How long do trapped fingers take to heal?

15 Apr How long do trapped fingers take to heal?

Fingers are particularly vulnerable to injury, especially if the object that’s doing the injuring is a door! As the designer, manufacturer, supplier and fitter of the world’s only door safety product that ejects fingers from dangerous hinge gaps to prevent such injuries, we know just how devastating finger entrapment can be. In fact, the short- and long-term consequences of such incidents is what inspired us to create pinch protection guards in the first place.

If you have been the victim of a finger crush injury, understanding the healing timeline, potential dangers and recovery process is crucial. In this blog post, we share just that so you can heal properly and avoid further complications.

The dangers of finger entrapment

As we touched on earlier, trapped fingers can lead to both short- and long-term complications. Short term, it’s likely you’ll experience pain and swelling. The impact of the door and resulting tissue damage isn’t pleasant, and may cause nail bed injury where the nail becomes discoloured, damaged and even detached from the finger completely.

Finger entrapment often causes fractures too, while the risk of infection is also high if first aid hasn’t been administered fast enough or correctly. Trapping fingers can result in lifelong problems, with nerve injury, joint stiffness, deformed nail growth and chronic pain having the potential to negatively impact the affected person’s everyday as plastic surgeon Anna De Leo explains:

“It’s easy to underestimate how important your hands are to doing everyday tasks. Injuries to fingers and hands mean tying your shoelaces, typing, holding a mobile phone or eating become a lot more challenging. And this is nothing compared to the impact of a finger amputation… Fingertip injury alone can result in 20% loss of hand strength and can prevent people from pursuing their chosen career.”

The healing timeline for trapped fingers

While the recovery time following finger entrapment varies based on just how severe the injury is, there are some guidelines you can follow to judge whether you’re healing as you should. For minor injuries – i.e. mild bruising and swelling – you can expect the healing process to take anywhere between a few days and one week.

Recovering from moderate crush injuries, small fractures and nail damage can take from two to four weeks. The growth of a fingernail takes much, much longer however – up to six months to be exact! For more severe issues such as fractures, tendon damage and nerve injuries, a full recovery can take from six weeks to several months, depending on treatment and rehabilitation.

Our top tips for speeding up recovery

The dangers of door-related finger injuries are obvious. But, with the right advice and support, you can make a speedy recovery and reduce complications, and it all starts with your treatment straight after entrapment. Apply a cold compress to reduce swelling and numb pain for 15 to 20 minutes every few hours; keep the hand elevated; and keep the wound clean if the skin is broken.

It’s likely you’ll need ongoing care via the use of over-the-counter pain medications (like ibuprofen) to manage pain and inflammation. Gentle stretching and other exercises can also prevent or alleviate stiffness.

Remember, time is a great healer, while monitoring for infection is essential. Keep an eye out for redness, warmth and unusual discharge at the injury site, and if the pain worsens or you experience numbness, you should seek medical attention right away.

Stop finger trapping injuries in their tracks by browsing our range of finger protection products today.