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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Public service announcement about stitches

If you or your kids have a wound that *might* need stitches, get it checked immediately. If you show up at the dr.'s office 8-12 hours after an injury* they can't suture for fear of infection, even if your wound needs suturing.

Never knew there was a cutoff. I've always been a "wait and see how it looks in the morning" girl, so this is really good info to know. I’m sharing it because I can’t be the only one who didn’t know this.

I had a run-in with a knife while chopping shallots for dinner yesterday, by the way. The dr. said if I had come in last night when it happened (instead of waiting until this morning), he definitely would have sutured my middle finger. Instead I got cleaning (ouch), some kind of absorbable strips that adhere to your blood, a big bandage, and a round of antibiotics.

DSC_1782LR

* because, say, your husband was out of town and you had two six-year-olds with you who would have created mass chaos and destruction in the urgent-care waiting room, and you thought everything would look much better in the morning

25 comments:

  1. Ouch! Fingers hurt so bad. That same exact finger on my hand got stuck in a paper shredder - all the way to the bone. :o
    Good to know about not waiting to go. I was not aware of that.

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  2. I had no idea! That bandage does not look comfortable, hope you don't have to keep it on for long and everything heals well.

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  3. The last time I tried the "wait & see" I ended up with a raging infection and a tetanus shot. On the plus side, I don't need another tetanus shot till 2020! ;o) Hope you're feeling better soon.

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  4. DH cut the back of his hand on a lid to a can of corn 11 days ago. It was bad. Called the neighbors, dropped off my kids and asked them to feed them, and we were off to Urgent Care. Six stitches later, the dr was glad we came in right away. Glad we did - and I also didn't know there was a time limit either!

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  5. Ouch! Thanks for the PSA. I had no idea either. Hope it heals quickly!

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  6. I once had a wound on my shoulder stitched, but they felt so uncomfortable I removed them after a couple of days. The wound sprung open and I was really bummed at my own stupidity. However: when I went back to have it checked the doctor said it did not matter, because (and here is why I'm telling this) "wounds heal better and nicer (leaving less marks/scars) if you do not use stitches". So hopefully you'll have a scarless finger forever after. (though honestly I can still see the mark where my shoulderwound used to be... ahem...).

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  7. Anonymous8/22/2012

    IIRC, you'll not be stitched if it's been longer than 4 hours, so definitely sooner is better than later! If you do end up with stitches, you'll still get cleaned (yes, that's a definite ouch), and how much scar you end up with depends on the type of cut ( is it a clean knife cut, or did you get torn on something jagged) and how good a seamstress your doctor is ;)

    Good luck, and I hope all heals well and uneventfully!

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  8. Ouch! Thanks for the info, but so sorry you had to find out the hard way. Hope your finger heals quickly.

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  9. Anonymous8/22/2012

    Does this mean mama doesn't have to cook for a while? Hope it feels better soon!!!

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  10. Oye! OK, it's official! You're not allowed to cut anything any longer. Hmmm....looks like those finger c*s will come in handy once again! :o)

    Sorry friend. Sending kisses to make it feel better.

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  11. So sorry! I love the lovely criss-cross design of your bandage, though :-)
    Feel better soon!

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  12. Get to feeling better soon. It is a nice bandage job though ;)

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  13. Oh no, M3!! OUCH! Hope you're feeling better soon!!
    P.S. TOTALLY get not going to the ER with two kiddos and no hubby ;)

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  14. Oh no. The shallot slice. Been there, done that...missed my entire Academy Awards party one year in the ER. Sorry to hear it...it's such an inconvenient injury!

    On a lighter note, I added a picture to the Heirloom Tomato Spaghetti Sauce post so you could pin it. It's not fabulous, but it's...well...it's a picture.

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  15. http://gregandlori.com/wordpress/2012/08/heirloom-tomato-spaghetti-sauce/

    A link might be helpful in your current state...

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  16. Anonymous8/22/2012

    Wow! I waited once for what I thought was just a scrape from a run in with a scale in the bathroom and nearly gave myself blood poisoning because the wound has sealed itself and my foot started to expand.

    Got rid of the scale and now watch every cut carefully.

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  17. That is awful! Be good to yourself and heal quickly!

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  18. So sorry to hear about your finger. :( Hope it heals quickly.

    We unfortunately also learned the hard way in the past week that stitches have to be done right way. My daughter took a bad fall at camp and had serious rips in her mouth that should have been stitched, but she swelled up so bad and was screaming so much they didn't realize her injuries in her mouth. Too busy dealing with a bloody nose, head wound, and lip cuts along with if she knew who she was.

    Blessings it all heals well.
    Hugs from CT
    Caroline

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  19. Anonymous8/23/2012

    Thats why you phone your Wela to come over!! Sorry your finger is hurt

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  20. Anonymous8/23/2012

    Thanks!

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  21. Kristina8/23/2012

    Oh no!! Glad to hear you are ok. T.V. dinners for everyone until Mama is better! :)HUGS!!!

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  22. OH wow, I would never have known that, thank you for sharing. I hope you heal soon. And I do know the feeling of not wanting to take your kids to the urgent care waiting room. I have done it (and even had a kid get sick). But it's very hard for little ones to wait.

    On a side note, I love your watch. :-)

    Molly

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  23. Hope you heal quickly and not have any issues afterwards. I used to be an EMT and I did know that there was a window in which you need to get stitches, BUT I figured that was for everyone else and I could wait and see...Well needless to say I waited, couldn't get stitches, got it cleaned (and yes OUCH), got all bandaged up and now have a nice ugly scar on my hand (well I think its ugly). I guess we live and learn. Just take it easy as much as you can with little ones and it will get better.

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  24. We've had this happen to us twice. The first time, my son got hit in the head by a wooden swing. It quit bleeding but the next morning it started bleeding and we took him in but they wouldn't do anything but put a bandaid on him. The second time (you'd think we would learn), he was at his grandparents house and sliced his foot on a clam. When I picked him up in the morning, he was still bleeding and they said they wouldn't stitch but then they decided it did need stitches so they had to give him an antibiotic shot so it wouldn't get infected. I guess now our rule is take him in right away.

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  25. Anonymous8/25/2012

    Yikes, good to know. Hope you heal fast :)

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