what is the best way to treat this? If theres anything at the surface (and it sounds like there might be from your description), that might grab it and get it out. You put out your hand to break a fall. Get a can of compressed air. Stepping on glass can lead to serious health problems if you don't treat it. For sprains, R.I.C.E. How can I get rid of pre-mature greying of hair? I've had this happen several times - I too forget that glass is pointy! Thank you for joining me on this episode of Invisible Wounds: Healing From Trauma! Dr. Adam Levy and another doctor agree. Several different removal techniques are used, although none have been evaluated in controlled trials.12 If the hook is embedded superficially, anesthesia may not be needed. But glass has a long history as a curer of wounds and an enabler of healing, not just hurting: from jars for ointments and medicines, the mortar and pestle for preparing prescriptions, glass eyes, test tubes and syringes for blood analysis, and even ultra-sharp surgical blades . Finger ulcers are slow to heal, since the blood supply is reduced, fingers are swollen, or skin is stretched tight over the area. If the tendon is partially cut, your doctor may let it heal without surgery. Wipe the blackness off the tweezers with sterile gauze. It seems inflamed for the past 2 days Don't apply too much pressure to the glass shard to avoid crushing it into smaller pieces. If you find glass in foot healed over, its reassuring to know that there are ways to deal with the issue, as weve outlined above. Antibiotics should be considered for human bites and bites on the hand. I got cut 6 days ago with a glass cup that shattered & pierced into my small right finger Finger cuts are often minor and usually heal without complications. Clean the skin around the splinter with soap and water. And if I poke it it seems to hurt all around the actual little cut part. Stiffness or inability to move your fingers or thumb. I am a 14 yo male, 55 tall, about 170 pounds, white, and no medical complications or drugs/smoking. Sometimes when you try to remove glass at home, it can break into smaller pieces and fragment within your skin. A study of traumatic lacerations found the risk of infection to be higher in older patients and those with diabetes, and in wounds that were longer, wider, deeper, jagged, with visible contamination, or with a foreign body.13, The most important way to avoid infection is to completely remove the foreign body. it is too small to see on x-ray. The needle cover technique involves introducing an 18- or 20-gauge needle to cover the barb of the hook. Better safe, right? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. It could be bacteria which entered your skin causing the swelling, if this is the case it will go down on its own. A surgeon will usually make an incision from the point where the glass entered. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 150,731 times. Placing a string around the curve of the hook, the physician pulls gently along the line of the shank. The area can then be explored by carefully spreading the soft tissue with a hemostat. You can dig it out with clean tweezers. I am not sure whether glass is in the skin or not, but I am afraid. Topical 4% liposomal lidocaine should be used for wound exploration in children. The barb of the fish-hook is disengaged by pressing downward on the body of the hook. and remove any residual pieces of glass. If in doubt, put safety first and consult a doctor instead of dealing with everything yourself, but there are definitely steps you can take to help you along the way! Then the doctor may bandage your hand or finger and put it in a splint. It bleeds a little bit and I can feel that it's there, but I can't for the life of me get it out. Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone. I have a piece of glass embedded deeply in my finger so I cant get it out. All Rights Reserved. Minor procedure: Often, a physician can make a small cut over the area of the puncture wound and dissect down to retrieve the foreign object. Ultrasonography is widely available and helpful in finding wooden or radiolucent foreign bodies.7 Detection of foreign bodies with ultrasonography has a sensitivity of 50 to 90 percent and a specificity of 70 to 97 percent for gravel, metal, cactus spines, wood, and plastic.4 In one study, ultrasonography localized 19 of 21 foreign bodies not found on radiography.7 Ultrasonography can help determine the depth, size, and shape of the foreign body and its relationship to anatomic structures such as bones, tendons, blood vessels, or joints. You must log in or register to reply here. Pull it out at the same angle that it went in. Your hands are exposed to potential dangers as you perform daily tasks, making your fingers susceptible to a variety of injuries. Video chat with a U.S. board-certified doctor 24/7 in less than one minute for common issues such as: colds and coughs, stomach symptoms, bladder infections, rashes, and more. Join 8,027 readers in helping fund MetaFilter. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. I complete the self-massage exercises from the video several times a day and then roll the scar and numb area with this tool before going to bed. Recovering from a broken finger or thumb. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/12\/Remove-Glass-from-a-Wound-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Remove-Glass-from-a-Wound-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/12\/Remove-Glass-from-a-Wound-Step-1.jpg\/aid4943773-v4-728px-Remove-Glass-from-a-Wound-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"