- May 21, 2001
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[*]Late last night, I was using a powered drill to screw in a screw (phillips square bit).
[*]Hit a knot, needed a bit of force.
[*]Drill slipped off screw, flew ~3" sideways, all that force landed in the cuticle of my left thumb.
[*]Imagine a hammer hit a thumb, but with a concentrated force because the phillips bit is small.
[*]There was some bleeding, but I put a bandaid on it last night and I thought things were ok. One bandaid kept it from bleeding.
[*]Also, I washed it with cold water and used Neosporin.
[*]Looked at it this morning, blood had gushed out from the bandaid. Thumb is slightly purple (probably bruising). Nail is intact for now, no cracking or anything. But it will likely fall off. I do have all feeling in the thumb, slight throbbing too.
[*]Main concern is that a chunk of the cuticle flesh is missing (drill spinning ripped it off). Will that potentially destroy the nail's ability to grow back?
[*]Can a doctor do anything? Or would that be a waste of money? I currently don't have one and my medical insurance is in disarray (they think I cancelled it when I didn't).
[*]I've smashed fingernails before and the only problem was the nail fell off. But this time, with a cuticle chunk gone, should I be more concerned?
2 day update:
I didn't end up going to a doctor as everything seems ok. Throbbing is down, swelling is down, color is more normal. No infection that I can see (but I'm not a medical doctor).
I've been to the emergency room twice in my life. Both times were cuts to that thumb (knives). I should have gone a third time for another cut to that thumb (scissors), but instead I saw a health aide in the dorm. Other than that, I've never really been injured in my life.
4 week update:
Thumb is coming along.
[*]Week 1: Bleeding stopped completely.
[*]Week 3: Bandage came off for good. I kept it on as I was protecting the scab (although I did change it daily). I could finally get it wet without being bothered.
[*]Week 3.5: Skin started peeling off in big chunks (as it couldn't exfoliate with the bandage on). Also, I could now use the remote control without pain.
[*]Week 4, scab is now basically all gone. Underneath, I can finally see the damage to the nail.
The cuticle seems to be ok, although it is cut back about 1/16" compared to my other thumb. Nail is dented in 1/16" deep near the cuticle. There is a horizontal crack covering the length of the nail about 1/8" away from cuticle. Nail protrudes out 1/16" above the nail surface along that crack. Puncture hole through nail above that. Dried blood under the nail.
It is still slightly sensitive on the other side of the thumb (remember thumb was smashed, so the back side is just as badly hit).
7 week update:
[*]No pain or hyper-sensitivity any more, full normal feelings are still there.
[*]Got the nerve to cut the nail more. Trimmed the nail on top, as well as trimmed the sharp jagged edges in the middle because they were snagging things. I tried filing it, but that would just bend them back.
[*]The main damage slowly moves towards the top of the nail. In a few months, I'll trim it away.
[*]My only concern now is a ridge has formed behind the damage. It appears like a nail in two pieces that was fused together. The ridge is creating a bump under the cuticle.
2 month update (9 weeks):
[*]White area under broken portion of the nail grew bigger. The nail is pulling away slowly from the thumb.
[*]I occasionally snag it on my clothing and more of it breaks away.
[*]Soon, the broken portion will reach the top and it will be very jagged, creating a whole new level of snags.
Warning Slightly Graphic:
Updated pics as promissed.
[*]Hit a knot, needed a bit of force.
[*]Drill slipped off screw, flew ~3" sideways, all that force landed in the cuticle of my left thumb.
[*]Imagine a hammer hit a thumb, but with a concentrated force because the phillips bit is small.
[*]There was some bleeding, but I put a bandaid on it last night and I thought things were ok. One bandaid kept it from bleeding.
[*]Also, I washed it with cold water and used Neosporin.
[*]Looked at it this morning, blood had gushed out from the bandaid. Thumb is slightly purple (probably bruising). Nail is intact for now, no cracking or anything. But it will likely fall off. I do have all feeling in the thumb, slight throbbing too.
[*]Main concern is that a chunk of the cuticle flesh is missing (drill spinning ripped it off). Will that potentially destroy the nail's ability to grow back?
[*]Can a doctor do anything? Or would that be a waste of money? I currently don't have one and my medical insurance is in disarray (they think I cancelled it when I didn't).
[*]I've smashed fingernails before and the only problem was the nail fell off. But this time, with a cuticle chunk gone, should I be more concerned?
2 day update:
I didn't end up going to a doctor as everything seems ok. Throbbing is down, swelling is down, color is more normal. No infection that I can see (but I'm not a medical doctor).
I've been to the emergency room twice in my life. Both times were cuts to that thumb (knives). I should have gone a third time for another cut to that thumb (scissors), but instead I saw a health aide in the dorm. Other than that, I've never really been injured in my life.
4 week update:
Thumb is coming along.
[*]Week 1: Bleeding stopped completely.
[*]Week 3: Bandage came off for good. I kept it on as I was protecting the scab (although I did change it daily). I could finally get it wet without being bothered.
[*]Week 3.5: Skin started peeling off in big chunks (as it couldn't exfoliate with the bandage on). Also, I could now use the remote control without pain.
[*]Week 4, scab is now basically all gone. Underneath, I can finally see the damage to the nail.
The cuticle seems to be ok, although it is cut back about 1/16" compared to my other thumb. Nail is dented in 1/16" deep near the cuticle. There is a horizontal crack covering the length of the nail about 1/8" away from cuticle. Nail protrudes out 1/16" above the nail surface along that crack. Puncture hole through nail above that. Dried blood under the nail.
It is still slightly sensitive on the other side of the thumb (remember thumb was smashed, so the back side is just as badly hit).
7 week update:
[*]No pain or hyper-sensitivity any more, full normal feelings are still there.
[*]Got the nerve to cut the nail more. Trimmed the nail on top, as well as trimmed the sharp jagged edges in the middle because they were snagging things. I tried filing it, but that would just bend them back.
[*]The main damage slowly moves towards the top of the nail. In a few months, I'll trim it away.
[*]My only concern now is a ridge has formed behind the damage. It appears like a nail in two pieces that was fused together. The ridge is creating a bump under the cuticle.
2 month update (9 weeks):
[*]White area under broken portion of the nail grew bigger. The nail is pulling away slowly from the thumb.
[*]I occasionally snag it on my clothing and more of it breaks away.
[*]Soon, the broken portion will reach the top and it will be very jagged, creating a whole new level of snags.
Warning Slightly Graphic:
Updated pics as promissed.
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