Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Dealing with the pain
• Part 2 of 2: Dealing with medical concerns
• Tips
• Warnings

It can hurt a lot if you get your hand or finger in the door. Depending on the severity of the situation, you should seek professional help by going to your doctor or the emergency room to avoid long-term pain and injury. If you don't think a visit to a doctor is necessary, you can do it yourself at home to relieve the pain.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Dealing with the pain

1. Cool your finger immediately. For medical reasons explained further in the next section, the first thing you should do is to cool the finger you got caught in the door. However, medical reasons aside, the cold from the ice will make your finger or hand numb if you refrigerate it long enough. While the extreme cold will be uncomfortable or even painful at first, persevere and keep the ice on the painful area.Eventually, the feeling, including the pain, will diminish if you cool it long enough.
2. Stay calm. Your first impulse may be to panic, but try to stay calm as much as possible. Excitement can lead to increased blood flow, which in turn can lead to harmful swelling. In addition, research has shown that fear and anxiety can exacerbate the feeling of pain, although this has been researched more in the area of ​​chronic pain than acute injury. Regardless of this, it is wise to stay calm so that you stay focused and can deal with the pain in the short term.
3. Take over-the-counter pain relievers. While you would be wise to see your doctor for serious injuries so he or she can treat your hand and prescribe stronger medications for you, in less severe cases you may want to opt for over-the-counter medications to relieve the pain. In general, over-the-counter medications for pain relief are either acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
   • Read the package leaflet carefully and follow the instructions for use. Paracetamol should be taken every four to six hours and ibuprofen every six to eight hours.
   • If you have stomach or liver problems or are pregnant, you should not take ibuprofen without first consulting a doctor.
   • People with liver disease should not take acetaminophen.
4. Concentrate on your breathing. Taking a deep breath can soothe yourself and lower your heart rate. Concentrate on the sensation of the oxygen during each stage of breathing - how it feels when it enters your nose, how it feels when you hold your breath, and how it feels when the air leaves your body through your nose or mouth. Think about what that feels like and nothing else.
   • Inhale slowly and deeply so that your stomach expands instead of your chest.
   • When you can no longer breathe in oxygen, hold your breath for a few seconds.
   • Exhale slowly and methodically, allowing the air to leave your body in a controlled manner instead of exhaling quickly.
   • When you are done exhaling, pause for a few seconds and then repeat the cycle.
   • Repeat this process until you feel comfortable enough to let go of your attention.
5. Try to distract yourself. Try to think about something other than the unpleasant pain. Let your mind drift to other stimuli that engage your senses. You could listen to your favorite music, watch an interesting television program or movie, talk to someone, or do a light activity that doesn't put too much strain on your hand, such as taking a walk. Research has shown that engaging your five senses makes pain more manageable.
6. Visualize eating. Research has shown that guided visualization, in which a person or a sound clip helps a person in pain to focus on relaxed mental images, can relieve both chronic and acute pain. However, a more recent study has shown that simply visualizing your favorite foods can achieve the same effects without any outside aids or guidance. Fantasize about eating your favorite food - be it chocolate or a hamburger - in detail, try to imagine how it smells, tastes and feels. Let such pleasant thoughts take over your mind and the pain will go away.

Part 2 of 2: Dealing with medical concerns

1. Immediately cool the painful area with ice. The most important step in the aftermath of the accident is to cool your hand with ice as soon as possible. The low temperature slows blood flow to the area, reducing the chance of swelling or inflammation that can make the injury worse. The extreme cold makes the area numb, relieving the pain.
   • If you don't have ice, you could use any other cold object. A bag of frozen vegetables from the freezer works just as well as a cold pack.
2. Hold your finger up. Point your finger up towards the sky. As with the cooling process, the goal is to decrease blood flow to reduce the chances of swelling. While cooling the sore with ice, keep both your hand and finger in the air.
3. Try to identify exactly where your hand was injured. If you have the most pain in the palm of your hand or if one of your joints hurts, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. However, if you got the tip of a finger in the door and have not sustained any joint or nail bed injuries, your doctor will likely advise you not to strain your hand until the pain is gone.
4. Try to determine with certainty that you have no injury to your nail bed. You can see that the nail has partially loosened when the skin underneath the nail has turned dark in color. The discoloration is an indication that blood is accumulating under the nail and you should contact your doctor for advice on how to deal with this. If it is only a small amount of blood, your finger may heal on its own. However, a large amount of blood can be painful and you should take action in such a case. Your doctor will probably advise you to come over so he or she can relieve the pressure that builds up under the nail, or you may be advised to do this yourself.
   • The doctor should clear the hematoma (bruising) of blood if the accumulation of blood started less than 24 hours ago. If more than 48 hours have passed, the blood will have clotted and there is no point in removing it. Patients should undergo a neurovascular examination of the hand. Flexibility and extension should be tested for all finger joints.
5. Follow the doctor's instructions for removing the blood from under the nail. Do not try to take the pressure off yourself without first consulting a medical professional. However, if a medical professional has indicated that you can try it yourself, you can get rid of blood from the nail bed by following his or her instructions. Just make sure to wash your finger well before and after the minor procedure.
   • Heat the end of a paper clip or thumbtack in a gas flame until the tip of the object is red hot to sterilize it. Hold the paper clip or thumbtack with pliers or wear protective gloves to protect your hands from the heat.
   • Touch the hot end of the piece of metal to your nail where the blood collects. Even without applying too much pressure, the heat will burn a small hole in the nail. In most cases this will be unpleasant, but not painful.
   • Let the blood flow through the hole and relieve the pain.
   • Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics for you.
6. Get medical help if necessary. In many cases, depending on the severity of the injury, you can simply cool the hand with ice and wait for it to heal on its own. However, you should consult your doctor if you are dealing with the following:
   • When you can no longer bend the finger.
   • When you have an injury to a joint or bones in the palm of your hand.
   • When you have an injury to the nail bed.
   • When you have a deep cut on your finger.
   • When one or more bones appear to be broken.
   • When there is dirt in the wound and it needs to be removed to prevent infections.
   • When you start to notice signs of infection (redness, swelling, warmth, pus, fever).
   • When the injury does not seem to be healing and no improvement is visible.

Tips

• If you are dealing with a (deep) cut or injury, you should pay attention to this first.
• Place a bag of frozen peas on the hand or finger.
• If you suspect that something is broken in your hand, go to the emergency room immediately.

Warnings

• If the pain in your finger doesn't seem to go away, notify your doctor immediately, as it is quite possible that there is more to it.