My New Piercing (CAUTION: photos)

[RandyT]

Yet another cautionary tale fraught with personal injury and new found respect for power tools;

This one wasn't in the act of producing arcade stuff.  We've been in the midst of an expansion project that will allow us to offer some bigger things and part of that work has entailed me wielding framing nailers and such, something I've done plenty of times before without incident..

So whilst trying to pop a couple of nails into the corner of a partition that was being built down on it's side, the nailer double fired.  One .130" diameter nail went into the wood right where it was supposed to.  The second skimmed off the outside edge of the wood and flew 8 inches, stopping only after it had punctured my index finger and left 1/2" of the pointy side hanging out of my fingertip.

The impact was something like smashing the end of your finger with a hammer after a good hard swing.  I tried to get a better picture, but I couldn't remember how to set the macro mode while also trying to figure out in my mind how I was going to get that thing out of there.  One would think that it should slide right out, but the diameter of the nail was so large that it wedged between the bone and flesh, which held it in pretty tightly.  It took some good force to remove it, and running cold water over it helped.  Direct pressure, a liberal dousing of Hydrogen peroxide, some triple anti-biotic ointment, a gauze pad and some tape later, I was shooting nails again.  But this time, I didn't have any part of my person anywhere near the other side of that thing.

The Aftermath;

The Nail;

The picture that reflects the amount of focus I had at the time I was trying to run the camera;

It's really sore and typing sucks, but it could have been much, much worse.  It happened in an instant and I never saw it coming.  So, one more time, be careful with the power tools, folks.  I know that I will never look at that framing nailer the same way again, and rightfully so.

RandyT

[gonzobrian]

That looks awful.  Cant believe you took a picture

[MYX]

Wow, I can not believe that the thing that you thought of when you did such a thing is...Ghaw, I gotta find the camera and take a picture to show the guys. What a trip. You should be feeling that for a few days. Glad it wasn't more serious..

[lloydcom]

Ouch man that looks really painful.

Sometimes I do that when I'm building a PC with a cheap case, as the sides are like razor blades, but its funny how you can get over the initial jolt of pain and then admire your handywork (or in your case fingerwork) as it bleeds all over the place.  In my situations all over a perfectly good motherboard.

Hope you got a tetnus jab after that!

Could you imagine what that nail could do to your internals?  Yikes!

[fixumdude]

So, was this a "magic nail" that could change direction in mid flight??

I think not!!  I believe there was a second shooter.....see how the angle of the nail is back and to the left? 

[RandyT]

That looks awful.  Cant believe you took a picture

Wow, I can not believe that the thing that you thought of when you did such a thing is...Ghaw, I gotta find the camera and take a picture to show the guys.

C'mon, how often are you going to see a thing like that?  If that wasn't a "Kodak Moment™" I don't know what was.  Besides, something like this is really no fun unless you can share it .

Seriously though, I figured that something good might at least come of it if someone could see what one of these injuries look like and it prompted them to use that little extra bit of caution.  This was a minor injury that I got very, very lucky with.  A fraction of an inch in a different direction and it could have shattered bone, nerves, tendons, etc.  I escaped with a very nasty looking, but mostly superficial "flesh wound."

I just wish the nail was a little sharper...

RandyT

[WaRpEd]

OW!
It was the one armed man whodunit.
Seriously if that is a coated nail it might give a nasty infection.
Put one thru my toe once and the boot I was wearing. So I feel your pain.

[TOK]

I have to send your pics to my buddy. He's a carpenter, and about two years ago he dropped a framing nailer from shoulder height down to his side and shot a nail into his kneecap. He told me the pain was so ungodly he nearly passed out. When they took him to the hospital, the ER doctors had trouble pulling it out.

[hypernova]

I believe there was a second shooter.....

He musta been hiding behind the bushes!

I've cut my palm with a pair of scissors.  I cut something, went to use my left hand to take the cut out piece and place it across my body to the right and in front, while leaving the scissors wide open in my right hand.  This happened 7 years ago, and I got 10ish stitches.  I say -ish, because I don't remember exactly, I'm only counting the "marks" left by the stitches.  For some reason, the blood doesn't populate those tiny little lines where the stitches were laid out.

Yelled bloody murder when they went to anesthetize my hand.  Sticking needles RIGHT AROUND THE CUT!  I don't even remember breaking/dislocating my arms/shoulders being that painful.

[NightGod]

Damn that looks painful-my first thought was "---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, that's through the bone". Whatever god you believe in was watching out for you today, that's for sure. I had a truck door slammed on the tip of my finger once, split the whole thing open and took a few MM of meat off over the long haul-those things bleed like mad and bone injuries take months to ever feel even close to right. I'm guessing you probably have at least a scrape on your fingerbone, I can't imagine the nail would be that hard to pull out if it hadn't wedged a bit between your bone and muscle.

Hint for you though, if you suspect any nerve damage at all, once the initial injury heals, make it a habit to tap your finger against random surfaces around you-rough things like couches and cubicle walls are the best. It helps rebuild the nerve pathways and get you back to full sensation. I had to do it for about 18 months before my finger started feeling normal, a guy I know didn't do it and his recovery is still going on over three years later. It's a little thing, but the earlier you start doing it, the better the long-term effects are.

I'd second the recommendation for a tetnus booster if you haven't had one lately and trying to talk the doc into a script for some Amoxicillian to cover you against infection-things could end up getting alot worse before they get better if you don't take the proper preventative steps. Would suck to see that turn into something really serious after you got away so luckily from the inital injury.

[Tiger-Heli]

Those framing nailers scare the pants off me before I read this post.

Sorry it happened, but glad it wasn't any worse.

Agree with the others, you should probably get a doctor to look at it.

[elvis]

C'mon, how often are you going to see a thing like that?  If that wasn't a "Kodak Moment

[Tahnok]

When the title said "pictures", I thought for sure it would be pictures of after you had been to the hospital. Unbelievable.

Anyway, another good warning. Every once in a while I feel myself becoming inpatient with my router. The other thread has served as a reminder several times to take a breather. I'll remember this as well.

[Gambit]

I think I saw somebody hiding behind the grassy knoll.

But seriously, I would've had the ER doctors remove it.  I'm no wimp, but come on, you had a nail through your finger.

[DrewKaree]

I think I saw somebody hiding behind the grassy knoll.

But seriously, I would've had the ER doctors remove it.  I'm no wimp, but come on, you had a nail through your finger.

This type of injury happens every so often with roofers.  To wait until the ER would mean far more swelling, making it even more difficult to remove.  It's not preferred to remove it yourself, but if you have ANY wait time, or the ER is a fair distance away, in the end, it'll be far less painful (and costly) to remove it yourself and have those trained folks tell you how to deal with the wound.

[Quarters]

That looks awful.  Cant believe you took a picture

I've seen a few people do that. It doesn't hurt that bad until you remove the nail (into the bone is another story). One guy nailed two of his fingers together and felt a pinch. he didn't realise what happened until he tried too take his glove off.

[thebrownshow]

To wait until the ER would mean far more swelling, making it even more difficult to remove.  It's not preferred to remove it yourself, but if you have ANY wait time, or the ER is a fair distance away, in the end, it'll be far less painful (and costly) to remove it yourself and have those trained folks tell you how to deal with the wound.

That only applies to fingers and such where bleeding can be controlled, folks.  Any medical professional will tell you to leave any impailing/stabbing object in the wound until you get to a hospital.

Seriously though, Randy, you're insane for thinking about snapping a picture first!  Here's to a speedy recovery! 

[RandyT]

To wait until the ER would mean far more swelling, making it even more difficult to remove.  It's not preferred to remove it yourself, but if you have ANY wait time, or the ER is a fair distance away, in the end, it'll be far less painful (and costly) to remove it yourself and have those trained folks tell you how to deal with the wound.

That only applies to fingers and such where bleeding can be controlled, folks.  Any medical professional will tell you to leave any impailing/stabbing object in the wound until you get to a hospital.

Absolutely. 

Good judgement is the key to dealing with something like this.  I stopped to take a picture because I knew I wasn't in any real danger.  I could move the finger without screaming (no broken bones), there was nearly no blood, etc.  If it had gone straight through bone, this story would not have been illustrated, trust me

In this particular situation, the nail was so large in diameter that there really wasn't any space for it where it was.  It hurt much more being in than out,  and the hospital is about 20 miles away.  Add an hour onto that if the ER was busy.   I was not about to leave it where it was for that long.

I am not advocating dealing with a situation like this in the manner I did, rather urging caution in hopes that others use enough care that it doesn't happen at all. 

It's currently healing well, with no signs of infection or other serious complications.  Thanks for the well-wishes.

Hint for you though, if you suspect any nerve damage at all, once the initial injury heals, make it a habit to tap your finger against random surfaces around you-rough things like couches and cubicle walls are the best. It helps rebuild the nerve pathways and get you back to full sensation. I had to do it for about 18 months before my finger started feeling normal, a guy I know didn't do it and his recovery is still going on over three years later. It's a little thing, but the earlier you start doing it, the better the long-term effects are.

I do feel a bit of "numbness" right over the pathway, so some nerve damage must have occurred.  I will make it a point to follow your suggestion.  Thanks for the tip!

RandyT

[NightGod]

Sure thing! I actually got that tip from the girlfriend of the guy I mentioned because his physical therapist had recommended it and she was pissed at him for not doing it. I noticed a HUGE improvement in the first eight weeks and then it kinda tapered off on the rapid gains, but I eventually got that last 5% or so back, and I really credit this technique with it happening (considering the only other physical therapy type thing I did was 2-3 minute massages a couple times a day to increase bloodflow to the area).

Basically, start doing it as soon as you can-as long as it won't cause reopening of the wound, then you're OK (so you'd probably be good to go about now, actually). The guy I mention had some pretty serious injuries, as in a couple of his fingers required surgery, and they had him doing this stuff about five days post-injury. Obviously, you'll need to do light taps-I acutally did more rubbing than tapping the first couple of weeks, but I also had a bit of crushing bone injury involved in mine, so find what is just pushes the tiniest bit past the edge of comfortable and go with that.

The massages you'll probably have to do just the bottom two knuckles until the wound totally heals-basically do a milking motion. I found this was probably the biggest thing for actual healing and flexibility, whereas the tapping helped with the sensitivity. Your body loves fresh bloodflow for healing stuff, I say give it all it wants.

[Bones]

Take the pain, take the pain.

[ErikRuud]

Randy that looks painful.

My mother got shot in the knee by a framing nailer. After retiring from the Chicago Police Department she was working a cashier at a local home improvement store (Not one of the national chains).  They had a contractor building a new showroom are for the kitchen and bath department. One of the nailers misfired and sent a nail half way across the store into my mothers knee.  Luckily it kindof lodged behind her kneecap and did not penetrate any bone or cartilage.  The ironic part is that she had been a street cop in one of the worst districts in Chicago for most of her 20 years on the force and had never been injured.

I have never used a framing nailer, but I did use a trim nailer (2-1/2" trim nails) while doing the mouldings in my remodeled basement.

The contractor working on my basement had a double file that sent a nail flying across the basement and broke the newly installed 4'x5' double pane window.

I did have a few double shots that put two nails right next to each other.  I also had one that hit a framing nail on its way in.  The nail curled 180 degress and the tip came out right next to my thumb.