I pinched my finger, the nail turned blue and swollen: what to do, how to relieve the pain, remove the bruise under the nail

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Author of the article

Svetlana Pavlikhina

Reading time: 6 minutes

In everyday life, people encounter various household injuries. Insignificant at first glance, they can cause irreparable harm to health. Frequent injuries include bruises and compression of the limbs. As soon as a person pinches a nail with a door or a heavy object, it is necessary to urgently save the horny plate, otherwise it may fall off.

First aid

In the first minutes after receiving an injury, you need to remember what to do and how to cope with the damage yourself. The right decision would be to urgently seek medical help.

If this is not possible, perform the following actions:

Apply ice to the damaged nail.
If a bruise forms under the stratum corneum and pain increases, pierce the nail with a hot needle treated with medical alcohol. As a result of this, blood comes out through the hole, swelling and pain decrease.
Treat the nail plate and the area under it with iodine or any other antiseptic.

Such manipulations help preserve the nail and neutralize the consequences of damage.

If the blow hits the nail area

If a finger gets pinched in the nail area, there is a risk of losing it. The main symptom that indicates the need to take urgent action is that the nail plate has turned black due to the formation of a hematoma under it.

There is one way to prevent its detachment, which is approved by doctors:

heat the needle on the fire;
lean it against the nail plate at a right angle, without pressing;
a hole should form on the nail through which excess liquid will come out, and the wound will be able to heal under conditions of oxygen access;
anoint your finger with an antiseptic solution.

This manipulation can reduce the risk of the nail plate coming off, but does not completely guarantee that this will not happen. When a nail separates, especially on the big toe, this process must be controlled to avoid infection of the wound. The free edge is cut off, and an adhesive plaster can be worn to prevent further injury. However, from time to time the wound should be exposed to the open air. The doctor will also explain what to apply to the skin to prepare it for nail growth. These will be antiseptic solutions, moisturizing ointments and creams - the epidermis should not become coarser.

How to relieve pain

In the first minutes after injury, dry cold (ideally ice in a heating pad, in a bag) is applied to the damaged area. This reduces the intensity of pain and relieves swelling.

When the pain from dull, aching develops into throbbing, and the nail turns blue, take painkillers (Ibuprofen, Nurofen, any analgesic).

Tablets are taken according to instructions.

If there is no relief within half an hour, the finger is swollen, contact a traumatologist.

Color change

Depending on the condition of the wound after the accident, further actions are determined. The color of the nail can tell you about the depth of the injury.

Blackening of the nail

Blackness under the nail is formed due to hemorrhage under the stratum corneum. The blood turns dark after clotting.

If the finger is not damaged (there is no fracture) and the nail does not peel off, then pain and swelling are relieved by applying cold. You cannot keep this compress for more than 15 minutes.

When the nail plate is damaged or there is a break, a liquid antiseptic is poured into the wound and a clean bandage is applied over it.

Blood under the nail

Such damage appears after a severe bruise or pinched finger. When the pain intensifies, you need to see a traumatologist. At home, the nail is pierced with a heated needle to release blood and reduce pain.

If the blood is clotted (curdled), the nail turns black, the clot is removed with manganese baths.

Several crystals of potassium permanganate are dissolved in warm water, and hands are immersed in the solution for 15 minutes. This disinfects the wound and removes the resulting bruise.

Blue in the face

A bruise under the nail forms after a slight injury. The consequences can be easily eliminated by applying cold to the sore finger for 15 minutes. Then remove the ice for 20 minutes and reapply it.

Every day, the damaged area is lubricated with Heparin ointment. The product helps relieve swelling and eliminate bruising.

Features of the structure of the fingers

The phalanges of the fingers are represented by thin tubular bones that are not designed for heavy loads. Situations in which a finger is pinched by a door or other objects are stressful for bone and soft tissues. Finger joints are especially vulnerable. If a simple fracture in the area of the diaphysis (middle part) of the bone heals quickly, then pinching a finger in the joint area threatens the loss of its mobility.

Most often, the injury turns out to be a simple bruise, but if the finger is pinched severely, there is still a possibility of a fracture. The appearance of pain and swelling may be associated with damage to any of the structures:

bone or cartilage tissue;
muscles, ligaments, tendons;
nerves or blood vessels.

Injuries associated with pinching a finger in the nail area take a long time to heal, even if the bone is not damaged. This is due to the growth characteristics of the nail plate. If treatment is not started in time, it may gradually separate from the skin, and the victim will have to wait until a new nail grows.

How to prevent peeling

If the blow was powerful, the stratum corneum will come off partially or completely.

To prevent the nail from falling off, the damaged area is washed with hydrogen peroxide and Bepanten ointment is applied.

For prevention, antifungal agents are used twice a day. A pressure bandage or medical plaster is applied to the site of the impact.

If the nail still peels off

If several days have passed after the injury, the hematoma on the hand has subsided, but the nail has begun to peel off, it is cut off. Afterwards the finger is treated with Chlorhexidine.

The procedure is repeated as the nail grows, until the stratum corneum is completely renewed. This way the nail comes off without causing discomfort to the owner.

Damage to the nail plate

With severe bruises, the nail breaks and cracks.
Such damage can be caused, for example, by a car door or a heavy object.

What to do

First of all, cold should be applied to the injury site to prevent the formation of a hematoma.

Then the wound is disinfected with any antiseptic. You can apply an iodine grid to your finger. This way, swelling will not appear not only under the stratum corneum, but also on the finger.

The nail is wrapped with adhesive tape to prevent it from being rejected.

Treatment

To save the damaged area from peeling, the formation of edema and hematoma should be prevented. To do this, a small hole is made in the nail. The procedure must be performed by a doctor .

In special cases, an adult can do this independently:

The nail and the skin around it are treated with alcohol, iodine, and brilliant green.
A sewing needle, pin, or hairpin is heated well over a fire.
A puncture is made in the middle of the nail to the skin under the stratum corneum.
As soon as the needle reaches the skin, it is removed, pressed on the finger, releasing blood through the hole.

Afterwards, the finger is thoroughly treated with an antiseptic, a bandage is applied, and secured with a pharmaceutical adhesive plaster. They do this procedure on their own only in emergency cases, if it is not possible to get to a doctor.

Bruise or fracture?

The main task of a person who has pinched a finger is to identify the fracture in time and fix the bone fragments. The final answer can only be given based on the results of x-rays, but you can carry out preliminary diagnostics yourself. The fact is that the pain at the time of injury may be too strong, and the victim loses the opportunity to determine its intensity. Treatment in these cases will be different. The bruise goes away without additional fixation of the finger, while bone fragments during a fracture must be compared with the application of a rigid bandage.

After an injury, you should fix your finger in a comfortable position and sign up for an x-ray

A fracture is a complete disruption of the integrity of the bones. It occurs when there is strong pressure on the bone tissue, which it cannot withstand. This injury can be identified on the spot by characteristic signs:

the painful sensations are especially sharp at the time of injury, but even after it the victim does not feel relief;
the appearance of an extensive hematoma (bruise) due to damage to blood vessels;
abnormal mobility of a finger or toe;
an attempt to bend and straighten the finger in the joints causes pain and is often unsuccessful;
deformations of the structure of the finger, which are visible even without additional research.

A bruise that occurs after a finger is caught in a door is a less severe injury. Because the bones remain intact, healing occurs much faster. However, a strong blow can be accompanied by an equally intense pain syndrome, so it is important to carry out a differential diagnosis in time. The bruise is accompanied by the following changes:

the skin around the bruise quickly turns red, the local temperature rises;
a blood ball may appear near the nail;
swelling gradually increases after a bruise - this is due to damage to small blood vessels.

Even if the nailed finger shows all the signs of a fracture, the victim still needs to have an x-ray taken. It will allow you to determine the exact location of the injury and the degree of damage to surrounding tissues.

In addition, bone fractures can be complex, multiple or comminuted. Displaced fractures require surgical intervention, after which the position of the fragments is checked using radiography.

Nail damage in children

In children, such injuries occur quite often. For primary symptoms of damage, it is necessary to treat the wound and apply cold.

If the swelling increases and the skin under the nail turns blue, you should seek medical help.

Often the child cannot tolerate the increasing pain. It is necessary to give Panadol or children's Nurofen before the doctor arrives. This way the baby will not suffer from severe pain.

Therapy

In pediatrics, the treatment of such injuries differs little from adult traumatology. If the nail plate can be protected from delamination, swelling is relieved and the wound is disinfected.

When the integrity of the nail cannot be maintained, it is removed and a sterile bandage is applied. It is changed periodically until a healthy nail grows.

What to do if you have a bruised nail?

To stop hemorrhage and reduce pain you need:

Hands under a cold water tap

apply any source of cold to the nail: ice, a piece of snow, or hold the pinched finger under running cold water for 15-20 minutes until the blood vessels constrict completely and the pain is relieved;
treat the nail plate with any antiseptic: iodine, hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to prevent infection under the nail and inflammation to begin;
in case of severe swelling of the finger, you should tie it tightly with a bandage or adhesive plaster, having previously treated it with iodine;
go to the emergency room for qualified help, because if the nail turns blue or black, the injury can be quite serious, including a fracture of the phalanx of the finger.

If the door is pinched and a lot of blood has accumulated under the nail plate, a hematoma has formed, and the plate has moved away from the nail bed and risen up, then the surgeon, under sterile conditions, will make a hole in the nail to allow the blood clots to escape. This will prevent the nail from dying off, causing unpleasant complications and consequences in the future.

It is undesirable to carry out such a procedure at home with improvised means; it can cause an infection and aggravate the situation.

Treatment options

To preserve the damaged layer, remove swelling, get rid of pain, and cure the finger, various methods are used.

Traditional

After receiving an injury, first aid is provided on the spot: cold is applied to the site of the injury, the wound is treated with an antiseptic. If the damaged area hurts, take any available analgesic. Local anesthetics are used.

To relieve swelling and inflammation, heparin gel is applied to the bruise and the adjacent area twice a day, and a sterile bandage is applied.

Traditional methods

To relieve swelling and pain, use pharmaceutical bodyaga. These are dried and crushed sea or freshwater sponges. The product is used as a local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory agent.

The powder is diluted with water to the consistency of thick sour cream, applied to the injury, and kept for 15–20 minutes.

The procedure is repeated several times a day.

As soon as the swelling subsides, hand baths made from chamomile and lemon balm are used. Dry herbs (1 tbsp) are poured with a glass of boiling water and left for half an hour.

The healing infusion is cooled to room temperature, and the bruised finger is dipped into it for about half an hour.

Consequences

If an adult or child pinches a finger, and after the injury there is no way to treat and treat it, inflammation, infection develops, and necrosis of the skin under the horny plate occurs.

This can lead to the loss of a nail or even a finger..

With severe bruises, the nail will peel off; the wound underneath must be protected from any infection. To do this, the finger is disinfected several times a day and a sterile bandage is applied.

If the damaged layer is not removed, this leads to the growth of a new deformed nail. It will be thin, weak, crooked. On the hands it does not look aesthetically pleasing; on the toes such a defect makes it difficult to wear shoes and affects the gait.

Seeing a doctor

Home treatment is ineffective and can lead to more serious consequences than losing a nail.

Qualified medical care is necessary in the following cases:

suspected fracture of a finger;
delamination, fracture of the nail;
unbearable, throbbing pain;
formation of extensive edema;
a diabetic patient or child was injured;
when there is a suspicion of tissue sepsis (necrosis);
if a limb is severely pinched, a foreign object has gotten under the horny plate, which cannot be removed independently.

Complications from nail injury

In case of complications, pus may accumulate under the damaged nail, and even the temperature may rise due to inflammation and redness of the skin near the nail. In this case, you need to urgently seek qualified help, since a simple bruise can lead to the development of infection of the surrounding tissues and even the bone of the finger.

Perhaps the finger was knocked out by a car door, if it is very swollen, it hurts when moving, and a hematoma immediately appears under the skin.

Note To establish an accurate diagnosis, you need to take an x-ray, which will show whether the finger is knocked out, broken or simply pinched.

Injuries to the hands often occur in athletes during training, the pain is so piercing that it seems that the finger is simply knocked out. The main thing is to immediately immobilize the finger by applying a tight bandage, but you should definitely visit a doctor. The injury does not always go away on its own; a knocked-out finger requires realignment, which means surgical intervention.

What to do if your finger is severely deformed, or if the door is pinched? The main thing is to immobilize it in time, apply a tight bandage, and take analgin for pain. Children can be given Paracetamol, Nurofen. The bone fragments may be displaced, and there is nothing left to do but go to the emergency room as soon as possible.

Duration of the recovery process

After receiving a strong blow, in 90% of cases the damaged, deformed nail plate peels off.

The injured stratum corneum disappears in 1 month, and a new one grows in about six months.
To speed up the process, the damaged surface is removed. When the bruise is minor, the pain goes away after 2-3 days .
The swelling subsides after 1-2 weeks, the skin under the nail will recover.

On the legs, the healing process is slower. During this period, you should avoid tight shoes.

Regular therapy is required for complete restoration of the nail plate.