Ow.
Last night, I cut my finger. Specifically, the pinky finger on my right (dominant) hand (If you want to know how, ask in the comments - it may be kinda squicky). I don't think I've hurt myself this badly since I was a kid - certainly nothing involving So Much Blood.
Things I have learned from this misadventure:
1. I am entirely unprepared for handling something like this. A half-used box of Bandaids I bought eight years ago wasn't very helpful. Luckily I had an old first aid kit in my car that had larger bandages and a roll of gauze.
2. I'm not as squeamish as I used to be. Or - I was more worried about dripping blood on every surface of my house than I was about the stupid finger, so I made myself wrap - and re-wrap - the finger as often as necessary. (I swear watching Spartacus has nothing to do with my resilience - I watch most of it peeking between my fingers.)
3. aithine is "better than a GPS" - she found two Urgent Care clinics nearby AND supplied driving directions. Unfortunately, you can only be "urgent" until 5:00 on a Saturday. My next choice was to go to St Pete's, and if you've seen 24 Hours in the ER - yeah, that's what I was looking at. Hours alone in the busiest trauma hospital in the county. If it comes to it, I can see my regular doctor tomorrow, which also makes sense in the financial sense, since visits to ERs are more expensive than a visit to the family practice.
Ultimately, we'll see how it goes. Infection is possible and I'm not dumb, nor am I docter-averse. The darn thing does hurt, especially when I whack it against something, which happens no matter how careful I am. I guess the important thing is that I can type just fine :).
Things I have learned from this misadventure:
1. I am entirely unprepared for handling something like this. A half-used box of Bandaids I bought eight years ago wasn't very helpful. Luckily I had an old first aid kit in my car that had larger bandages and a roll of gauze.
2. I'm not as squeamish as I used to be. Or - I was more worried about dripping blood on every surface of my house than I was about the stupid finger, so I made myself wrap - and re-wrap - the finger as often as necessary. (I swear watching Spartacus has nothing to do with my resilience - I watch most of it peeking between my fingers.)
3. aithine is "better than a GPS" - she found two Urgent Care clinics nearby AND supplied driving directions. Unfortunately, you can only be "urgent" until 5:00 on a Saturday. My next choice was to go to St Pete's, and if you've seen 24 Hours in the ER - yeah, that's what I was looking at. Hours alone in the busiest trauma hospital in the county. If it comes to it, I can see my regular doctor tomorrow, which also makes sense in the financial sense, since visits to ERs are more expensive than a visit to the family practice.
Ultimately, we'll see how it goes. Infection is possible and I'm not dumb, nor am I docter-averse. The darn thing does hurt, especially when I whack it against something, which happens no matter how careful I am. I guess the important thing is that I can type just fine :).