T’was the night before Christmas, and I accidentally stabbed myself with a box cutter.
How to treat a puncture wound.
The following story is not to be taken as medical advise, or even as good advise, I would just like to relay an incident that occured about a week ago, and share how I handled it, and what I could have done differently.
The morning before Christmas Eve, I had gotten up at around 4a.m. to drive my relatives to the airport, for one of those great bargains at awkward times kinda flights. Returning to a dark and quiet kitchen, I decided that it would be a good idea to pry the mold covor off of an orgonite pyramid I had been working on, with a brand new, very sharp razor knife.
“I don't want to die without any scars.” ― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
seven days after The Incident
It's dark, I am tired, I am holding a slippery object and a razor knife.
So, there’s the obvious errors. Needless to say, in one deft move, I plunged the pointy end deep into my palm, just under the thumb, and probably made it jaggedly worse when I jerked it back, in one of those slow motion moments of “uh-oh, I think this could be bad”.
What I did
Not neccessarily perfect, but it was adequate
1. Make sure it's clean
To get an idea of the severity of the wound, and also to prevent infection, run it under cold water. Preferably using a sink or faucet, but whatever is available is better than nothing. Ask yourself if you’ve had a tetanus shot lately. (no).
3. Apply some kind of antibiotic
I released the pressure long enough to douse the wound, which was pretty much bleeding profusely, with iodine and colloidal silver. That is just what I happened to have onhand. Neosporan or something might have been useful, too. assessing the damages, I figured it might require three or four stitches, but not unless I absolutely had to go that route. Hospitals are expensive, and full of sick people. I might come out worse than I went in. (I told myself, to justify my actions).
2. Attempt to stop the bleeding
Holding a washcloth, or whatever is handy, apply firm pressure, and hold the injured area up above your heart. I did this while deciding whether or not to seek medical attention. I probably should have, but decided against it.
4. Secure the injury with a non stick bandage of some kind, and wrap it up tightly, but not so tight that the remaining fingers lose circulation.
Again, using what was lying around, and digging through my gear, I came up with some gauze, first aid pads, and M3 waterproof masking tape. I realized the dressing was too tight when the rest of my hand got cold and turned a little blue. Re wrap.
5. Ask for help
Later in the day, I hunted down some friends to help me dress the mess properly. It was still bleeding a lot and hurting deep in the punctured area. My friends re washed the area, and held the wound shut while we applied a liquid bondo product. This is tricky, as it will seal the site, but it’s not all that strong, so once it dries a bit, hold it in place, bandage, and wrap up tight again, holding the site together. It was only then, when I was with others, and felt safe, that I had a nauseated cumulative emotional reaction. Funny thing about stress responses.
6. Watch for signs of infection, change the dressings, keep it clean, and stabilized.
I didn’t change the dressing for a day or two, but the liquid skin bondo held up well. (note: this may not be an option in other types of injury, I just got lucky on that). I kept it in place with a variety of creative stabilizers, and made my other hand black and blue by over using it, and trying to compensate for the lack of two opposable thumbs. I also stuck a flat piece of elite shungite in the bandages, and treated it repeadely with iodine and silver. It healed up really quickly, and I learned a thing or two.
What I learned is that, even if you think you know how to handle your own tools and weapons, we can still make careless mistakes. If this had been just a little worse, I would have sought professional treatment right away. Know people that will respond to a phone call, or better yet, will answer their door if you have to just show up needing help.
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