So your daughter cuts her finger...

[1leglance]

I am an ICU RN and Wilderness EMT so I see it all in the urban setting and outdoors.
1) No more hydrogen peroxide folks....use google and you will see that is an old school thing. It actually kills your cells also. Just water, lots of water to wash the wound bed.
2) Covered wound during the day when active, open to air at night if possible to promote healing.
3) Superglue only if you really have to....small cuts and be very very sure the wound is clean or your are trapping bad stuff in there.
4) It is all about checking a wound often, cleaning it often, and clean dressings.

All that triple ointment stuff is NOT needed.

 

[GregSplett]

Remember this stuff????

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2518/what-happened-to-mercurochrome

Sure kept us 4 kids from whining about little owies.[not inferring anything}Nasty stuff.Hurt worse than any cut.

 

[brushogger]

Ahhhhh! The old monkey blood! My grandma loved this stuff. She would even use it to swab the inside of our throats when we had tonsillitis or strep. It actually worked! I cut my finger badly chucking up a hole saw to install my snorkel 10 days ago. It was almost to the bone and I couldn't get the bleeding to stop. I had a roll of electrical tape handy and wrapped it down with that. I figured I would need a couple of stitches, but when I removed it the next day, it looked good and there was very little leakage. I taped it up with some more electrical tape, and checked it the next day. I couldn't believe how fast it was healing. Put a little neosporin on it and a bandaid. This is what it looks like now.

I don't think I've ever had a cut that bad heal that quickly. I wish I had taken a before pic.


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[cruxarche]

1leg,
Have any suggestions for how to better protect the wound without limiting mobility?

 

[PirateMcGee]

1leg,
Have any suggestions for how to better protect the wound without limiting mobility?

I cut the finger off latex gloves and then put that over a bandaid and then athletic tape for a temporary fix where mobility and dirt are unavoidable (the wound needs to breath so really only use if you have to and for as short a time possible).

 

[kbahus]

I am an ICU RN and Wilderness EMT so I see it all in the urban setting and outdoors.
1) No more hydrogen peroxide folks....use google and you will see that is an old school thing. It actually kills your cells also. Just water, lots of water to wash the wound bed.
2) Covered wound during the day when active, open to air at night if possible to promote healing.
3) Superglue only if you really have to....small cuts and be very very sure the wound is clean or your are trapping bad stuff in there.
4) It is all about checking a wound often, cleaning it often, and clean dressings.

All that triple ointment stuff is NOT needed.

This guy has the best advice. I work in the medical field as well and will say Dermabond is great for some wounds but can wear off quickly on the pad of a finger. Dermabond has stipulations as well, you can't just super glue all types of wounds. Always watch for signs of infection and if they show up consult medical help asap. I always tell folks for wounds like this, if there is some concern or you are just not sure what to do, let a medical provider put some eyes on it. Remember the op is referring to a child and this should be handled with extra care.

Also be careful wrapping the fingers of children with tape or other bandages. Sometimes they will not report if it is too tight and circulation loss can result leading to further complications.

 

[rayra]

Every first aid kit should have some.

Items in the top half of the image were added to the kit by me. Bottom half came in it. Been more amendments since.

 

[1leglance]

Coban is amazing tape..
It sticks to itself, not to you.
The stuff at pet stores is the same just cheaper

Wash the wound, put on triple ointment if a kid or whining adult (makes people feel better mentally), gauze and coban....
Dry is more important than dirt...the coban and gauze will keep dust and dirt off, but if it gets wet the microbes go right through the covering.
If wet, the unwrap and rewrap with fresh stuff.

This is why I can't stand the little individual wrapped gauze stuff...total waste. Get rolled gauze, lots of it and cut off what you need each time.
Much cheaper option.

 

[rayra]

coban is also sold at any horse tack shop, it's used as a leg wrap for horses. Lots of colors, too.

 

[ZMagic97]

I cut my index finger at a weird angle after the 2014 Expo about 1/4" deep. I used some self adhering bandage wrap. Works great, still have a way to use my finger, and does fall off like band-aids. I carry it in both vehicles.

 

[SoCal Tom]

I try and carry the flexible knuckle bandages. I put them over anything that is getting pulled on. In this case I might have taped two fingers together. That might have helped keep the bandage in better shape cause it would have been harder to use the finger.
Tom

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[mtnbike28]

To be clear, I meant Super Glue needs to stay dry for 24 hours after applied as a bonding agent on skin. At least that was what I was told by an ER nurse.

Superglue dries in seconds. I use it all the time. And really, a cut that small that isn't in need of stitches would be just fine with a simple bandaid and a proper cleaning.

 

[thethePete]

I glue stuff shut and go right back to working, so that may be true, in practise I haven't had an issue. I also heal very quickly.

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[conifers4]

Hey 1leglance thanks for the hydrogen peroxide info.... Guess I was old school and didn't know it.

 

[cruxarche]

thanks for the comments folks. I was hoping for a magic bullet, but it's all about compromises. In the end I would probably do it the same exact way again. Clean with water, benzoin, tegaderm, and a dressing to protect the tegaderm. I do like the idea of taping a cut finger of a latex glove over the wound for (Very) temporary use. This would reduce the need to redress. And I may experiment with superglue the next time I cut myself just for fun...

Thanks all.