Chances are you ended up on this page because you had your own fingertip severed and you are unsure how to care for it. True, there are a lot of wound care articles and videos on the interwebs, but all of them depict a wound that is flat. How do you properly care for a wound that is cylinder-shaped? How do you clean it without causing more damage? How do you spread neosporin on top of it? How do you keep the bandages in place? In this post, I will tell you exactly how I did it.
Good news - you do not need a ton of supplies or expensive supplies. All you need is some gauze, neosporin, tape, bandage, and tubular netting. Bad news - it is going to look worse before it starts getting better and you will freak out a few times like I did, if only in disgust.
Mise en place - lay out all your supplies, cut the gauze, prepare a new length of bandage, etc.
Wash your hands.
Fill the sink with warm clear tap water.
Unwrap your fingertip. If the gauze/dressing is stuck to the flesh underneath, dab it with a little bit of water and carefully peel away. Discard old gauze and dressing, anything that is stained with blood, worn out, etc.
Examine the wound for signs of infection. If it is infected, go to your doctor or urgent care immediately after step 15.
Rinse the finger in the sinkful of water. Swish it around some, soak for a few seconds to let the exudate dissolve a little.
Dampen a square of gauze with water and wipe off exudate and/or dead cells from the skin on the sides of the finger around the wound.
Get another piece of dry gauze and very lightly and gently dab water and any exudate from the top of the wound itself. Do not rub! It should be tender, especially the first few days, but not super painful.
Take a picture.
Squeeze a shitload of neosporin onto another square of dry gauze. Spread it over an area large enough to cover the top of the fingertip or even a little larger.
Place the gauze neosporin side down onto the wound. Do not press down.
Holding in place the ends of the gauze with the rest of the fingers on the injured hand, start wrapping the bandage around the finger with the other hand. Start from the top and angle it as you tighten it towards the bottom of the finger. Make sure the gauze stays squarely on top of the wound and does not slide off on either side.
Secure the end of the bandage with a tiny piece of tape.
Place another square of dry gauze over the top of the fingertip. Double layering will prevent the exudate (and blood) from soaking all the way through and freaking people out.
Secure the whole contraption with the tubular netting. The netting will help the top piece of gauze stay in place. The bottom gauze should still be touching the wound, but the whole contraption should be tight enough to remain in place for the next 24 hours, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation to the wound.
Other random tips:
You have to change the bandages every single day for about 4 weeks, depending on how much got cut off.
Clean the area where you perform your wound care frequently to prevent infection.
The gauze comes in a large size, so I cut it into 4 squares about 1 inch X 1 inch. That seems to fit great over a fingertip.
I bought an antibacterial gauze. It has a finer weave, so it is easy to apply neosporin onto and it does not get lost within the threads.
I am a huge proponent of genetics - they have to meet the same regulatory standards and usually have the same ingredients as the brand name products at a much lower price. I used a dollar tree neosporin and a walmart gauze. Frugality is a virtue. In theory, you can even use vaseline instead of the antibiotic cream.
You do not need to wrap the entire length of the finger. Just make sure the top is sufficiently covered. I tried to stay above the second knuckle to ensure that I am still able to use/bend it, so it does not grow stiff from immobility.
Avoid water as much as possible. I only washed dishes once a day. I put off other major cleaning tasks (like washing floors or scrubbing the tub) for over a month. I used alcohol wipes to clean my hands around the bandaged finger (times of COVID ‘n all).
When you do have to deal with water, protect the bandages as much as possible - if it does get wet you have to repeat the steps for a dry one. For example, to take showers I cut off a finger of a glove and secured it over the finger itself, then also put a plastic bag over the entire hand held with rubber bands.
Let me know if I forgot to cover something in the comments below.
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