Smashed finger...

Give it time. I am learning that injuries can take a long time to fully heal.
I would be willing to put money on it that you will never smash your finger in the trainer again. I definitely understand being a little shy of going anywhere near it.

I REALLY smashed my right middle finger just about a year ago. I closed it inside a folding wall in the classroom next to mine. I had a large gash on one side and lots of damage under the nail. It was kind of fun, giving my boss the finger while he bandaged me up. I never did go see the doctor. Thom sterilized a needle and put a few holes in the nail for me to relieve the pressure a couple of times. I just kept an eye out for infection. That would have sent me to the doctor. I lost the nail, ended up ripping it off while putting on my wet suit at tri. And I still have some nerve damage, not surprising since the finger was crushed. I am very careful when I close those walls now. :rolleyes:

Veronica

Youch Veronica! My finger hurt in sympathy reading it! Thankfully you had Thom around to do the work, I didn't have a choice but to go to the doctor. One thing is sure, I've become far more careful when doing things that could cause my finger to get re-smashed - like when putting up weight plates at the gym...

My poor fingers are just going through the ringer this year! First a smashed finger on my dominant hand (still healing). Then, last night, I wound up with a 2nd degree > 1-inch burn on a finger (other hand) from a pan that had just come out of a 400 degree oven! Inside of the finger where, somehow, I caught the pan between two fingers. Still don't know why both of them aren't burned. Then there is the thumb that split because the skin got too dry...poor hands :(

Thankfully we have an employee clinic in my building, makes it easy to get first aid prescriptions without having to fork over a co-pay :)

Last month when I was dealing with my hurt back, I burned a finger while cooking. My friend said "You should just go to bed and stay there for a while" and my daughter replied "Knowing her, she'd fall out of bed." I have a dream that one day I wont' be so clumsy...

For the dry cracky skin slather your hands with some extra good lotion and tuck them in to cotton gloves while you sleep. Without Burt's Bees, I probably wouldn't have any skin on my hands at all.

coming in late to this conversation but have to share. I took a really bad tumble off my son's bike a few years ago, broke my middle finger, ripped the nail completely off as well. All a week before hiking rim to rim of the Grand Canyon. My father who was 85 at the time looks at it and says "put a tampon shell over it" I cracked up but that is exactly what a did and it worked like a charm. It wasn't heavy, kept me from banging or bumping it when hiking and it was a pretty pink plastic :) of course, I had it taped on my finger so most people didn't know what it actually was.