Open Wound on the Finger: Care and Healing

First aid for an open finger cut

1. Press on it. Hold a clean cloth or gauze firmly on the cut for 10 minutes without peeking. Raise your hand above your heart.
2. Rinse it. Once bleeding slows, run cool tap water over the wound for several minutes to wash out dirt. Use mild soap around the wound, not deep inside it.
3. Check it. Look at how deep it is and whether the edges close by themselves. Test that you can bend each joint of the finger and feel a light touch on both sides of the fingertip.
4. Cover it. Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly and a non-stick dressing or adhesive bandage. Keep it moist and covered.
5. Ease the pain. Acetaminophen (paracetamol) or ibuprofen help. Follow the label dose.

Skip hydrogen peroxide, iodine and alcohol inside the wound. They damage healing tissue and are not better than water. Do not use a tight tourniquet around the finger base.

Does a finger cut need stitches?

Fingers move constantly, so cuts that gape tend to pull apart and heal slowly or with a thick scar. Wound closure works best within about 6 to 8 hours of the injury, sometimes up to 24 hours for clean cuts on the hand, so do not wait days to decide.

Doctors close finger cuts with stitches, skin glue or adhesive strips. A numbing injection at the base of the finger (a digital block) makes the repair painless.

Types of finger wounds

Simple cuts and lacerations

Clean slices from knives or glass. These are the most common. See the general page on lacerations for wounds elsewhere on the body.

Fingertip injuries

Crushes in doors or machinery can split the pad, tear the nail or remove a slice of tip. Small skin losses under about 1 cm² often heal well by themselves with dressings. Blood under the nail, a torn nail bed or a broken tip bone needs assessment. More detail is on the fingertip injury page.

"Burst" or split wounds

A blow or crush can split the skin open like a burst seam, often over the pad or knuckle. These are crush lacerations, and the underlying bone can be broken. An X-ray is often needed.

Puncture wounds and bites

Nails, thorns, needles and teeth cause small holes that seal over and trap bacteria. They carry a higher infection risk than cuts. A cut over a knuckle from hitting someone's teeth (a "fight bite") can infect the joint and nearly always needs antibiotics and sometimes surgery. See human bite and puncture wound.

Hidden damage: tendons and nerves

The tendons and nerves of the finger lie just under the skin, so even short cuts can sever them.

• Flexor tendon: on the palm side. If you cannot bend the tip of the finger, or the finger rests straighter than its neighbors, the tendon may be cut. A tendon laceration needs repair by a hand surgeon, ideally within a few days.
• Extensor tendon: on the back. A fingertip that droops and cannot straighten suggests damage.
• Digital nerves: run down each side of the finger. Numbness on one side of the tip after a cut means a nerve may be divided. Repair under a microscope gives the best chance of feeling returning.
• Arteries: run with the nerves. A pale or cold tip suggests the blood supply is cut.

A cut in the middle finger or any finger on the palm side, especially across a crease, deserves a check of movement and feeling even if it looks small.

How doctors treat an open finger wound

• Examination: of movement against resistance, feeling, blood flow and the wound itself, often under a bloodless field.
• X-ray: for crush injuries, glass and suspected fractures.
• Cleaning and closure: irrigation, removal of dead tissue and closure with stitches, glue or strips. Contaminated wounds and bites are often left partly open.
• Tetanus booster: if your last dose was more than 10 years ago, or more than 5 years ago for a dirty wound. See tetanus.
• Antibiotics: not needed for clean cuts. They are used for bites, heavily contaminated wounds and open fractures.
• Specialist repair: for tendon, nerve, nail-bed or blood-vessel injury, or amputation.

How long does an open wound on a finger take to heal?

Healing is slower in smokers, people with diabetes or poor circulation, and older adults.

Caring for the wound while it heals

• Keep the dressing clean and dry for the first 24 to 48 hours, then wash gently once or twice a day and re-cover.
• Keep the wound moist with petroleum jelly. Moist wounds heal faster and scar less than wounds left to scab.
• Move the uninjured joints of the finger to prevent stiffness, unless you have been splinted.
• Protect the wound from dirty water and garden soil.
• Massage the scar with moisturizer once it has closed to soften it.

Signs your finger wound is infected

An infected open wound usually shows up 1 to 5 days after the injury:

• pain that gets worse rather than better
• redness spreading beyond the cut or red streaks up the hand
• swelling, warmth and pus
• fever

Two finger infections need urgent care. A felon is a tense, throbbing abscess in the fingertip pad. Flexor tenosynovitis is infection of the tendon sheath: the whole finger swells like a sausage, is held slightly bent, and hurts badly when straightened. It needs same-day surgical assessment. See felon and cellulitis.

Frequently asked questions

How do I care for an open wound on my finger?

Press firmly for 10 minutes to stop bleeding, rinse under running water, then cover with petroleum jelly and a non-stick bandage. Change the dressing daily, keep it moist, and watch for spreading redness, pus or worsening pain. Seek care if it gapes or you cannot bend or feel the fingertip.

How many weeks does an open finger wound take to heal?

Small cuts close in about 1 to 2 weeks. Stitched cuts are usually healed enough for stitches to come out at 10 to 14 days. Fingertip skin loss can take 3 to 5 weeks, and a repaired tendon needs about 3 months to regain full strength.

What should I do if my finger cut is wide open?

Cover it, press firmly, raise the hand and go to an urgent care center or ER within a few hours. A gaping finger cut usually needs stitches or glue, and a clinician should check the tendons and nerves before closing it.

Should I let a finger cut breathe?

No. Wounds heal faster and scar less when they are kept clean, moist and covered. Leaving a finger cut open to the air dries it into a scab, which slows healing and can crack when you move the finger.

When is it too late to get stitches in a finger?

Most clinicians prefer to close finger cuts within 6 to 8 hours, and clean hand wounds may be closed up to about 24 hours. After that, the infection risk rises and the wound may be left to heal on its own or closed later. Get seen as soon as you can.

Why is my finger numb after a cut?

Numbness on one side of the fingertip after a cut suggests a digital nerve has been damaged. Mild numbness from swelling usually settles within days, but any numbness should be checked promptly, because nerve repair works best when done early.