Through my own clumsiness, I got my finger (right middle) caught in my truck door Saturday night. It’s not broken, though I do think my cursing while trying to unlock the door and get my marymotherofgodandallthat’blessedithurts! finger out caused my poor inocent hydrangea to drop her flowers.*
Anywho, it’s not broken or infected, but I know I’m going to lose the nail in the next day or two. Once the nail falls off, what’s the best way to keep the new nail from coming in ingrown?
*In case you don’t know, a hydrangea is just a pretty landscaping plant that blooms in late summer.
No, it’s never been a problem. I don’t really expect it to be, but an ounce of prevention… etc. etc. What exactly did you do to take care of your fingers after you lost the nail? Is keeping it clean and wait all I have to do?
'cause I can feel there’s no break. The thing is swollen as Hell, but the …um… bones don’t hurt. I can’t describe the sensation other than it’s not a broken bone. I have full movement, but flexing it pushes all that clooted blood outward against my nail.
Also to be honest, it really doesn’t hurt that much any more. It looks awful though, and I know that nail’s coming off whether I want it to or not. So any tips to help it grow back faster would be appreciated.
I am not a doctor - and it’s possible you will need to see one. Leave the old nail alone no matter how bad it looks - it may possibly stay on long enough for the new nail to begin growing in under it. If it comes off, I would use gauze wrap to keep it clean, with maybe some antibiotic ointment. As for helping it “grow back faster” - sorry, I don’t think there’s any way to do that. I read that it takes a nail 10 days to grow to cutting length, so you’re looking at a month or six weeks. If it starts turning red (not bruise red, infection red) or becomes more painful, go to the doctor right away.
I crushed my thumb a few years ago and it took over a year to heal fully. That’s with no attendant infections either. I mention it just in case it takes a while for yours to start looking better and you feel worried.
My finger got crushed playing (field) hockey nearly a year ago; it’s almost fixed but still a bit misshapen and insensitive. I took some pictures at the time for future use.
This was just before I had to prick it with a needle because the pressure from the blood was making it unbearably painful…Day 4
And a few days later once the nail fell off…Day 8
I couldn’t imagine when I’d ever show these pictures. Neato.
Well, maybe just a helluva bruise. If you have full movement then you must not have that much swellling around the joints.
I jammed my finger catching a baseball in June and it didn’t “feel” broken but it turned out it was. I saw my doctor because I’m a guitarist (not pro, but I don’t need a f***ed up index finger) and the x-ray showed a break. The downside was there wasn’t really anything to be done about it but splint it for six weeks. It’s still swollen so that I can bend it only halfway.
Anyway, when in doubt see a doc if you can afford to.
For about six weeks it was a shining black beacon, drawing attention from everybody I talked to it seemed. Usually to achieve such a thing I would use a framing hammer but this time I just crushed it into the jamb while closing the door to my garage.
I recommend keeping the old nail on as long as possible. For about a week near the end I kept it taped up to stop it from being torn off accidentally. I also found that the old nail tended to curl and pull itself away from the cuticle, which was painful. Taping it up prevented this stress on the cuticle.
Even though it must be close to eight weeks since I injured it, I am still a couple of weeks away from being able to trim the new nail. Resist the urge to remove the nail yourself as long as you can, a tender, floppy-ended finger isnt what you want.
