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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.

Step 2: Severely Cut Yourself

My method of choice was somehow drilling into my thumb from 8 inches away.

Step 3: Be Slightly Frightened

Being surprised after injuring one's self is a normal reaction. Just don't lose it too much.

Step 4: Apply Pressure

Hold a bandage against the wound and apply pressure until the bleeding stops.

Step 5: Find the First Aid Kit

Find the meager supply of first aid that has been pillaged over the years by other college students.

Step 6: Clean the Wound

Find a friend that doesn't mind inflicting even more pain on you to pour hydrogen peroxide on the wound.

Step 7: Call the Hospital

See how long the wait at the emergency room is.

Mine would have been four hours, so I decided to tough it out on my own.

Step 8: For the Next Part You Will Need:

Neosporin
Advil
Butterfly bandages
Large bandages
Gauze

and a massive gash.

Step 9: Apply the Butterfly Bandages

Pull the wound closed with as many butterfly stitches as needed.

Step 10: Disinfect

To stave off infection, apply a generous amount of neosporin.

Step 11: Wrap It Up

Wrap gauze around the wound.

Step 12: Hold Gauze on With Tape

Wrap the stretchy tape around the gauze to keep it in place.

Step 13: Take Painkillers, Cus It's Gonna Hurt

In a few minutes the throbbing may set in, and then you will have wished that you would have taken painkillers fifteen minutes sooner.

Step 14: Verbally Abuse the Instrument of Your Demise

Celebrate being in one piece again by getting mad at the thing that put you in this situation in the first place.
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Man I needed to find this years ago!
All that fuss! bog roll and gaffer tape is where its at.
I was going to say the same thing, only I was going to say it in American: Toilet paper and duct tape. <br> <br>Same idea, though :)
&nbsp;PS<br /> <br /> iodine (I) is toxic. unrecommended.<br />
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 :-)
My Late Mother used to close wounds with Super Glue because she was allergic to the adhesive in Band Aids.
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.
Yeah, really don't do that again, super glue has some really nasty stuff in it...
Super Glue was originally made to close up wounds in WWII. So it is not uncommon to do.
Oh, then I guess super glue is okay it it touches skin...
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.
Hydrogen peroxide is not good for wounds. It will burn and ripped skin and kill it for sure. Iodine is what you needed.
interesting how it looks like you are going to stab yourself again with the instrument of your demise on the last picture :)
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. ;-)
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
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...
Haha, Very funny but also informative ! Good pictures too !
use superglue and butterfly bandages. minimize your scar and heal faster
You should make one for wounds on your head. Like a band saw blade breaks and gives you a nick to the'ol noggin.
You can also do what i do and just rinse it with water and walk it off. This isn't recommended though.
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
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,
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
you should have used a fake wound instructable to demonstrate this. imagine if you get hurt following that instructable though... then what.
Did you really deliberately cut your self just to make this instructable? Anyhow, this is a great instructable!
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 <a rel="nofollow" href="http://jhgdesign.blogspot.com/2009/03/lemonade-from-lemons.html#links">my blog.</a><br/>
Sorry, I did not mean to insult you...
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.
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.
Like the wooden pickle on "Bad Santa"
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.
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.
Another possibility, if this were planned:<br/><a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Theater-Effects%3a-Lacerations/">https://www.instructables.com/id/Theater-Effects%3a-Lacerations/</a><br/>
XD This made me laugh! 5 stars and faved.
that's reassuring
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.
Certified Hand Therapist? They have therapy for everything!
I hope they have therapy for instructables addiction...
I hope NOT ;-)
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.
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.
loved the Instructable I used this today after reading this i went to work and one of my students cut them selves with a box cutter
Dude thanks for the instructable. Will come in handy. Now I need to buy butter fly band aid and neosporin
Man, I needed this instructable last week. I almost cut the tip of my finger off at work, luckily my finger nail stopped the knife from going all the way through. But look at the bright side, I didn't lose an eye!
If its really bad elevating it above your heart is also a very smart thing to do.
This reminds me when I got a shop wound, on the face. It wasn't painful it just bled a lot.
the picture are such flawlessly placed it's almost as if you planned to hurt yourself
Dang! I just cut my pinkie to the bone on a razor blade while I was grabbing a broom. It bled a lot, with every heart beat there was a big splurt. How'd yours go? Awesome ible!
always make sure to clean up all the blood, it'll make the machines rust :P

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