Proper wound healing needs to consider various things, and one of those is what method to use in maximizing healing effects. Cuts and scrapes which are small and harmless will likely to heal themselves without specific wound treatments. However, deep wounds should be treated differently, since failure to do this might lead to infection. Finger injuries, for instance, are very common, and while some of these injuries are minor and self-healing, some others can be fatal and need more proper medical assistance.

Determine cut finger severity

To define whether or not cut on a finger needs stitches, determining its severity needs to be done. There are some properties to define how severe a finger laceration—cut in the skin is.

• Laceration depth

When it comes to cuts, especially in fingers, the depth illustrates more than its length. In many cases, short yet deep cuts are more harmful than the long yet shallow ones. Cuts in finger which damage inner tissues, veins, and tendons might require more professional medical assistances, such as staples or stitches.

• Location of laceration

Where on the finger you get the cut also needs to be considered in determining the wound severity and the most suitable treatment. If the cut is in between fingers, or on the segments of a finger, you should consider to ask professional helps.

• Bleeding level

Bleeding is a normal process in wound healing. This is how our body responds to get rid of the dirt in a wound. However, how severe the bleeding is will determine whether or not professional wound closures are needed.

• Cause of wounds

Some finger cuts caused by sharp objects, such as knives, utility cutters, saws, and by animal bites might be deep and long enough. However, you will need a professional advice to determine whether you should get it sutured, since in some cases, these kinds of wounds are left open in order to heighten medication absorption and inhibit trapped virus, such as rabies.

When does a cut finger need stitches?

When you accidentally cut the finger, look at the wound carefully to determine what kind of treatment you might need. Any wounds should be handled immediately to prevent the possibility of infection. Minor cuts can be self-healing and thus, can be cared for at home. However, severe wounds should not be neglected, as it carries bigger chance of infection and inner tissue damages. Your cut finger may need stitches if you notice some of below things.

• The cut is deep and the edges of the skin are jagged or parted. Injuries which remove all layer of the finger—when you accidentally slice off the fingertip also need to be sutured to promote better and quicker healing.
• The bleeding won’t stop for hours and is accompanied by elevating pains. This might be a sign that the cut has damaged inner tissues, such as veins or tendons.
• The cut is located in the area which requires a lot of movements, such as finger joints. A cut located in this part will take a long time to heal if not stitched as a result of excessive movements.
• Experienced numbness in cut finger, which is a signal that a muscle or tendon may be cut.
• There is a foreign object—such as shattered glass, which is left inside the cut wound, and cannot be taken off by yourself. It is important to use only sterilized instruments to get debris and other objects out of the wound. If the object is located in a deep area of the wound, immediately seek for medical help. The doctor might need to tear the wound to get the object out and stitch it back afterwards.

Important notes about stitches

• Every wound requiring stitches should be treated in less than 12 hours after injuries. Otherwise, stitches will not be performed to prevent the possibility of infection caused by too-long open wound.
• In some cases, you might experience cuts with parted edges, but no severe bleeding. If you consider using super glue to perform a closure, make sure you get the less toxic one. Do not use the glue if you are prone to allergy.