How to dress a shop wound

Accidentally slice your hand open while working on an instructables project? No worries, here's an other instructable to patch you back up.

This is an account of my road to recovery after cutting myself while working on my victorian lamp instructable.

Photographs by Kiki Brown

Step 1 Start by working on an instructables project

Believe it or not, the exacto knife isn't how I injured myself.

Comments

[AT4]

(removed by author or community request)

[AT4]

 PS

iodine (I) is toxic. unrecommended.

[wobblestar]

I use superglue to stitch myself! Push the wound edges together, then put a series of small drops at intervals of about 5mm across the wound (not a continuous run, and not IN the wound). FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT a recommendation. DON'T DO THIS :-)

[thepelton]

My Late Mother used to close wounds with Super Glue because she was allergic to the adhesive in Band Aids.

[thepelton]

I might use Super Glue if it was bleeding badly, and couldn't find another more traditional thing to stanch the blood. From what I recall about what I had learned from a long ago first aid class, stopping the flow of blood is paramount. Worrying about such things as cleanliness or possible interactions is secondary.

[Plasmana]

Yeah, really don't do that again, super glue has some really nasty stuff in it...

[Fildain]

Super Glue was originally made to close up wounds in WWII. So it is not uncommon to do.

[Plasmana]

Oh, then I guess super glue is okay it it touches skin...

[wobblestar]

Wasn't designed for this purpose, but was used for wounds first in the Vietnam war. Medical superglue is slightly different to store-bought superglue. I picked up how to stitch wounds with superglue from an emergency room medic in the UK (via CIX ... anyone here know/remember CIX?) I now keep a tube in the first aid kit. I've repaired a few major cuts (which would have been stitched if I went to a medic) successfully. I'm still on the planet ... and alive.

[adome]

Hydrogen peroxide is not good for wounds. It will burn and ripped skin and kill it for sure. Iodine is what you needed.

[DaNerd11]

interesting how it looks like you are going to stab yourself again with the instrument of your demise on the last picture :)

[paganwonder]

Stitching yourself or your buddy up is always fun. Watch for signs of infection - swelling, redness, heat, purulant(pus) drainage- left untreated you could end up having parts of yourself surgically removed. Please seek medical attention for puncture wounds- gangrene bites! Once the bleeding stops, an urgent care clinic is a much better option than the ER. Just a couple thoughts from a very experienced Registered Nurse. ;-)

[fidgety2]

wow this is very helpful I had a very similar incident to yours jhglessons only the drillbit actually snapped on me and almost cut my finger off the local doctor took me over 2 other people who had been waiting for 2 hours ;) I needed rehabilitation and surgery

[merryleg]

I'm not alone in shop mishaps! But, while a fun instruction, I'd recommend not using hydrogen peroxide... irrigate the wound with water to wash out debris. (Hydrogen peroxide can cause cell damage and make healing time longer). An antibacterial ointment is a good thing to do...

[Cabe]

All that fuss! bog roll and gaffer tape is where its at.

[=SMART=]

Haha, Very funny but also informative ! Good pictures too !

[lanceroni_123]

use superglue and butterfly bandages. minimize your scar and heal faster

[daedric]

You should make one for wounds on your head. Like a band saw blade breaks and gives you a nick to the'ol noggin.

[musick_08]

You can also do what i do and just rinse it with water and walk it off. This isn't recommended though.

[darkmuskrat]

This is pretty good; I ended up cutting my finger really deep with an exact-o-blade while building a birdhouse (damn those bird houses!) and after riding my bike home (yes, i was 5 minutes away from my house :P ) I put on some alcohol, neosporin, and a good old spiderman band-aid (still the best for my carpentry needs) and It was alllll gooood, I still curse that knife till this day though :P

[2nup350]

ever notice that when you REALLY hurt yourself 1.there is about a minute where you are just holding the thing shut and hoping it won't really be lopped off 2.and during that time when you have yet to look at it and determine whether you need to see a doctor or not it doesn't hurt? I cut my finger off once and it never did hurt (even during surgery) till the next day and without meds,

[raykholo]

this also happens alot in the electronics fields as well. Eventually you just figure out to keep a small supply of alcohol swabs and liquid bandage (small bottle...) nearby

[Shut Up Now]

you should have used a fake wound instructable to demonstrate this. imagine if you get hurt following that instructable though... then what.

[Plasmana]

Did you really deliberately cut your self just to make this instructable? Anyhow, this is a great instructable!

[JHGLessons]

NO, I did not deliberately cut myself. I was working on an instructable for another project, so I had the camera and the photographer ready. If you want to read a little more about it, visit my blog.

[Plasmana]

Sorry, I did not mean to insult you...

[JHGLessons]

I wasn't insulted. I just wanted to be clear that this instructable was made with the best of intentions, and that I'm not into chopping myself up for fun. Thanks for your comments.

[domestic_engineer]

This reminds me of when I put a screw bit through my thumbnail. I like to mount the bloody evil tools on the wall as a reminder not to do that again, and as a badge of honor. It's not built with love if it doesn't have just a little blood on it.

[Swishercutter]

Like the wooden pickle on "Bad Santa"

[Fildain]

A word of advice. On deep wounds don't use Neosporin. It is for surface cuts. You can use it, it will just start healing too fast too deep, and you will get more scarring. Unless that is what you are going for.

[piratedesign]

I concur this was totally planned out. I was there. This guy was crazy enough to put a drill in to his hand to get posted on a website.

[robotguy4]

Another possibility, if this were planned:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Theater-Effects%3a-Lacerations/

[Lithium Rain]

XD This made me laugh! 5 stars and faved.

[PaulGillSP]

that's reassuring

[mreith]

Good and very bad. Good description of how to dress a wound. Bad suggestion to avoid medical intervention. The wound described might have severed the Extensor Pollicis Longus tendon. I speak as Certified Hand Therapist with 27 years of experience. I think it wise to avoid the emergency rooms--they are a horrible outcome. I would say dress you wound as you did and seek an appointment with a hand surgeon (orthopaedic or plastic) within one week. This allows you to avoid the bad care of the ER, deal with the wound, and access someone who can determine if there are deeper issues such as tendon or nerve lacerations that should be repaired. If you life in an area with nobody who is advertised as a hand surgeon, seek out an orthopaedic or plastic surgeon as soon as possible. Self-care via Instructables is cost effective, but MRSA or VRSA infections or unrepaired tendons or nerves can cost you a permanent disability of the hand. I strongly support the advice given in the instructable on how to clean and dress the wound. These are "right on". I only add that you should follow up with a hand surgeon for evaluation as soon as possible.

[bumpus]

Certified Hand Therapist? They have therapy for everything!

[I_am_Canadian]

I hope they have therapy for instructables addiction...

[Abhorsen]

I hope NOT ;-)

[The Drode]

DUDE A FEW THINGS ! A. sry abt the caps B. sorry about the shortened text based speak. C. Picture 13 was freaking awesome. D. Step 14 can be done at any moment....or throughout the entire process. E. Thanks you for putting this up....this happens to me often.

[awang8]

A response to D. If you're busy healing yourself then you wouldn't have time to abuse the tool. And they say safety first. I would rather give myself treatment first. Sorry for being a party pooper, but there are some things which require a bit of attention.