Nice discussion about splinter removal how about the purple finger nail?
A friend of mine called me late one night, he had bashed his finger and the throbbing was too much he needed help. I had developed my own method of dealing with this painful injury, feel free to use it.
I got out my 18v DeWalt and the smallest drill bit I could find (1/32″), and set up a towel on the kitchen table. The idea is for the ‘patient’ to push the nail onto the drill not push the drill onto the nail. It works good lots of control and some of you know the relief once it bursts.
Only thing though, we should have cleaned the bit, he got an infection.
Replies
heated to glowing red paper clip... strike while the iron is hot..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Were you a boy scout by any chance?
yup....
40th aniversery was in 1998...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
IMERC is right -- heat a paperclip red hot -- have the guy press down on the table with his finger as hard as he can bear then burn through the nail over the blood clot.
Using a drill risks taking infection into the nail bed -- the red hot paperclip is sterile and also sterilises as it goes.
IanDG
Agreed...but boy oh boy, the stench of burning nail is sobering.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Restoring, Remodeling, Reclaiming The Quality..
One trick I learned (from anatomy and physiology class dissections) is to blind your nose before going in, it makes the job way easier.
I will take a mouth full of altiods or any other strong flavored gum or candy.... The best is a big dollop of vicks vapor rub, but, it doesnt travel well.
...so a self piloting auger bit at full rpm ISN'T recommended?....."If 'tis to be,'twil be done by me."
just sterilize it 1st...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Silly, everyone knows you need to mount it in your drill press first.
red my mind...quit that.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Restoring, Remodeling, Reclaiming The Quality..
Should be a forstner bit too, right? :)
If I were to use a power tool, it would be the Dremel with a grinder bit or a small diamond wheel at full speed.
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>> ... but boy oh boy, the stench of burning nail is sobering.If you've ever assisted at branding calves, a little fingernail smoke is no big deal.
Worse...I de-horned my goats. Banding as well, but that was mostly non-odiferious....
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Restoring, Remodeling, Reclaiming The Quality..
Your right, how about if I sterilize the bit with heat or a cleanser?
The red hot paper clip is so mych less painfull
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
smells like a BBQ gone bad...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I have used a 'pin vice' and a very fine, under 1/32" bit. The pin vice is about two inches long and allows the bit to be chucked up so only 1/8" or so is exposed. This increases control. The pin vice is tweedled between the fingers spinning the bit and giving a lot of safety and control.
I have also used an exacto knife, the long aluminum handle, and a new #7 blade. This is also spun to drill down through the nail.
The other way I have seen done is to use a knife blade to scrape the nail until it is thin. Really thin over the collected blood. Then the tip of the knife is driven, spun or pushed through releasing the pressure.
As an aside this scraping to thin the nail is a good treatment for anyone prone to ingrown toenails. You can use anything hard to scrape the nail until it is thin enough to flex, I once used a sander, and allow the nail bed to grow round the outer edge of the nail. Makes a big difference. And it works as both prevention and cure.
Or if you are out in the boonies and lauch your dirt bike into the dirt, why they call them dirt bikes isn't it, and when you get back to the cottage and have a few to take the edge off, but the pressure keeps building, until you find a rusty old three corner file in the dirt and say aha! the liquid you had been partaking of makes a fine sterilizer.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
I remember when I was young, I smashed a finger in somethig or other.
Mom takes me to the doc, he heats up what I thought was a tiny metal tube over an alchohol lamp and sticks it into my nail.
The blood shot up about 5' !! Seriously, it almost hit the ceiling!
yuk
Eric
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]
didn't hurt either did it...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
The only sensation is a mild pressure, not all the sawing, drilling, and grinding that drives you up a wall like puilling your own teeth
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
That's why I recommend pushing down with your finger on the table as you burn through the nail. The blood comes out with such force it immediately cools the paperclip.
If you're doing it to someone else [always the best way really] it's good to get them to look away so they don't flinch as the clip burns through.
IanDG
Maybe because I didn't hold my finger down tight to the table it was painful. The drill doesn't hurt that bad, but it seems most people recommend the hot paper clip.
not at all..........till the doc started squeezing it like he thought money was gonna come out!I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]
I've used a brand new, very small bit, and just turned it backward with my finger. Still goes through the nail but with no momentum to continue.
DW couldn't believe I even thought of it, much less did it!
agree....heated paper clip and oh yeh.... a bottle of Jack.
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
See, that is the element missing with a bottle of 'Jack' the operation would go much smoother. I could imagine things going a whole lot easier with a little 'medicinal alcohol'.
If I whack a fingernail, I immediately put the squeeze on it.
Pinch the whacked fingernail with your other hand and hold it tight for a couple of minutes.
The body's immediate response to the initial trauma is to send fluids to the injury...by compressing the fingernail, the fluid can't get there...either the blood from damaged capillaries, or fluids responding to the injury...no fluid flow, no swelling, no blood blister under the nail.
In the past, when I've needed to release blood under a nail, the hot needle or nail was my weapon of choice.
How about ice and cold water would that also help?
Hmmm. Seems we need to conduct a study, or two.I say we whack a couple thousand fingers and try some with a tourniquet and some with ice and some with both and some with none. I came up with the idea so I can't be directly involved. Scientific integrity and all that don't you know. I might be up for swinging the hammer. A tough sacrifice but one I'm willing to make. In the interest of science.Now if we could just find a few hundred people willing to get their fingers flattened we would be all set.We play our cards right and I think a few of us could apply for a nice juicy federal grant. NIH would eat this stuff up.To move this along I can say I have a hammer and a length of railroad track that would be perfect for the whacking part. Have to stuff as sock in their mouths so we don't wake the neighbors. Also need someone to document everything by taking notes and digital photos. This person also, most regrettably, couldn't be a 'smashee'. As it can be argued that the manual dexterity needed to write and work the camera might be impaired.
I'm sure the department of homeland security would want in on this as well.You'd better record what people say when their finger is whacked...
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
No.
Not unless you add a little scotch to it and drink it.
We got whacked fingers here and you're talking about three fingers of scotch...I thought the fellahs south of the border haad a problem with worms getting in the Tequilla....
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But on the bright side...
Three whacked and swollen fingers will get you more scotch than three unwhacked fingers.
Speaking of the bright side of things...You would be able to read at night in the glow of three whacked fingers, and the scotch would grant another sort of warm glow. Maybe we just solved the eneergy crisis - whack a finger and warm up...LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!