OOOh Lars, I feel bad for you. Nothing worse than a deep cut.

You still might want to get it checked out just in case you do need stitches.

Take care,

Ann

I cut my finger with a chef's knife about a week ago - cut right through my fingernail - ugh. I finally got the bleeding under control, but it did throb for a day or two. Keep it wrapped well, Lars. I feel for you!

Lori

Owie!! But I do think it would be a good idea to get it looked at....

oh my, how unfortunate; the throbbing can be awful.
I hope this morning is better.

Sending healing thoughts. Hope it goes OK.

So sorry! I guess this is reason to be glad that I don't have sharp knives.

Oh, Lars, that hurts! I hope it heals up quickly.

Sally

Ouch! Oh, Lars, I feel your pain. Maybe get the wound seen to just in case you need stitches? I have had a klutzy cycle the past couple of weeks, but nothing as bad as your knife accident.

Take care!
Teresa

How awful! I hope you're feeling better very soon, Lars.

You said that it was bandaged up very quickly. Did you put any Neosporin (or similar antibacterial product) on it before bandaging? I'm sure you would have washed your hands before handling food, but I'd still be concerned about infection--another reason to watch carefully for signs of inflammation (redness, swelling, fever, etc) and go to the doctor for antibiotics if necessary.

Take care,

Sue

Thanks for the concerns - I still have the bandage from yesterday, and I am reluctant to change it, although I will try this evening. I inly rinsed it with water and didn't out neosporin on it yet because I was mainly concerned with stopping the bleeding. The knife was clean, except for having chopped celery and cilantro. I'm just glad that I hadn't just chopped chilies, or even onion, because those also went into the soup. I was making Ramen soup with fresh ramen noodles that I had bought at the Japanese market (Mitsuwa). They are so much better than the dried ones. I managed to finish making the soup, as the cilantro was the last thing to chopjj, but I had Kevin cook dinner. We had planned to barbeque, and he can handle that by himself pretty much.

It's really hard for me to type now, and I need to work on carving a styrofoam model at work. I'm hesitant to pick up a knife again, however.

Lars

Oh geez, Lars, you need to be careful, that could have been a lot worse. At this point, I think I'd worry more about infection than needing stitches, but the throbbing drives me crazy when that happens.

I had a doctor tell me when I broke my finger that no place you can hurt yourself will hurt more than a finger or a toe, except the bottom of your back, because of all those nerve endings. If you keep the injury above your heart, it won't throb as badly. So, whenever you can just raise that hand up to your shoulder, or even cross your chest with your arm and let that hand rest on the opposite shoulder and it'll cut the throbbing down anyway.

Hugs to you...

Annie

Lars, I hope you do go to the doctor. You want that cut to heal quickly and with minimum scarring -- and of course, no infection. And, who knows, you might get some good pain meds. Please tell me at least you put Neosporin on it!

Hands do bleed so much, don't they? It's really scary on a visceral level.

I feel for you. I am such a klutz; I go through more boxes of Band-aids.

That's great advice, Annie; I hope I remember it.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you get better soon.

To you all:

Cut resistant gloves are very inexpensive. Get one to protect your hand.

They are made with Kevlar and stainless steel wires. Works great in the kitchen and any time you think you may get cut.

dcarch

Honestly, I tried those cut-resistant gloves, and they were horrid. Made me completely clumsy. No control of the knife, felt yucky on the food.

Things happen. Lars, I hope it's much better tonight, and I also hope you'll see the doctor if you need to. Promise, OK?

sushipup,

There are many types of cut-resistant gloves, from very heavy duty to very compliant. Some are sensitive enough that they are used by security personnel to do body searches.

The fact is, and you are correct, any kind of glove will render you less dexterous and they do require washing.

In general, they are a good idea for food handlers and in commercial kitchens where fast cutting is part of the job. In normal home cooking, it is debatable if you need it for all cutting tasks, unless you are a show-off of lightning fast chopper or you have a habit of getting distracted while slicing.

Also, you don�t need to wear one on your knife holding hand, just the one holding the food, and they do sell just one glove, not a pair.

dcarch

Hi Lar's:
Sorry about your mishap.

Being in the Building and Home Improvement field,
I know how you feel, because of many mishaps.

Everytime I get a bad one I pour in Alcohol ( it only smarts for a few seconds ).
Then, tape or bandage it tight enough to keep it closed,
with a bandage that is " easily " removed, so as not to reopen the cut.

At the present I'm on Coumadin, so I have to be careful, not to get cut.

But as they say S*** Happens.
******************************************

I have a wound now on my ring finger, from a fall,
four days ago.

I've had it taped and worked with a rubber glove to keep it dry.
It is almost gone, dissappeared.
*************************************

I've never had any problems using this method of treatment.

One time in the Pizzeria; while using the slicer, I cut a piece from my finger, which
which was football shaped.
Poured on some alcohol and put the piece back in place.

I can't find now, where I was cut ???

My DD's said I should have been a Surgeon.

Good luck with your healing,
LOU

Thanks for the advice! I didn't think about the alcohol at the time, asI wanted to get it bandaged as quickly as possible. I rebandaged it kast night (with Kevin's help), and it looked clean and uninfected, I did add Neosporin to it this time. When the bandage was off, it was throbbing enough for me to take Ibuprofen, but I slept well last night.

A co-worker gave me some finger condoms that she had gotten last Friday for her finger accident on a paper cutter (much worse than mine, I think), but they are too small to fit over my bandage. She said to wear them when I am coming in contact with water, to keep my bandage dry.

Lars

She's right, use that finger COT. If it's too small, you can buy a variety pack of sizes at Walgreens or CVS.

Antibiotic cream/ointment is very important. Clean or not-- my mother has had two infections from wounds on her legs when they never came in contact with dirt or bacteria. It just finds its way in!

Lou-- my father has been on Coumadin for more than 12 years. He has had many trips to the wound management center at UCLA to help heal skin tears. Silvadene is a wonderful medication to help heal the dermis from cuts and burns. Ask your doctor to write you a prescription and definitely wear some type of glove or protection from moisture until the skin closes up!

Ooh Lars, Don'cha just hate when that happens. Check it closely to make sure that it is healing correctly ... just ask me how I know. I had a bad knife accident and thought that if I closed and wrapped it semi tightly it would heal. Every day I cleaned the wound, changed the bandage and rewrapped. When I thought that it was healed enough to go without a bandage, after two weeks, the cut broke open again... to late for stiches and I have a scar now.

Get better soon!

We're getting more first aid supplies tomorrow, including more finger COTs. Kevin has also decided to postpone the dinner party that he wanted to have this Friday, as I am unable to do much in my condition.

As for the cutting gloves - it was my right hand that got cut - the knife flew out of my right hand and cut my right hand in flight, and so the cutting glove would not have helped. I never cut my left hand. I must have had a bad Mars transit last week-end, but I cannot check that on this computer - my astrology program is only on the old computer in the sewing room. I'll look at that later. Most of my accidents involve Mars/Uranus transits.

Lars

I am just seeing this, Lars. Poor guy! Hope your finger is a lot better by now.

How is your finger? Any infection? Does it still hurt?

Fingertips usually heal well, if you don't get infected and don't mind scars. I don't know about deep cuts further into the hand. If your cut is near any tendons or joints, or shows signs of infection, I would get it looked at.

In Sept, I cut off the corner of my left index finger, a piece extending significantly into the nail. It looked really bad, bled a lot - a blood trail to the bathroom and blood spattered around the sink - and hurt like hell. I had to keep cooking for 4 more hours. I thought it would leave my finger looking odd, but 3 months later, everything was normal.

Hopefully yours will too. I did apply Neosporin every other day.

I went to the doctor on Thursday for a follow-up on some other issue, but I had him look at my finger while I was there, and it appears to be healing well, although I am still in bandages and cannot use that finger yet. I don't have any infection, but my finger does still hurt/throb whenever the bandage is not on.

As for my other issue, my doctor has recommended me to a endocrinologist and thinks I may have a hyperthyroid problem. I will see the specialist in March, and I hope we can get the problems taken care of. I'm not sure what they do in these cases, but I am also supposed to go have Xrays to check my bone density, due to issues with my calcium and vitamin D levels.

Lars

I'm just seeing this for the first time Lars. It sounds like you had a really nasty cut if it was throbbing like that. I'm glad you had not just chopped chili's with it and finally went to the doctor too. Hang in there!

Beverly

Lars, I hope all goes well with your testing and they can take care of you with simple solutions.

Sally

Lars, I'm sending lots of good thoughts to you that they'll find a simple vitamin deficiency with your tests and take care of it so you feel better quickly.

Definitely get the bone density check, guys seem to think they don't have that issue, but some do. Take care of yourself, my dear, and let me know what you find out.

Hugs to you, I'm glad the finger is healing.

Annie