Panic - will I lose my finger?

[paolosgirl]

I slammed my finger in the door yesterday (long story) - upshot is that I've broken it and partially severed it just above the top joint. I've got to go and see the plastic surgeon tomorrow, and I'm really panicking because it seems now to be numb around the tip.

Could it be the dressing being tight? Or the bruising? Anyone know about these things? Help help help....

Sorry honey, I have no knowledge.

But hope the plastic surgeon can reassure you.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Don't know for certain but I wouldn't have thought a bit of numbing would necessarily mean you are losing the tip. It might be that you have severed the nerve and you will have to wait for it to re-grow before you get the sensation back.

Could it be swelling that is causing the numbness? What treatment have you had so far?

Poor you .

Don't panic!

You are very unlikely to lose your finger from slamming it in a door.

The numbness is most likely to be due to bruising around the nerves going to the tip of the finger but could be due to the dressing being too tight (so...loosen it!) or due to one or two of the nerves being cut at the time of the accident. If the latter, they can be repaired, but sometimes the sensation isn't entirely "normal" even after healing.

If the tip of your finger is pink and warm, your finger is alive!

In many accident hospitals it is normal for plastic surgeons to deal with all hand injuries, minor or more severe, so your visit is probably routine.

HTH

Thanks for all your advice...I'm feeling less panicky now . I don't think I'll loosen the bandage, as I've got so many layers of it, if I start unravelling it I'll probably never get it back on. Hopefully tomorrow will be a routine appointment and I can 'enjoy' a few days off work. Yesterday was my first annual leave day this year - really not fair! Thanks again, everyone.