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Proper Wound Care
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000040.htm
I found this one. Are there proper techniques specific to the hand/fingers?
Comments
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I can speak from personal experience with managing implants and give you a few tips of my own.
I've used a tourniquet each time I've done a magnet, so there is really no clean-up immediately after implantation, but in the case of chip implants (I've got two), I used a piece of sterile gauze to clean up the initial release of blood. For magnets, as I said, no blood so no clean-up initially. Just wrap the finger in gauze and tape it up. I've waited as little as 3 hours and as long as 10 before removing that first gauze wrap. At that point, I use sterile saline to clean off any blood, let it air dry, then reapply gauze and tape. I use gauze for the first 24 hours or so (and at night while I sleep), but otherwise move to a simple band-aid after that. Change gauze a couple times a day, same with band-aids. For the first couple days, I clean the wound each time with sterile saline, letting it air dry or maybe dabbing it lightly with sterile gauze. Until the wound is closed, do not get it wet with tap water. I use sterile saline exclusively. When you shower, you need to be sure to have the finger wrapped in something waterproof. I use a finger cot during showers.
I've also found that if I'm in a situation where I know the finger won't get used and will stay clean, I like to remove any dressings and let the finger get some air. I don't know if it really helps or not, but it seems like it does.
Check out @cassox's blog for some good information as well: Augmentation Limitless
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Thanks! I've been sitting on a monster length updated post for like a month now. Soon. Anyways, a few additional suggestion I'd add are to take out sutures between day 3 and 5. Sooner is better. They can wick pathogens right into the healing wound.
Triple Antiibiotic ointment after the above mentioned saline cleanse is good. If you get any redness or swelling apply a cold pack and elevate your hand. This is actually a good practice every 4-6 hours. Ibuprofen every 6 hours. Inflammation and swelling is your biggest enemy. If the area swells and hardens... it's probably full of pus/infected/rejecting. Carefully lance and drain it once and then see if it heals with triple antibiotic/ cold/ ibuprofen. If not... sorry.
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So, if you drain it once, and you continue to produce pus, just get it out?
That is my situation, I'm not even going to wait for any sort of response, it's been like this a few weeks, seemed to be improving then, pus. So I'm taking it out now.
If the magnet is out will the infection clear up?
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Took it out it has some sort of black mark, I'm assuming its a gap in the coating, can't really tell as I have nothing to get a close look at it.
Gutted , lost a magnet before, and now this one is useless for implant. :(
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If there is a gap in the coating, you will find that the magnet itself is not marked but looks destroyed. The neodymium oxidizes when exposed to oxygen (which you have plenty of inside you) and will corrode at a fairly high rate.
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Well, might not be that then, it was in 3 weeks exactly, and it's still solid. Going to soak it in IsoProp, see if it comes off, will 99.9% be safe to stand in for a while?
Or I might just leave it, if it is exposed it will decay soon enough, and there is my answer.
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Just soak it in isoh. wipe it down with a soft cloth. If it falls apart in your hands, it's oxidized. Since it hasn't happened yet, I doubt that it is.
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If pus appears in the wound or there is a buildup under closed wound, a doctor would drain it and remove the implant immediately (cutting the closed wound open again if required), probably also rinsing the wound (via a syringe and a blunt needle) with hydrogen peroxide, or other disinfecting fluid.
Probably a piece of rubber drain would be inserted into the wound too, so that any pus collecting after extraction of the foreign body would flow out into the wound dressing. Depending on if the pus stops showing after a day or two, the drain would be removed and only dressings would be applied (no resuturing) until the wound heals. If pus doesn't stop showing further rinsing and antibiotics (orally) are usually required.
Not removing an implant when there is a pus buildup around creates a danger of infection spreading, possibly leading to fasciitis which may require much stronger surgical interventions, up to amputation of a finger (or extremally even whole hand).
If there's pus - get rid of the thing immediately, you can buy a new implant, you can't buy a new hand (yet).
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You don't even necessarily need to buy a new implant. Pus means infection. Infection is independent from the device itself. Proper re-sterilization will allow for you to try again once you have healed.
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As long as the implant and the coating isn't damaged it could be re-sterilized, in more medical setting though infected implants are never resterilized and reused though, because we consider risk of reinfection (because of imperfect sterilization and/or minuscule coating defects not visible by eye, where bacteria could still shelter from cleaning) greater than cost of new implants. In grinder setting as with everything it's your choice if you want to take slightly higher risk of reinfection, or take the cost of buying new implant.
It should go without saying that any attempt of reimplantation shouldn't be made until the previously infected site has been fully healed.
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chilieye, how was the magnet sterilized? Was this an M31?
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Yes, I put two in at the same time, used the chlorhexidine on both for about an hour.
Think it was that I knocked it a few times, or just bad luck, and it does say it's not ideal sterilization on the info sheet.
The other one is fine though.
