Assemble your own medical supplies!

The housewife is prepared!

Thanks for kind messages about my finger! I went to the doctor (the cut was that deep, yikes — I never go) and I’m on the mend. She didn’t judge me for being an idiot, but I judge myself.

If I had come upon you using a super sharp knife to hack away at a frozen object, I would not have spared you a severe dressing-down for your carelessness! “Wow,” you would have thought. “Auntie Leila, this is harsh.”

Sigh.

This gives me a chance to offer a brush-up on first aid and care for such events, specifically finger-slicing events, perhaps better remembered when it’s someone else and not oneself.

Here are supplies to have on hand now, so make a list/open a cart if you lack them! These are affiliate links — thanks for using them! Obviously, you can get a lot of these things at the drugstore.

Quickly wash the cut out with warm water and a bit of soap. There will be lots of blood — grab a paper towel or super clean rag or gauze and apply pressure. I find a paper towel is right there and works well.

Let things dry, still applying pressure. If it’s a flap, try to put it in place. If it’s a cut with edges, see if you can join the edges with steri strips or butterfly bandages. There are some pretty ingenious bandages out there, so poke around and get an assortment.

Coat with skin glue. This will glue it up, help prevent infection, and make it waterproof. The doctor used a lot and spent some time letting it dry.

Cover with gauze and wrap with waterproof tape. A latex glove makes it possible to carry on around the kitchen; taping at the top with waterproof tape allows bathing. There are also waterproof patches for wounds — I’m thinking here of wounds on fingers which just make life so difficult, just because they are not easily bandaged or kept dry!! (WHY. Never mind… )

Keep your hand elevated when you can.

After a couple of days, remove the bandage.

After a week or two, the glue will come off and the area will still be swollen and tender. Keep it moisturized and give it some massages. Do little stretches during the day so the skin doesn’t tighten up too much.

I have had many such cuts over the decades; this one was the worst. Not sure why one has to be so idiotic with knives…

The Sick Woman by Jan Steen

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My book on how to live with the Liturgical Year: The Little Oratory

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