Finger is still bleeding - what do I do?

[AlCrowley]

Yesterday, while preparing dinner, I slipped with a knife and chopped off a chunk from the end of my finger. The cut goes digonally across the end of my pointing finger and has taken off about a third of my fingernail the surrounding skin and some of the pad of the finger

When I did it, I knew it was bad but not A&E-worthy and was lucky to get a cancellation at my doctors where the practice nurse washed and dressed it for me. As I'd chopped off mostly nail, there was nothing to stictch or glue so she covered the wound with steri strips and covered the whole thing in a dressing and a stretchy finger bandage. She told me to make an appointment for next Monday to have it redressed.

But the bandage she put on covered my whole finger all the way to the knuckles of my hand and was really uncomfortable - I was also concerned that leaving a blood soaked bandage on for 6 days was perhaps not the most hygenic thing ever - so today, I removed it and re-dressed the finger with a shorter sterile pad so that I could bend my finger again to stop my tendons aching from being held straight all the time.

During today, the wound has obviously been bleeding a lot again as the new pad is soaked through, I can see a huge red patch even through the tape! - so my question is, do I redress it in a clean pad again or is messing with it likely to make it worse and should I just leave it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Repad it on top of the bandaging already there. If you still get bleeding through then perhaps get it re bandaged at the surgery first thing.

Thanks. I'm trying to be as careful with it as I possibly can but I've got an 8 month old and a very bouncy 3.5 year old so it's been banged once or twice even with DH working from home to try and help me.

Is it OK to leave the bloody bandage on until next Monday though?

I think disturbing it and moving it around is what is encouraging it to bleed again.

I agree you probably wouldn't normally want a bandage on that long but if all materials are clean and the wound was clean when it went on, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I woudl go to A&E. Did something similar myself about 10 years ago, and they were surprised that I hadn;t been in sooner. I also now have no feeling in the top of that finger as I sliced through nerves.

I did the same thing last week but only went to chemist
I put a steri strip over the nail part that was cut through but attached and the chopped off 'missing' part I puta dressing on taped it and them put a finger stocking over the whole finger and taped that on.
It kind of made me aware of the finger when doing things and stopped me moving the finger and reopening the wound, I also bought finger 'condoms' water proof covers to keep it dry when working around the house or bathing the little ones.
It took 3 days before it stopped bleeding at every knock, change dressing every 1-2 days is what I am doing and am now using a giant band aid.
HTH

You're probably right. I'll leave it with the bloody bandage for as long as I can manage. Another day or two might be enough to get it to heal enough to not bleed if I change the pad again. The Steristrips are holding the actual wound together so the pad is just protecting it really.

The nurse said that there wouldn't be anything else A&E would do that she hadn't as the missing piece was gone and the wound unstitchable. I guess if I'm going to lose feeling, it's gone

As scurryfunge says, it's generally that if you get seepage through the first dressing, bandage over with a second, if it seeps through that, take everything off and redo.

I'd be tempted to get advice from a HCP (including whether the bandage was to encourage to to keep it still), as nobody here can see it :(

*you to keep it still even..

The longer bandage may have been to keep it still but it made my whole hand ache having it poker straight overnight. Being able to bend the knuckle was such a relief. DH was a massive help yesterday but I'm still BF DD so there is only so much he can help me with.

DS has his pre school jabs with the same nurse this morning so maybe she'll be able to give me some advice while I'm there.

Buzzybb - what you've described sounds like what I have on now...a dressing over the wound itself and a stocking over the whole finger. Means the wound is protected but I can still bend the knuckle.

Yes that is what I have but an obscene amount of dressing on what is really a very small but deep and funny shaped cut [top/side of finger decapitation]
My DP is dressing mine as it is hard one handed and he is a paramedic so in my mind that is his job, but loads of dressing and tape over it and yes that stocking bandage does help a bit but makes my finger look like an injury from a cartoon.
Do get the nurse to dress it again today and ask her how will you protected it while minding/bathing etc she may have shields and or ideas
Good luck and hope your DS is ok and not to cross after the jabs.
Although I do think it is worse for us, we suffer more mental anguish,A LOLLYPOP and they are happy.

Our appointment today was for DS (who was incredibly brave and didn't even whimper as he got his jabs - and did get his lollypop afterwards :)) but the nurse did see the soaked bandage and said I needed a redressing before Monday so I've made the soonest appointment I can, which is tomorrow at 5.

In the meantime, she said that a clean dressing might be good as the old one was gross, so I've swapped the dressing and the stocking bandage while leaving the steristrips in place. So the wound itself is untouched but the protective dressing is clean. Feels much better.

Lucky you having a paramedic DH Buzzybb. Mine is a Computer geek who gets wobbly at the sight of blood so I'm on my own dressing this one!