Knife vs. thumb: The aftermath

With all due respect to the Chef of SportsJournalists.com, since we have a few chefs in this kitchen, I'm asking this. Doc Talk may jump in to ... I might just PM him though.


I put a knife through the tip of my thumb Sunday night while cooking. Dicing onion, the end of the onion fell flat on the board, so I slid it up with my thumb and WACK!

It didn't hurt so bad, but it wouldn't stop bleeding. (The ER doc said that was normal ... who knew?) I got no stiches at the ER because there's nothing to stich; I'm just missing a chunk of my thumb. So an ER nurse put some surgical foam on it and wrapped it. It was still bleeding profusely more than two hours after the accident, and I had applied pressure the entire time. They said to take off the bandage after 24-48 hours, let it breath at night and cover it during the day.

Last night after work was 50-some hours since said accident. I took off my awesome bandage with a handful of initials on it, and it looks like I have this dried bloody growth on the tip of my thumb. I'm guessing that's the surgical foam. So I started pulling away some of it that's easy to pull off. Rinse it. Use some peroxide. Rinse again. Pick at the foam. Rinse again. Pick some more. It starts bleeding again. So I put a bandaid on it and went to sleep.

I changed the bandaid this morning and it didn't bleed as much as I thought overnight, but is this surgical foam supposed to attach itself to me? Should I be picking that away? And is my thumb really gonna look normal again? The ER doc said it would, but it's looking pretty damn gross right now.

btw, I went back through the onion after I got home from the ER Sunday and found the chunk of skin. It was preserved between a pair of onion slices.

 

REALLY could have done without that last graph, Bammer. :-X

I would worry about infection...I thought I read that ex-Pirates great Willie Stargell got a staph infection when he cut himself in the kitchen and that that started him on his downward spiral.

 

You wanna see pictures? I can make that happen.

As for infection ... the ER doc said to watch for drainage and red streaking. But thanks for making me think about staph infection, I appreciate that.

 

I'm here to help, Bammer.

But I'll pass on the meal you've prepared, thanks.

 

A note to BBAM: You might want to reach between your legs to make sure you still have a set of testicles.

You cut your thumb, and you go to the ER? Good Heavens man. If I can't see the bone, I don't leave home.

Duck tape works wonders.

Time to sac up.

 

Dude ... a bandaid wasn't gonna cut it, so to speak. And I don't want to get Duck tape staph.

 

I know.....I'm just messin witcha.

 

I'm sure you have to love the ads for Crate and Barrell (complete w/ two huge knives) on the side of a page where you're talking about cutting the shit out of yourself w/ a knife.

 

BBAM, have you entertained the thought that Grimace was practicing voodoo at the time of your unfortunate kitchen accident?

 

This thread will not end ...

Fuckin' A — this thread didn't even start well.

 

What? That loveable, happy, purple monster? We're all good now.

I still use knives. Hell, sitting in the ER I was having a good time with the ER nurses and doc at my own expense.

 

Are you Eric Roberts? The Pope of Greenwich Village was on one of the myriad Encore channels last night.