Subungual Hematoma ........ OUCH!

Hey,

Late last night I got out of bed to let the cat in the house and in my dozey state managed to slam my thumb in the patio door! This was followed immediately by lots of swearing, bumping into furniture and being told to "be quiet" by my now awake DW.

So now I have a pocket of blood (subungual hematoma) under my nail and it has been throbbing all day. I did some investigating on an internet medical site and because this time the injure is not that large (< 25% of the nail area) I am just going to treat it at home with ice, elevation and ibuprofen.

In the past I have really whacked my nail bad (e.g. hammer) and used different techniques to relieve the pressure. I even went to the hospital for this problem once and this is where I learned the "heat the straightened paperclip over a lighter to burn through the nail trick".

Everyone on the forum should have a similar story or treatment method to share?

Thanks,

Mike

Hmmm, a cat-based accident story? Nope, can't think of any...

-Blast

Unlike Blast I uhmmm mean like Blast no cat stories but I have drilled and/or used the heated paperclip on every one of my fingernails at least once. Note don't use these tricks on the pinky unless there is no choice it hurtssssssssssss!

My dad lost both his big toe nails after hiking Mt. Rainier because he had worked a blister under each one on the way down and didn't do anything about it.

Had to drill a friends big toe nail for the same reason on a hike once. One word of warning, when you go to poke the hole, make sure you are wearing eye protection and/or aren't in the line of fire of the liquid geyser,

Blechhhh!!!!

I managed to get an infection in my toe a few months back - lost the whole toe nail - it's about 2/3rds grown back now

I have drilled more than one blackened nail with a penknife blade (the blade has been sharpened sooo much, first by my dad a jillion years ago, more by me, that it has a straight cutting edge and a needle point). As long as you don't put too much down pressure while twisting you are OK. The relief when you break thru is soooo sweet...

How would or could anyone THINK that a pretty, soft, cuddly, kitty cat could ever cause injury to a hu-mon???

I just don't understand.....

Back in high school, summer job working for my cousin's construction firm, dropped a plank on my thumb. Hurt like crazy, started swelling, and my cousin offered to take care of it for me. I said no way...until about a half hour, 40 minutes later it hurt so bad I said go ahead. He took a propane torch, heated the paper clip, and started to melt his way through the nail. Took three or four heatings to get all the way through, and hurt while he was doing it, but once it got through the nail, the release of pressure was instant and it was like all the pain disappeared. (OK, it hurt a bit still, but nothing like the heartbeat by heartbeat throb it had earlier).

And Benjammin's right - it does make a splash.

Dave

Hey,

I am a pretty easy going guy, I get along with everybody, almost. About 20 years ago I was assigned to cruise timber in the winter with a guy I just could not stand; he just would not follow common sense rules and procedures even if they were for our own safety or the law.

We carried a homebuilt wooden snowmobile ramp in the back of our pick-up truck but we had the problem of the entire ramp and deck sliding out of the truck when going up steep hills. We decided to nail some short pieces of 2x4 to the sides of the deck in front of the truck wheel wells to keep the unit from sliding backward. Picture the two of us standing at the side of the truck holding one side of the entire ramp up above the rear fender of the truck. So I say to my partner, "You got it"(?), because I am going to let go and hammer the board on. He replies with "I could hold this all day if I had to", then almost immediately he drops the unit on my hand! I am hopping around sticking my bleeding/blackening thumb into the snow and he is laughing his head off. I disliked the man before, now I wanted to do him serious harm. My coworkers in the office wanted to burn through my throbbing thumbnail with a heated paperclip but I would not let them; I went to the emergency room of the hospital instead, where they burnt through my thumbnail with a heated paperclip, blood hit the ceiling!

Before I could return the favour to my "partner" he got fired for refusing to follow everyday safety rules, like stopping for stop signs while driving the employers vehicle.

My sore thumb today brings back old memories, I wonder if I could find him?

Mike

yes, u can but i'm not going to tell you how because you'd look terrible in black & white prison stripes!!!!

see that what I like about this place people lookin out for each other, even if it means saving them from themselves and spoilin alllllllll the fun

IMHO the best approach is to use a 'hobby knife', an aluminum Exacto blade holder with the acutely angled #7 blade is about as good as it gets. The handle is light and round so it 'twirls' between the fingers nicely.

Using only the weight of the knife itself spin the knife and drill down through the nail. With a new blade, properly sterilized of course, it only takes a few turns. As soon as you hit blood stop. Relief is immediate and the drilling process is painless with only a slight twinge as you hit the live membrane under the nail. Press up gently from the pad of the thumb to make the hole bleed. Clearing the clotted blood and washing out any particles from the drilling. Smear a bit of neosporin on the hole and cover with a band-aid.

I have used the hot paper-clip. It gets through the nail but can cook the meat and make the damage worse. I have also used a drill with a fine drill bit. This too works but you need to watch the depth. It is easy to drill through the finger. Making the problem far worse.

You can use any sharply pointed tool to drill the nail. The pointed tip of a pocketknife will work. Some traditionalists simply place the tip on the nail and push it on through. One guy I know taps the blade in with his hammer. Both methods work but are IMHO far too painful, brutal and potentially damaging to re

Hi Art,

Thanks for the reply. My black thumb is feeling much better now, it just looks bad and I am frequently asked " How did you do that"?

Mike

"...One guy I know taps the blade in with his hammer..."

You know, I have a pretty good tolerance to pain, but just thinking of that brings tears to my eyes...

I was thinking the same thing.

• Having a swollen blood blister underneath your fingernail… pain.
• Smashing your fingernail with a hammer, even without a blood blister underneath… pain.
• Combining the above two together… extreme pain.
• Adding a blade to the previous equation… WTH are you thinking pain?!?!

I left out an important part.

While he claims to have done it on himself, he is something of a maso-macho-tough-guy, the only time I saw him do it he did it on, to, a helper. While the kid was still in shock, holding his mashed thumb. This guy grabs the kids thumb, forces it down on a low bench, steps on his hand and in one smooth motion puts the knife he keeps in his nail bag over the nail and drives it on through with one good tap from his framer.

He pulls out his bandanna, roughly wraps it up the thumb and tells the kid to get back to work. Wasn't all that traumatic simply because it was over and done with in a few seconds while the kid was unaware of what he was doing and still in shock.

In comparison gently drilling the thumbnail with the fine tip of an exacto blade is IMHO the least traumatic and damaging method I know about. Which is why I use it. The swift, brute-force approach has the advantage of seeming 'manly' and it gives the boys something to talk about over beer. Even more so if you do your own thumb. I'm not sure how I work both the hammer and knife with only one hand free but given some determination I think I could manage it. Not that I would want to.

I did see this guy put a sixteen penny nail through his foot with a pneumatic nailer. He pulled it out with the Vice-Grips he had in his bag and went back to work. You could tell it hurt and he limped for a time. We mentioned it at lunch and he shrugged it off. Tough old coot.

"... put a sixteen penny nail through his foot with a pneumatic nailer..."

OUCH!!!