Think about how much you rely on your fingers to do daily tasks. Things like texting, holding a fork and driving your vehicle would be much more difficult or even impossible without fingers. Even though the thought might not be pleasant, think about what life would be like if you lost a finger or two.
People who work in the construction or manufacturing industries are at risk of having their fingers amputated. This type of traumatic amputation could lead you to file a workers’ compensation claim, which might be beneficial if you have to take time off of work and need medical care. Here are some points to know about finger amputations:
Your life is more important
As much as the negative impact of losing a finger will impact your life, you should remember that your life is more important. There is a risk of going into shock or bleeding to death when you suffer a traumatic amputation. Instead of focusing on the lost finger, the focus must be on controlling the bleeding. Once this is done or if you have more than one person to help you, it is possible to try to save the finger.
Packaging the lost digit
If you can find the severed finger, you should wrap it up inside of a damp clean cloth. Place the wrapped finger inside of a sealed bag and then place that bag inside of a larger bag that is filled with ice. Because placing ice directly on the finger could cause frostbite and make it impossible to reattach, you shouldn’t ever place the digit directly on ice.
Swift medical care is key
Severed fingers have a window of viability of anywhere up to six to 12 hours, depending on the circumstances and location. This means that you can’t waste time getting medical care. Remember, there has to be time for the injury to be evaluated and to get you into surgery if you are going to have any hope of getting the finger reattached.
Reattachment isn’t always possible
Reattaching a single finger might not be suitable since this could impede the use of the other fingers on the hand. Reattaching might not be possible if the finger was mangled, crushed, or severed too close to the hand or the tip of the digit. The medical team will consider all of these factors, as well as whether the supporting structures are in good shape when they decide if reattaching the finger is feasible.
