Ice

If you cut off your finger, put it on ice right away

We are always amazed at how prepared some people are for the most bizarre kinds of injuries. Take cutting off a finger, for example. Ask a group of people what to do if this happens, and the vast majority will tell you that you should put the finger on ice right away.

First of all, why is everyone so fixated on the finger? You should be much more concerned about the person who lost the finger. Job one, every time, is to make sure the rest of the body (the actual person) is okay. Stabilize the person, make sure he or she isn’t bleeding profusely or in shock, and get them help if they need it. Then worry about the finger.

It is worth trying to protect the finger. The technology of surgery has improved such that fingers can still be reattached for up to twelve hours in a regular environment, and for much longer if cooled. Larger limbs with more muscle cannot last quite as long.

You should never give up hope. In 2005, a woman tied up her boyfriend to his bed. Then she cut off his penis and flushed it down the toilet. When rescue people responded, they pulled up the toilet from the floor, and found the penis trapped in an S curve in the pipes. And they still managed to reattach it. You have to love modern medicine.

After you have determined that the person who lost the finger is okay, by all means save the finger. Clean it off. But do not place it directly in ice. If you do so, it’s possible that parts of the finger could freeze. If that happens, then the tissues can be damaged in such a way that repair is impossible. For this reason, you should never, ever put a finger in dry ice either. That is way too cold.

Reputable sources recommend that the ideal way to save the finger is to wrap it in sterile gauze and soak it with saline. Then place the wrapped finger in a sealed plastic bag. That bag can be placed in ice. In the likely chance that you don’t have these materials, then you can wrap the finger in available cloth, wet it with water, and put that in a sealed plastic bag—which you can cool in ice. It’s important that the finger not be in direct contact with the ice, though. You don’t want it to freeze.

As always, it’s a good idea to be in contact with rescue services in an emergency situation. Not only will they help you get the person and finger to the appropriate facilities as soon as possible, but they will also be able to remind you of the necessary information in order to help both.