Familiarity breeds contempt

I know you guys will share my pain. SWMBO doesn't. Apparently nothing compares to childbirth.

So last night I was doing a bit of razor maintenance, you know cleaning razors, changing blades etc and I was having a bit of difficulty sliding a new Swede out of its pack. So I tried just that little bit harder, slipped and damn near sliced the pad off the tip of my middle finger. Oh the pain! Blood everywhere (note to self: must buy red towels for bathroom), and wouldn't stop bleeding for well over an hour. At one point I thought I was going to have to go and get it stitched. I bled less coming off my motorbike at 60mph. Really.

Today has been a nightmare as I spend most of my day on computers. Having to type with just my index finger was not fun. The only thing that I have been able to do well with my middle finger today is to wave a friendly greeting to the idiot who cut me up on my drive into work.

Anyway, got home tonight to change my plaster (band aid) and there's the smallest cut in the world on my finger. How the hell did that bleed so much? It's still bloomin' painful though, especially when I catch it on something.

Feel better for getting that off my chest and in future I'll try to show the blades the respect they deserve.

Admit it, you've all done it......

I feel your pain. Superglue is the way to go in this situation. Might want to keep some handy in the bathroom; it's much cheaper than red towels.

Superglue? I'd end up looking like Edward Scissorhands the way my luck's been going.

Ouch. I've done worse and stupider but not with a razor blade--scissors and knives, yes. Last night I was struggling to insert a used Merkur into the bottom of the pack and it was stuck. Your scenario flashed through my mind as I struggled with it.

Man, that does sound painful. I've had just one nick from a razorblade, and that wasn't even shave-related. It really did bleed like mad, though.
If it's any consolation, i jab my hands/fingers about once a week on the snipped excess strings on the headstocks of my guitars. I know they're there, i know they're sharp, but they just seem to be magnetically attracted to the tender and fleshy bits of my mits. Every. Flipping. Time. And i'm a pretty co-ordinated person, and rarely clumsy. Them strings just love me.

Familiarity bleeds contempt, mate.

RichGem said:

I feel your pain. Superglue is the way to go in this situation. Might want to keep some handy in the bathroom; it's much cheaper than red towels.

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Pardon my ignorance, but exactly how would you use superglue for a cut....surely it's not simply apply and let dry? is that sanitary? I'm inquiring out of seriousness of interest to use it, not out of "I can't believe you do that", if that helps

A lot of people use super glue in lieu of stitches for small wounds...its probably not the most sanitary way to close a wound but it is effective and cheaper than the ER. What most people do is close the wound shut and then put the glue over it.

I read somewhere that a super glue-like compound is awaiting FDA approval for regular use in hospitals for small wounds. You know, for people who don't like needles

sol92258 said:

Pardon my ignorance, but exactly how would you use superglue for a cut....surely it's not simply apply and let dry? is that sanitary? I'm inquiring out of seriousness of interest to use it, not out of "I can't believe you do that", if that helps

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Actually, superglue was originally intended as a uh... adhesive for wounds. (yuck) The fact that it sticks so well to everything else is just coincidence.

Happened to me, my scars still there. It does;nt hurt does it? Just fricken gets blood everywhere!

This may account for the fact that for those of us who test our blood sugar, we generally do it at the fingertip. It seems to give the drop of blood with minimal puncture.

Also, I would imagine that there are a tremendous amount of nerve fibers in a fingertip and plenty of blood to nourish them.

Maybe MLB can enlighten us. I think that is his nom du plume but he is a MD in St Louis.

I did it once. Just about sliced the tip of my finger completely off.

Yup, what the other guys said about "super glue" is true. Band-Aid brand actually makes a cyanoacrylate-based liquid bandage, although it is way overpriced in my opinion. I prefer to use a high quality CA like USA Gold brand. CA's like this have a bit less shelf-life than the stuff one would find in a hardware store but they work so much better.

I feel for you, I was working on a model once and got a blade to the knuckle, only thing that kept me from flaying off the skin was the fact that I hit the bone. Got a really cool scar out the whole thing though.

and on the superglue thing, yeah it works. thats why you (read: I) glue your fingers together every time you use the stuff

Back in my vet tech days, we would get little bitty tubes of "sterile" superglue for closing small wounds. I recall using it for feline neuters, when we used anything at all. I carried tubes of it in my guitar case, in case I cut my fingers and still had to play.

A doctor once told me it didn't have to be the "sterile" stuff, particularly, and that plain superglue would work (I don't understand his logic, but okay). I'll tell you one thing, though: it burns, and not in that pleasant, aftershave kind of way!

I feel your pain!
I once got careless with a very sharp kitchen knife. Had my knuckles curled in but lost my concentration and leaned the knife in toward my knuckles instead of away from them. I was rapidly chopping vegetables and almost had the entire right side of my index finger as additional protein for the evening meal. Did not really feel anything until after the bleeding started and boy was I bleeding! I rinsed my finger and the semicircular skin flap that was still hanging from it off under the fawcett and boy did that hurt even more. So, I am standing there with my hand over my head to keep the blood circulation down trying to figure out what to do next...
I called to the sweet wife and had her open the superglue tube while I dried the finger in some paper towels. A little superglue around the edge of the wound and much gritting of teeth followed. After the glue dried, I wrapped it in gauze and put tape around it. Problem was sleeping that night. Much throbbing and pain associated with sleeping the whole night...
Went to see the doctor the next day and he said it should be fine unless there was some significant swelling. Some minor swelling was to be expected since I had sliced into quite a few small blood vessels.

Now, not sure why I related that whole adventure except to say that accidents happen even to people that have dealt with very sharp knives all of their lives. While I would not necessarily recommend the superglue route for every case, it is what hikers carry for emergencies on the trail.

Superglue works well, although I've heard its not good to get it in the blood stream. Nuskin, or some other products like that work well, although they are expensive. I grabbed a red hot tin out of the fire once while making char cloth. Blisters on the fingertips of my right hand. Thank god it wasn't the left, otherwise violin would have been killer.

My son's head was glued back together in casulty after he fell and split it open. It was much quicker and less distressing than stitches. There is probably an over the counter medical version of the stuff available. Will ask, next time I'm passing a chemist.

Superglue = the field expedient combat wound closure

Link Goodness

About a week ago I went into the Dopp kit I keep in my locker at work to get something out of it and cut myself on the DE that I had stupidly left out of the case the last time I used it. Like yours the damn cut bled copiously and seemingly forever, but when I looked at it next day it was tiny. I think it may be that because the blade cut so cleanly, the wound started to close and knit almost immediately and healed faster than a cut made by a duller edge.

Best Regards

Graham