First aid for stamping nails properly

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Phan Ngoc Toan - Emergency Medicine Doctor - Emergency Department - Vinmec Danang International Hospital.

Fingers allow the body to touch, grasp, and perform delicate movements to interact with its surroundings. Therefore, fingernails or fingers are very easily injured and crushed. In fact, nails are the most frequently injured part of the body, so understanding the right first aid for nail puncture is extremely necessary.

Although the bones in the hand are small, capable of extremely flexible movement thanks to the subtle nerve signals from the brain, the fingers are still very susceptible to injury. The most common hand injuries in daily life and work is nail damage.
Most people have had at least one broken nail. Circumstances that cause this injury are often when a finger is accidentally inserted into a door slot, when using a hammer, or when a finger is trapped under a heavy object. Even in major injuries such as falls, playing sports, carelessness when working with electric saws, drills and other tools can cause not only nails to be crushed, but can also cause fractures and bruises. broken fingers and hands.

Symptoms of a broken nail include:
Swelling and pain at the puncture site is always the first feeling Bruising and swelling of the tissue around the nail Purple and darkening of the nail Peeling If the nail is crushed Hands with finger fractures will lose the ability to move and be misaligned and deformed.

While waiting to see a doctor, the patient or parent can provide first aid to a child with a broken nail with the following measures to help alleviate some of the injury:
Try not to move the part. injured finger by dressing it on the adjacent finger to limit displacement if nail damage is associated with the fracture Raise the hand to reduce swelling Apply an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) alternative) wrap in a cotton towel for 15 to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours to reduce pain. If the surface of the bruised finger has cuts and bleeding, it should be stopped and covered with clean gauze. If the nail is festering, it is necessary to wash the wound at home with physiological saline or clean water available to wash away the dirt before dressing Take pain relievers, such as paracetamol, but do not use anti-inflammatory drugs such as: ibuprofen until the doctor confirms that it is just a simple nail crush without a broken finger. Remove the ring from the affected finger if nail damage is accompanied by injury to the finger or hand

How to treat nail stamping will depend on the extent of the injury and the accompanying damage.
When going to the doctor, the doctor will inquire about the injury situation and need to check that the blood supply is still good, make sure the injury is only localized to the nail stamping while the finger can still be bent and straightened. out. In some cases where the soft tissue around the nail is heavily edematous when the distal fingernail is distal, an x-ray may be done to rule out a fracture of the fingertip more firmly. .
Treatment of a fingertip injury that is merely nail stapling does not require intensive intervention. If blood accumulates under the nail and becomes swollen, the doctor may need to make a small hole in the nail to allow blood to drain, reducing swelling. At the same time, the old nail that is bruised and dark will peel off and replace the new nail bed that is about to grow. If the nail bed is damaged a lot, the patient may need a splint or cast to fix and reduce trauma. If the nail puncture is festering or has a bleeding wound, the patient needs to know how to clean the wound at home and change the dressing daily.
Meanwhile, if the nail puncture is accompanied by severe trauma to the bones of the finger, the patient may need an external fixed brace, an inner metal leg brace or even surgery to remove and cut. amputated finger for safety. After that, when the finger is recoverable, the patient will be instructed to perform simple rehabilitation exercises each day that will help reduce stiffness and swelling of the finger, and quickly return to normal activities. often.

Time allowed to heal a broken finger , even for a broken thumb, usually heals within 2 to 8 weeks. For young children, this time may be shorter, but in older adults it may take longer. It is not until after about 3 to 4 months that the full strength of the hand, including the injured finger, can fully recover. Meanwhile, if it's just a nail stamping, the function of that finger will no longer be significantly affected after 2 to 3 days, when the tip of the finger has reduced edema. However, crushed nails will turn dark, unsightly and will take up to 3 weeks to be replaced by a new nail that is gradually growing.
In summary, a broken nail is not a rare injury in daily life and work. In many cases, a mildly damaged nail can heal spontaneously without any treatment. However, with the above knowledge, the patient needs to be examined carefully, to avoid missing potential injuries that cause loss of function or deformity of the finger later.
If the above-mentioned first aid measures do not bring good results in the case of a broken finger, the patient needs to go to a medical center for examination and treatment.
Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for examination, treatment, and emergency treatment of many serious illnesses. With modern facilities, qualified and experienced doctors with many years of work in the profession will bring the best treatment results to customers.