What do you recommend to heal a cut?

G

GhOsT1321

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May 5, 2009
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Well, I got this cut recently from trying to polish a knife in an unwise fashion. the tip stabbed into a part of my thumb, but slipped off to leave a cut behind. It is hard to explain where the cut is at, but it is at the bottom of my thumb, across the entire part of my thumb opposite the thumb nail, and it did cut through the webbing between my index finger and thumb. The cut is at an angle so there is a semi wide flap of skin cut (about 6mm).
So far, here is what I have done,
I covered a q-tip in Polysporin and rolled back the flap of skin and pushed the antibiotic ointment to where I was bleeding at. I then cut off what hanging skin I could, but some of it still had feeling, so the pain kept me from cutting most of it off. I then put more Polysporin on some post-surgical wrap and wrapped the cut.
The reason for this question is that, about 10 hours have passed and the cut still hurts and aches, especially when I use my thumb or other fingers on my left hand (where the cut is located). As long as my left hand was immobile, the cut didn't hurt, but that was only with the bandage on, I recently took it off as I am about to go to sleep. A medic once told my father to take bandages off at night and let the cut air-out, so I am taking his advice as well.
Just wondering if there is anything more I can do to aide the recovery of the cut.

What do you recommend that I should do to heal this cut?
 
well personaly what i do now is rub a lot of capsaicin in it (the oil from hot peppers) and a good coat of 2nd skin, both sting like a mother but the capsaicin heals the cut 2-3 times as fast with the 2nd skin keeping it temporarily dry, also dont use plain gauze, if it stays to long on the cut, the blood will congeal with the fabric and trust me ripping that off in the morning is no bueno
 
I keep Poly to Go in my first aide kit. Nexcare No Sting Liquid Bandage by 3M is good to cover slight cuts after they have been disinfected. I find that it effectively prevents knife bites from reopening everytime I flex my finger.
 
First of all, there was no need to cut off the flap of skin. Clean it up, push it back in place as soon as possible (that's key), apply a good antibiotic like Neosporin and cover it up. Leave it alone for a couple days and you'll be surprised how fast it will heal. Most of what you cut off would have reattached, now you'll have to wait for new growth to fill in the hole.

With regards to brete-ftw's bizarre suggestion, chemical burns are about the last thing in the world you need on an open wound.
 
Why on earth did you cut off the bit of skin that was hanging off? How do you expect it to heal with no skin for your blood to bind onto and form a scar? Seriously, no offence or anything, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It's a wonder why it still hurts 10 hours later.
If anything, you should have folded the skin back over it then wrapped it shut with the bandage.
Unfortunately, you're not Wolverine so you're not going to speed heal. It's probably too far gone to do anything productive with now anyway.
 
As others have said, don't ever cut off the skin flap. That just makes it worse.

Johnson & Johnson have a new bandage called Tough Pad that forms a gel cushion over the wound. I have a nasty cut on my foot at the moment (long story) and have found the Tough Pads to be fantastic for protecting it and letting it heal. I got them at Wal-Mart, so they should be available everywhere.
 
I use and recommend Silvadene. Doesn't impede healing like petroleum jelly based ointments can, and is antibacterial. If you want to go the natural route, balsam fir pitch and honey are also known for their antibacterial properties.
 
deluxewarplaya said:
Why on earth did you cut off the bit of skin that was hanging off? How do you expect it to heal with no skin for your blood to bind onto and form a scar? Seriously, no offence or anything, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It's a wonder why it still hurts 10 hours later.
If anything, you should have folded the skin back over it then wrapped it shut with the bandage.
Unfortunately, you're not Wolverine so you're not going to speed heal. It's probably too far gone to do anything productive with now anyway.
Click to expand...

hehe, no offense taken. I cut the flap off because I always get dirt under the flaps of skin. Also, I have very dry skin, the flaps usually shrivel up and are just dead dry skin that snag on fabrics.
 
Since you cut the skin off stitches or glue is probably out of the question. You basically made a avulsion out of a gash. Now you're going to have to wait for it to heal from the inside out, mine took a little under a month when I cut the meat off the tip of my thumb. Keep it wrapped in non-sitck gauze and antibiotic ointment, and change it once or twice a day. You might also need to splint it to keep from moving it.
 
Listen to Mongo. If the cut is severe then you should go see a Doc. Staunch the bleeding and make sure it is absolutely clean. Sterile even. Bandage it up but make sure it can breath. Change the bandages frequently in the first few days. It sounds like at least a trip to the drug store is in order for supplies (gauze and tape, etc.). If any sign of infection appears, seek attention. Happy healing. Aaayaaahh! You cut the flap? Only ever remove tissue that will likely become necrotic. You'll probably have a scar now. Keep it covered and clean for the next several days. Report back.
 
I rinse every cut with rubbing alcohol, then apply neosporin and a bandaid.
Every time I change the bandaid, I rinse with rubbing alcohol and apply fresh neosporin.

Rubbing alcohol kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
 
Visit Mongo. He'll give you shot of ketamine,and put one of those cones around your neck so that you don't bite the wound. ;)
 
Have your wife laugh at you when you are bleeding, and you will be more careful next time.
 
alcohal can kill healing tissue and increase scar tissue as well as killing bacteria. non-stick is your friend and if you don't go to the doctor(which could be a good idea), it could be a good idea to leave the initial bandage on for 48 hrs, to encourage congialing of the blood and sealing of the wound. when you change the bandage and plan on cleaning, liquid anti-bacterial pump soap will do a good job. do not use bar soap, it can be very dirty. a splint is a very good idea as it would minimise injury aggrevation. a question though, do you have any numbness or tingling in either your thumb, pointer finger or in an area larger then where locolised pain is? there are lots of nerves in the hand you want to be careful of.Beware of signs of infection as well, people's hand can be very dirty if in doubt, go to the doctor, i just had a granuloma(flesh the came out a hole and started to heal outside of my body) cut off my finger after i lost a piece on the side. it was a small wound that would have taken 1/3 of the time to heal if i had gone in. good luck
 
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