Fingertip Injuries Treatment

Fingertip injuries are a common form of injury at various places such as home, office and outdoors. They can occur due to different reasons with the most common being a sudden trauma, during food preparation and cleaning. There are many different forms of fingertip injuries and they can exist as tearing, crushing or even amputating in nature. Due to the importance of our fingertip to our daily lives, even a minor injury can be disruptive to our activities. Extreme pain is often felt due to the rich amount of nerves present. In this article, we will look at the treatment for fingertip injuries.

The treatment methods for fingertip injuries differ from the type of injury sustained.

Mild cases

In mild cases where only part of the tissue is removed, a simple dressing is all that is required. The wound needs to be properly rinsed with water and cleaned with an antiseptic agent to kill off all the bacteria that are present. A gauze needs to be placed over the wound to prevent direct contact with the atmosphere and promote healing.

Minor cases

For minor cases where part of the bone is exposed, the dangling flesh needs to be trimmed and sanitized. The process will be largely similar to the mild case except for the fact that stitches may be required if the wound is unable to close on its own after a couple of days.

Serious cases

In serious cases where a large chunk of flesh is chipped off or the fingertip severed, grafts and reattachment will be required when possible. Large grafts are available for harvesting at the groin region. The patient will need to undergo surgery for the grafting process. In situations involving a severed finger, reattachment is the first option provided that the severed finger can be found and is deemed to be still able to function when reattached. The severed part of the finger needs to be placed in an ice box but not in direct contact with the ice to prevent frostbite from damaging the tissues.

Fractures

There are also cases of bone injuries in the form of a fracture. These broken fingers are usually at the tip of the fingers and do not affect the function of the finger but they can cause pain and tenderness. Broken finger treatment methods will usually involve the realignment of bone fragments through the use of a splint or metal implants.

The fingertip sensation may be lost for a few months following a fingertip injury. Deformities may be present but these will go away when the finger is fully healed. Injuries are classified into 2 types; those that involves the flesh and those that involves the bone.

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