Finger injuries are somehow common and most of those can be treated home using self-care treatments. However, some cases might need medical attention as the cuts are deep and might cut major veins, causing non-stop bleeding. Since fingers are the part of body which requires a lot of movements, it is essential to attempt on healing finger injuries as fast as possible, especially if you are working in a kitchen and injured finger is the last thing you need.

When can finger cut can be self-cared?

In many finger cut cases, caused wounds can be treated at home, as long as these conditions are not met:

• Bleeding which does not stop for more than a half an hour. This might be an indication that the blade or knife has cut the arteries.
• Severe pain which elevates and does not get better after a while.
• High fever occurring after the cut.
• Redness and swelling occurring around the wound.
• The cut is caused by dirty blade and other sharp objects, as it may develop tetanus.
• Lose mobility or experience numbness of the finger, which is an indication of serious infection.

What makes cut finger heal faster?

For years, people argue which one is better to heal wound caused by sharp blades and other objects—keeping it covered or letting it breathe to the air? Folks teach us to let a wound open to the air so that the wound can get sufficient oxygen to breathe and thus, healing can be promoted. However, along these years, many researches have shown that in fact, covering a wounded area promotes better healing than letting it breathe to the open air.

Benefits of moist wound healing compared to letting the wound dry out include:

• It speeds up healing process, which is promoted through fast skin cell growth. These skin cells will be used by the wound to develop tissues, and effective cell growth happens in moist condition, which can be promoted by keeping the wound covered.
• It prevents scabs, which when picked, will restart healing process, making it even slower. Scabs, which are formed when a wound is let dry, inhibit new skin cell growth, slowing down the entire healing process.
• It minimizes scarring, which happens when scabs are picked. Minimizing scabs means inhibiting scarring and heals the wound faster.

How to heal a cut finger fast

Finger injuries from a blade can result in minor or deep cuts. Make sure you treat any caused wound immediately and properly to promote faster healing. If you are not sure what the cut has done to your finger, or some signs of infections are found, immediately take yourself to the ER. If the wound—despite the deep cut—seems not to severely damaged, you might want to follow some steps of healing it faster at home:

• Clean the wound with soap and tap water. You can also rinse it with saline solution. Do not use peroxide or iodine which may break the wound tissues.
• Stop the bleeding by applying pressure on the wound. Bleeding might be scary, but this is a normal phase in wound healing.
• If you cut deep on the fleshy part of the finger and end up with a flap, apply an antibiotic ointment and join the parted skin using butterfly bandage once the bleeding stops.
• Cover the wound with breathable gauze or bandage, which does not only give moist environment for faster wound healing, but also prevents the wound from infection.
• If the wound turns into whitish color, the tissues around it might get too much moisture. Hence, let the wound open to fresh air for a while without taking out the butterfly bandages. When the color gets better, put the dressing back onto the wound.
• Change the bandage if it gets too moist or you see leakage.
• If you see or feel the signs of infection, directly get to the ER for further assistance.
• During the healing process, limit the motions done by the finger. You can also elevate the wounded finger to prevent bleeding and drainage.