Hi. Long-term poster (over 11years) but N/C’d for this as potentially outing.
At the start of the week I chopped off the end of the tip of my index finger (the top left corner, including half the nail). I was able to pick up the severed bit from amongst the onions. It bled profusely for a long time, so I held it above heart level, applying pressure with sterile bandage. Once the bleeding had calmed down after a couple of hrs my DP (nurse, albeit in MH) applied a blister plaster to ensure it had a moist healing environment & didn’t adhere to any dressings. He then wrapped it in sterile bandage and we put a finger stall over to keep it dry & clean. I’ve had it like that all week.
Yesterday I noticed it starting to smell 🤢 and today the smell was horrendous.
So earlier today I asked my local pharmacist for advice & she suggested minor injuries for them to look under dressing & re-dress. I wandered up there & once I was seen the nurse there removed dressings, washed it a bit, didn’t seem phased by the smell, and said it was hyper-granulated (prob as a result of the hydrocolloid dressing having over-stimulated the normal wound granulation). She cauterised it using a silver nitrate stick (hurt like HELL) and said to leave air to get to it on walk home then put normal plaster over which I’ve done.
My Q is: should it be swollen, and should it still stink? Is this a normal part of healing or could it be infected/necrotic as well as hyper-granulated?
I’m loathe to seek further RL support seeing as nurse seemed unfazed, but then I didn’t mention the fact it’s a lot more swollen than the one on my other hand, and she didn’t smell the actual wound (she said the smell was the dressing). I’m not sure if I’m just being overcautious now I’m home with a persistently stinky finger! 😥 🤮