. Think finger held in hot coals and electric socket at the same time (the doc said a bone fragment was pushing against the "live" nerve that picks up all the "signals" from under the fingernail).
Anyway, as a music teacher who makes a living with that finger--teaching daily with piano, sax, clarinet, flute, etc.--I'm eager to help minimize scarring and maximize sensation and toughness. As it looks now, with all the skin of the tip sloughed off and most of it numb, I have no idea whether I'll ever get a finger print back, or enough tissue integrity to ever really pound with that finger tip again. (I'm grateful it could be stitched back together nicely, though, and that only about 1/8 inch of bone and tissue is gone.)
I'd appreciate thoughts from anybody who knows about how to maximize tissue integrity and sensation after an injury like this. I don't care what it looks like. I'm just hoping to get back as much function as possible.
Bill Bryant
01-31-10, 21:50
The pics above were taken at five days. This one was taken at 26 days. It's been 31 days now and the blackened skin on the tip has completely sloughed off leaving smooth, numb skin behind (no fingerprint, no feeling, but attached and alive). I'll post pics of the new look soon.
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w36/ttkt57/IMG_2207.jpg
These are questions you ask your physician about; not a firearms forum.
Bill Bryant
01-31-10, 22:15
Volucris, it is likely that there are people on a forum like this with more experience in wound care than my doctor has. And it may well be that the topic would be of interest to them. I'm certainly interested in their take on it, even if it's different from what I'd hear elsewhere.
If this is a topic you aren't interested in, or capable of making a contribution to, I'd suggest you go to another thread rather than lecture me.
LockenLoad
01-31-10, 23:12
no medical schooling but looks like, the tip is dead, u need to see a Doc, I have seen similar skin coloration from severe frost bite. Good luck, you may lose a little of the tip.
Sounds like your injury is well into the healing stage. You will have to consult with your Doc to see if there is anything that they can do to increase sensation. I'm no doctor but I would guess that your finger is healed now and you will need additional surgery to regain sensation.
These are questions you ask your physician about; not a firearms forum.
Dr.s do not know it all and on a forum like this with people who have seen and suffered wounds that many Dr.s have only read about there is a possibility that some one does know something. Killing the OP's thread with a comment like that is not appreciated. Obviously he is seeing a Dr.
Back on topic I have been told by a herpetology friend in Botswana (who unfortunately is dead... not from snake bite) that when the tip of his finger was bitten by an Egyptian Cobra and became gangrenous that he was given some new and experimental drug that saved his finger and the feeling in it. Unfortunately I do not know what it was. You also might talk with a Dr. that specializes in HGH (Human Growth Hormone) which might dramatically increase the healing in the finger.
Praying for your finger:)
parishioner
01-31-10, 23:40
I experienced a similar situation with my right pinky. When I was in Junior High, my friends and I decided in our infinite wisdom it would be really cool to disassemble a shotgun shell and set off the primer. I was to hold an ice pick directly on to the primer on the ground while my friend would strike the top of the ice pick(they weren't lying to us when they told us the frontal lobe of our brain is not fully developed at this age). Down goes the hammer, boom goes the primer. Tip of ice pick meet pinky finger.
The aftermath consisted of blood and a nice hole in my pinky. If you have seen the movie alien, imagine the scene when the alien comes out of the guy's chest but on my pinky. It took a while to heal and didn't have feeling for a while. As, for the fingerprint, if you have ever classified fingerprints you know about the different types. I now have a scar that takes up most of the surface of the pinky and at the bottom of the scar I have two whorls that were not there before. Its a little strange.
Anyway, not a doctor but am in nursing school if that means anything to you. I know there are actual nurses here too. I don't know too much about this other than the fact that you should try to keep your pinky clean and covered since the necrotic tissue has just fallen off. You have an increased chance for infection due to the compromised skin integrity. If you have granulated tissue underneath, that is good. Not really earth shattering information.
Hope it heals quickly.
Bill Bryant
01-31-10, 23:49
What is granulated tissue?
What is granulated tissue?
What it sounds like. I am not a medical person but the new tissue you see coming in a wound. Kind of granulated looking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granulation_tissue
did you try taking the stitches out yourself?
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 07:42
did you try taking the stitches out yourself?No. I had the stitches taken out at the hospital, by a doctor.
citizensoldier16
02-01-10, 08:44
Almost looks like the beginnings of tissue necrosis...which leads to gangrene. Not sure, but my 7 years as a paramedic tells me to advise you to have it looked at ASAP.
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 09:55
Almost looks like the beginnings of tissue necrosis...which leads to gangrene. Not sure, but my 7 years as a paramedic tells me to advise you to have it looked at ASAP.The dead skin has sloughed off now revealing fully alive, but numb skin. No infection at all. I'll post new pics as soon as I can.
Look, you really need to go to a doctor about this. Necrotic tissue can as said before and often will lead to a nasty infection that could result in more than just a fingertip at jeopardy. You're only hurting yourself by not having this looked at in person by a real doctor.
Look, you really need to go to a doctor about this. Necrotic tissue can as said before and often will lead to a nasty infection that could result in more than just a fingertip at jeopardy. You're only hurting yourself by not having this looked at in person by a real doctor.
I don't think there is any indication that a doctor is not treating this.
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 14:48
Look, you really need to go to a doctor about this. Necrotic tissue can as said before and often will lead to a nasty infection that could result in more than just a fingertip at jeopardy. You're only hurting yourself by not having this looked at in person by a real doctor.
Volucris, first of all, stop being one person out here on the public threads and another in private messages.
Second, I never said I wasn't under a doctor's care.
The last picture is NOT what the finger looks like today. Again, all, or almost all, of the dead tissue has sloughed off, and there is no, I repeat, no hint of infection. Never was.
If you're up for it, and there's one in your area, try talking to a naturopath. I broke my right wrist in an accident several years ago - compound fracture, hand facing the wrong way and a portion of bone pulverized. I have nearly full mobility in that wrist today and I am convinced it is in part due to the supplements that were given to me by my naturopath, one of which was some kind of an enzyme that aids the body in ridding itself of the excess blood from bruising and helps minimize scar tissue.
Kentucky Cop
02-01-10, 15:26
I am no doctor but I love it! Lets see a progress picture Bill. I hope all is well and you have it figured out. No less, we need a "Trauma" thread on how to treat wounds (along with the doctors help as you are). There is no telling how many ex medics and military folks on here that deal with stuff like this in less than desirable conditions. We have forums on gear, rifles, survival, fitness etc. I would love to see one on this stuff!
Thanks for sharing!
I slipped with a stanley knife before Christmas and almost took the top of the finger next to my pinky off. All healed and slowly starting to get the feeling back
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 19:18
Here's my finger today, day 32.
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w36/ttkt57/IMG_2223.jpg
citizensoldier16
02-01-10, 19:21
The dead skin has sloughed off now revealing fully alive, but numb skin. No infection at all. I'll post new pics as soon as I can.
Ahh! That's a good sign! If the blackened skin I saw in your last picture has sloughed off, then you're on the right track. Does your MD have you on any antibiotics just to be on the safe side? Also, one additional thought...is your tetanus booster up to date and/or did you receive one when you sought medical care?
I'm interested in seeing the progress pictures, and I'm glad it's getting better. Keep us posted.
EDIT: You must have JUST posted that last photo. It's looking good. The outer skin will heal in time as the layers build up. Skin grows from the inside out, so you're definitely on the right track. Looks like your MD did a good job on the sutures!
So, how'd you do that anyway?
MSP "Sarge"
02-01-10, 19:55
Hey man how did you do that to yourself?
Alpha Sierra
02-01-10, 20:07
never mind
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 20:33
You know the youtube of the the cop who shoots himself in the leg in front of the firearms safety class?
He's an Einstein compared to me.
I was adjusting a commercial coffee grinder with its safety mechanism disabled.
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 20:35
Ahh! That's a good sign! If the blackened skin I saw in your last picture has sloughed off, then you're on the right track. Does your MD have you on any antibiotics just to be on the safe side? Also, one additional thought...is your tetanus booster up to date and/or did you receive one when you sought medical care?
I'm interested in seeing the progress pictures, and I'm glad it's getting better. Keep us posted.
EDIT: You must have JUST posted that last photo. It's looking good. The outer skin will heal in time as the layers build up. Skin grows from the inside out, so you're definitely on the right track. Looks like your MD did a good job on the sutures!I got a tetanus booster the night it happened, and I've done two complete rounds of antibiotics.
You know the youtube of the the cop who shoots himself in the leg in front of the firearms safety class?
He's an Einstein compared to me.
I was adjusting a commercial coffee grinder with its safety mechanism disabled.
Well, hell, that was kind of... um..., not a fascinating story.
We'll call that the "What really happened story."
The official story should be something like, "Well, I was trying to adjust the spacing on inset manly sounding equipment - not a coffee grinder and as I was hanging upside down over a drop of 30 feet into inset something gruesome...
Well, you get the idea.
Where are you in the Black Hills?
Bill Bryant
02-01-10, 23:06
Well, hell, that was kind of... um..., not a fascinating story.
We'll call that the "What really happened story."
The official story should be something like, "Well, I was trying to adjust the spacing on inset manly sounding equipment - not a coffee grinder and as I was hanging upside down over a drop of 30 feet into inset something gruesome...
Well, you get the idea.How about if Blofeld had me hung over a crocodile tank and the coffee grinder was his way of making 007 into 006.9?
Bill Bryant
02-02-10, 14:44
Where are you in the Black Hills?
Near 44° 1' N -103° 14' W
Low Level Laser Therapy aka LLLT
There's usually someone in most cities that can perform this for a small fee.
In short, LLLT speeds up wound healing.
BB- Glad to see you're healing well. However, I'm pretty sure that's a pecker growing out of the end of your finger.:D
Bill Bryant
02-02-10, 17:57
BB- Glad to see you're healing well. However, I'm pretty sure that's a pecker growing out of the end of your finger.:DI wouldn't be so quick to tell the forum that something the size of a pinky finger reminds you of your private member. :D
In the immortal words of Eddie Murphy, "Very funny mother fu****!":p It's not the size, but the ring that looks like the beginning of the head. Damn; we're talking about a dick. I'm going to look at some tits.
Bill Bryant
02-02-10, 18:07
In the immortal words of Eddie Murphy, "Very funny mother fu****!":p It's not the size, but the ring that looks like the beginning of the head. Damn; we're talking about a dick. I'm going to look at some tits.We've got to shut this down before I hyperventilate. :p:p
In the immortal words of Eddie Murphy, "Very funny mother fu****!":p It's not the size, but the ring that looks like the beginning of the head. Damn; we're talking about a dick. I'm going to look at some tits.
You mean like freshly circumcised?
‘Cuz that ain’t what a fresh circumcision looks like; especially a 38 year old one.
I don’t want to talk about that no more; flashbacks.
Near 44° 1' N -103° 14' W
Very cool.
I have given thought to looking at relocating to Sioux Falls; I hear tell that it is actually a fairly nice place.
Not Black Hills I know, but...
Bill Bryant
02-02-10, 18:36
Some threads die slowly. Some self-destruct in a blinding flash of nuclear plasma.
Couldn't have said it better.
Razorhunter
02-02-10, 21:30
In regards to the disrespectful member who questioned Bill Bryant for inquiring about this on a firearms forum, well, as was stated, there is certainly NOTHING wrong with asking these questions on this forum.
In fact, I have received some of THE ABSOLUTE VERY BEST INFO I have EVER received in my life, on forums like this.
MANY MANY doctors in this world just plain SUCK, and I can prove it.
Sure, there are good ones, but there are MANY bad ones.
Bill Bryant,
This is probably info you already know, but I'll mention it anyway:
About 3 years back, I had a very similar injury on my finger such as this, and I also had another bad cut on my kneecap, which also involved nerve endings, and the loss of sensation as well.
I couldn't feel my kneecap or my fingertip, and after a year or two of thinking the sensation was totally gone, it finally came back over time.
To this day, I have closely monitored these areas, and sensation continues to grow, slowly but surely.
My simple point being is that if sensation is going to come back, many times it is just a matter of allowing enough time pass.
At least it was your pinkie and not another more important finger! (or is the pinkie an uber important finger in the musical instrument world?) LOL.
Bill Bryant
02-02-10, 21:54
In regards to the disrespectful member who questioned Bill Bryant for inquiring about this on a firearms forum, well, as was stated, there is certainly NOTHING wrong with asking these questions on this forum.
Don't worry about the earlier disrespectful poster. He'll soon tire of this forum (or get banned like happens elsewhere to him) and go back to his gaming and paintball.
Is the pinkie an uber important finger in the musical instrument world?
Most standard piano music assumes all ten fingers and is impossible without each one of them.
Sax, clarinet and flute are also impossible to play normally without all ten fingers.
Brass instruments are possible with several fingers missing provided they aren't the essential three.
Guitar is a serious challenge with a numb pinky, but this can be overcome if you're willing to develop new ways of doing all the chords.
Bill Bryant
02-12-10, 09:33
UPDATE AT SIX WEEKS:
Last night it was six weeks since I chopped the finger.
Things to be grateful for:
There was never any infection.
The finger is only about 1/8 inch shorter.
The part stitched back on "took."
The nail bed is producing a normal nail.
Things to be frustrated about:
One part of the tip is very sensitive; if I bang it it REALLY hurts.
One part of the tip is totally without sensation; if I scrape it I feel nothing.
I can't play sax or piano.
I can't grip anything without pain.
All told, I'm mostly grateful, but my patience is running out about the numbness. The saxophone skills are dribbling away. Six weeks away from my instuments is making this music teacher crazy.
An Undocumented Worker
02-12-10, 09:45
If you can play the sax without pain, then just do it. Damn the numbness, that will soon be forgotten anyway.
Bill Bryant
02-12-10, 09:51
If you can play the sax without pain, then just do it. Damn the numbness, that will soon be forgotten anyway.Unfortunately, it really hurts to use the finger for sax. You're right about the numbness. When the pain goes away, I'm forging ahead with merely odd, but not painful, new--or non--sensations.
Damn Bill... its hard not to hate you and to have any sympathy at all for someone who can play so many instruments;) I've been trying to play the guitar for years and all I've got to show for it are D,E,G,C,A cords and my C still buzzes:mad:
Do you think the pain is bone pain? Just wondering if you could inject your pinkie with cortisone or Lidocaine to hit the Sax & Piano...
Bill Bryant
02-12-10, 14:50
Damn Bill... its hard not to hate you and to have any sympathy at all for someone who can play so many instruments;) I've been trying to play the guitar for years and all I've got to show for it are D,E,G,C,A cords and my C still buzzes:mad:
Do you think the pain is bone pain? Just wondering if you could inject your pinkie with cortisone or Lidocaine to hit the Sax & Piano...
I don't know where the pain is--probably bone, but I don't know.
Don't worry about not being able to play guitar. It's not like it's a real instument or anything. :D
I don't know where the pain is--probably bone, but I don't know.
Don't worry about not being able to play guitar. It's not like it's a real instument or anything. :D
The 3rd picture clearly shows healthy tissue, the 2nd picture was worrisome. While bones do have some innervation, I suspect your pain is neuropathic. After an injury like yours it takes the nerves a while to reconnect and talk properly (best case scenario). The human hand and fingers are highly innervated. A hand specialist may be able to give you a better time-line and prognosis.
Bill Bryant
02-12-10, 16:25
The human hand and fingers are highly innervated. Add something about finger tips and you'll get my nomination for the Understatement of the Year Award.
I had a bone taken out of my foot just behind the big toe. They actually went in and over from the inside of the foot. My stepmother is a nurse and she suggested getting vitamin E pills that have liquid inside. Cut the pill open and rub the liquid directly on the affected area. It works more directly on the area affected instead of spreading over the whole body. It certainly helped reduce the scar and brought back some feeling that I had lost. It will not fix everything but it worked to where the physical therapist and doctor were both surprised with my recovery.
Good luck with this, I understand your pain as I use to run a lot and cannot and never will be able to.
I don't know where the pain is--probably bone, but I don't know.
Don't worry about not being able to play guitar. It's not like it's a real instument or anything. :D
Careful now... you may be giving only Kazoo Lessons for the rest of your life:p
You might see if there is an injectable or balm that will temporarily allow you to atleast play with a numb pinkie. Maybe even DMSO... but be careful with that stuff its some weird stuff... don't get it in your mouth its not pleasant:(
Bill Bryant
02-12-10, 23:28
You might see if there is an injectable The word injectable used within ten light years of my pinky will get you hurt. Seriously, I absolutely cringe at the thought of a needle anywhere near my little finger for a long, long time. There is pain, and there is PAIN, and since I don't know exactly where the numb area becomes the sensitive area I would rather put another healthy finger in my coffee grinder than let someone poke a needle anywhere into my pinky at this point. I mean it. I can handle pain. But not that.
your growing a weness. just dont stick it in your mouth you know what thay will call you, lol
look like youl be fine
BARRY
Bill Bryant
02-13-10, 00:43
your growing a weness. just dont stick it in your mouth you know what thay will call you, lol
look like youl be fine
BARRYIf a "weness" is what I think it is, is it really a good idea to be telling a public forum that something the size of my little finger reminds you of yours? :p
I cut my palm and two fingers with a butcher knife, 50 stitches and about three hours in the ER. This was in 1975.
It took about ten years before I could pick something up without having to look at it, I got the electric "shocks" as the nerves mended, the ER doc said they would never mend, that was the current thinking then. Everything works like it should now
Be happy that it should heal, be unhappy about the amount of time it will take. YMMV
Littlelebowski
02-13-10, 07:56
Things to be frustrated about:
One part of the tip is very sensitive; if I bang it it REALLY hurts.
One part of the tip is totally without sensation; if I scrape it I feel nothing.
I can't play sax or piano.
I can't grip anything without pain.
All told, I'm mostly grateful, but my patience is running out about the numbness. The saxophone skills are dribbling away. Six weeks away from my instuments is making this music teacher crazy.
Give it time and eats lots of fresh vegetables and take B vitamins on top of your multi vitamins. I got shot above the right elbow and I lost all use of my right thumb for 2 months. I sat there and attempted to move it for hours and it gradually came back to me . I still have feelings of "electric shock" running through my heel of the hand through my pinkie. Touching something hot or cold with my pinkie generates pain.
You have to give it time. Recommend swimming/treading water. Nerve growth takes time.
This is me (http://pistol-training.com/articles/how-i-got-shot)
Bill Bryant
02-13-10, 09:51
I still have feelings of "electric shock" running through my heel of the hand through my pinkie. Touching something hot or cold with my pinkie generates pain.How long ago were you shot?
Littlelebowski
02-13-10, 10:02
Almost 3 years ago. However, my pinkie works now :D
Bill Bryant
02-13-10, 10:04
Almost 3 years ago. However, my pinkie works now :DWanna come teach my sixth grade band class?
Central nerves i.e. brain, spinal cord seldom if ever regenerate. Peripheral nerves do. Give it a year to grow in. It can't be fixed by any doctor. Warm water soaks will increase blood flow and aid in regeneration. Good luck.
Bill Bryant
02-18-10, 21:14
It's been seven weeks tonight, and the last scab fell off this afternoon. I still have a long way to go, but it could have been a lot worse.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.