In the kitchen, chopping fruits and vegetables, and preparing a meal; nothing out of the ordinary with this scene. When you suddenly slice a finger or your hand, that scene changes very quickly to one of shock and awe. Wrapping the injured part in towels, bathing it in cold water, and trying to decide if you should go to urgent care or not is all happening in the blink of an eye. If you are not sure you should go to urgent care, here is how to determine if you should.
The Injured Digit Is Severed to the Bone or Through the Bone
If the injury is to a finger, and that finger is sliced to the bone or through the bone, do not hesitate to go to an urgent care clinic. The doctor there will be able to reattach flesh, but bone is a lot more difficult. A hard splint may be used to support the digit after it has been stitched up. If the doctor in the clinic feels that the damage is too extreme, he or she may do enough triage to staunch blood loss and keep the piece of finger attached, but then you are going to have to go to the emergency room at a hospital. There, they may do surgery to insert a steel pin into the bones to help reattach them correctly.
The Slice to the Hand Handicaps the Movement of Fingers
There are dozens of muscles in the human hand alone. Accidentally slicing through a few of them will cause the fingers some difficulty with movement. If you cannot move one or more fingers or your thumb and/or the finger(s) just hang there, go to the clinic. The doctor can put several stitches into the wound and through the muscles that have been cut. The hand will need bandaging and limited movement for at least a week or two. Then you can slowly start moving all of the fingers again to prevent the muscles from healing in a contracted state.
The Bleeding Will Not Stop
You have done all of the first aid you can do, but the bleeding does not stop. The wound just keeps gushing, or when it seems to have stopped, you move the fingers and hand just a bit and it starts up again. These are signs that the wound definitely needs stitches, which can be done in the clinic.
For more information, reach out to an urgent care center near you.
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