AIBU to not go to A and E on Xmas Eve for this?

[ThatThingYouDo]

My daughter shut her finger in a door yesterday. The nail has turned black but the finger is warm and she can move it. Says it hurts a bit so has had calpol.

In two minds whether to take her to A and E.

Firstly I don't think it's an emergency, and especially with skeleton staff we could be taking up the time they could be using for actual emergencies.

Secondly (and probably selfishly) I don't want to spend Christmas Eve in A and E!

Anyone whose children have had similar injuries did the nail just fall off and grow again? I'm not actually sure what can be done anyway. Thanks!

These sorts of posts make me feel like such an awful parent sometimes. I removed DS's nail myself once when he'd manked it under a door. He did get a foot long jelly snake as a bribe though... And I did clean everything and bandage properly after.

I once took DD to a and e because I could see inside her chin and kept apologising because it was only a small cut (it was. Just deep). They looked at me like I was mental. Sort of makes sense now.

A&e isn’t for life threatening cases only .... it’s caused accident and emergency so accidents are allowed and it’s also we go for broken bones it does depend on whether you have a minor injury unit though.
We had to take daughter for a similar thing and the doctor said the pain would of been unbearable with out drainage over the course of the next day and was the right thing to do.
The whole this is how people with heart attack’s etc don’t get treated is not true
There is a system a priority list.

Also not everywhere has minor injury units - we don’t or an out of service GP

My son did this on Christmas day - and I took him to A&E on boxing day where he had it hot pinned and drained. It was very painful and swollen - they thought possibly broken, but it was OK. I would take her today if it starts to hurt more. He was fine for 12 hours, then the pain set it!

costa our minor injuries is brilliant. You just turn up like at A&E. It’s part of a local hospital with no A&E. They deal with all this sort of thing, up to broken ankles, deep cuts etc and , have an X-ray unit. If someone turns up with a head injury, heart attack etc (I have seeen someone walk in with a heart attack,) they call an ambulance and treat whilst waiting for it. It’s usually full of teenage boys with rugby injuries, older people who have fallen and tradesmen who’ve cut/ hammered/ broken a limb. Broken bones are always followed up at the main hospital in the next town a few days later but the immediate treatment is done here.

Just get a paper clip, straighten it out and heat it in the flame on the cooker. Hold hand steady and gently touch paper clip to the nail where the blood has collected. Paper lip will gently create a hole on the nail to release the blood. Pain is gone instantly. Nail will lift as healing occurs

This is what they did to me in A&E when I shut my thumb in the car door. Don’t underestimate how painful it is for her while there is pressure under the nail. Mine was agonising before treatment, and the pain went as soon as the pressure was released. The process isn’t quite as easy as it sounds, so you might need an experienced hand to do it if you’re squeamish.

It’s fine to go to A&E, chest pains etc take priority so her treatment won’t impact on them.

I wouldn't go to A&E for that. I tripped over my crutch in the Summer, my big toe nail was like that. It fell off a couple of weeks ago.

DS2 is a staff nurse in A&E, at the beginning of his night shift a few nights ago they had 27 ambulances waiting to offload patients because they had no where to put them. He said it's so, so busy atm.

@Furiousatlife25 yep ok I revise my previous statement. A&E is for life threatening OR life altering only. A broken bone is life altering in most cases, especially if untreated I guess. Glad your daughter was ok, but I guess on a normal Monday-Friday you would have been able to go to GP or minor inj unit etc thankfully. Thank god for the NHS and childrens’ A&E, eh? (Also just re-read this and it sounds sarcastic but it’s not meant to bed)

A&E stands for Accidents and Emergencies, ergo it is for Accidents and Emergencies, not just life threatening ones.

Although I probably wouldn't take your child there with the injury shown, I was there a few weeks ago. I was hit by a moped, and received a wound which needed 13 stitches. It was nasty, (TMI warning) it was so deep you could see the layers of fat. It was a Saturday evening, and I wasn't in my home town. I wasn't going to die or anything, I was a walking wounded, I was mobile and conscious. AFAIK there was no Minor Injuries. Was I supposed to travel from Brighton (where I was ) to London (where I live) and wait until Monday when I could see my GP?

I work for the NHS and have a healthy respect for it and did not, in my opinion, use it inappropriately on that occasion.

Why on earth would you subject your daughter to A & E on Christmas Eve for such a minor injury, and more importantly why would you think this everyday injury was as important as life threatening conditions such as heart attacks, stroke, car crash etc. Are you really that clueless or are you just bored at home, and this seemed like something you could start an AIBU thread on and get some attention. I'd say you need a grip, but I fear we are way beyond that.

NB I got a cab there, wouldn't dream of calling 999, which I think is for life threatening/immobile/unconscious/maybe about to give birth people.

I imagine the Accident in Accident and Emergency doesn't mean all accidents though? Although it does appear some take it that literally.

Slightly off topic, but My local hospital has a triage centre with 6 consulting rooms.

You present there first, are seen by the nurse, then are either directed to the A&E waiting room or the walk in centre waiting room (both are in the hospital grounds)

I think it’s a really good model and really handy for these ‘should I shouldn’t I’ Situations.

Please keep an eye on it. My daughter had a finger trap injury that became infected, fortunately we spotted it quickly but she ended up needing surgery to remove the nail and flush out the infection.

I remember the GP sending my Mum to A&E when she dropped a crate of beer on her toe and it turned black. She had a hole put in the nail and the pressure was so great that blood spurted up the wall and my Mum cheered with relief. I was around 7yo and thought the whole thing was brilliant.

We don't have minor injuries service anymore. The attached isn't my GP but I live in this CCG area. A&E or nothing here.

OP I'd watch and wait.

Local hospital is in special measures btw. BIL is a paramedic and has to transport to other counties or queue for hours. DH had meningitis a couple of months ago and waited hours just for pain relief and a scan/lumbar puncture. There were queues round the block for A&E. That's where no minor injuries gets you.

The4thSandersonSister

That's pretty mean. I was reluctant to take her for this as I said in my OP.

And no I'm not bored at home, I was concerned and wanted to draw on the wealth of experience on Mumsnet for an injury that despite having two children I haven't experienced yet.

Merry Christmas to you too!

We don’t have minor injuries either it’s GP with a week’s waiting list or A&E. My dad hurt his nail like that and had to visit A&E as he couldn’t bear the pain and he had a high pain threshold. He kept apologising to tyebstaff as he felt daft. Sometimes A&E is needed due to A=accident.

I fell and split my scalp open and my husband called the GP who told him to take me straight to A&E. I was conscious and walking but I had a head injury and no minor injury clinic.

My DS trapped his finger and this happened. We didn't seek medical advice for it as he seemed ok.

A couple of weeks later the nail started coming off, but didn't come off completely so we took him to minor injuries to get it checked and see if it could be trimmed or removed.

We were berated for not taking him in straight away, told they would have trepanned the nail to remove the blood and pressure and it might have saved his nail. The doctor got quite shirty with us, started talking about social services etc. I'm sure if we'd been younger or less well educated he'd probably have gone through with his threat.

As it was, DS' nail grew back fine and there was no lasting damage, but the whole thing stayed with me a long time as the doctor really laid into us over it.

Do you have a walk in centre with a nurse? Im sure a nurse practisioner could drain it if need be. Perscribe anything needed too.

Do you have a walk in centre with a nurse? Im sure a nurse practisioner could drain it if need be. Perscribe anything needed too

Did you read my experience of DS with very similar injury, Practitioner nurse couldn't, GP didn't have the tools or x-ray equipment. They sent us to A&E. For the record it was NHS 24 who sent me to GP in first place.

A&E is for life threatening illness only!

This is dangerous advice, and leads to issues. Even more so amongst older elderly people.

Regardless of this OP, A and E is for Accidents as well as Emergencies.
Not all areas have Minor Injuries, especially for children.
Not all areas have drop in services at GPS.
If in doubt call the bus number first but please don't say that A and E is for a life threatening incident only. It isn't. It never had been.

And a gp is not always appropriate. Very few have x rays machines for example, and I've yet to meet a doctor who can diagnose a broken limb with just their own eyes.

This happened to me twice as a child. New nail grew underneath and the black one fell off.

Happened to my niece, it was just a bruise and grew out with the nail.