First Aid How to Treat a Smashed Finger What to do if you catch your finger under or in between something By Rod Brouhard, EMT-P facebook twitter linkedin Rod Brouhard is an emergency medical technician paramedic (EMT-P), journalist, educator, and advocate for emergency medical service providers and patients. Learn about our editorial process Rod Brouhard, EMT-P Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Michael Menna, DO on November 14, 2019 Michael Menna, DO, is a board-certified, active attending emergency medicine physician at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. Learn about our Medical Review Board Michael Menna, DO Updated on December 12, 2019 Print Westend61 / Getty Images Table of Contents View All Immediate First Aid What Not to Do What to Do in a Day or Two When to See a Doctor Just the mention of a finger getting squashed in a door or getting pounded by a hammer is enough to make most people cringe. The throbbing pain of a smashed finger is highly unpleasant, to say the least. © Verywell, 2017. Immediate First Aid Assuming you've extricated the finger (this would be step one), there are a few things you can do to alleviate your excruciating pain. Ice it. Use an ice pack to reduce pain and swelling. Keep the ice on it for 15 minutes a couple of times an hour for the first few hours after smashing it. Don't keep ice on too long or you can develop frostbite.Elevate it. Letting your hand dangle at your side after smashing your finger will simply increase swelling and that uncomfortable throbbing. Hold it up to reduce the pressure in there.Use it. You don't want to lift weights with your injured finger, but keep it moving. If you can't move your finger or if you can't feel it after a few minutes (you have to give the throbbing time to go away), then you should visit the doctor.Take a pain reliever. Over-the-counter painkillers can help relieve the constant reminder that you didn't move quick enough. What Not to Do Don't wrap a smashed finger. We already struggle to get blood flowing to the tips of our fingers and toes on a good day. Wrapping injured fingers and toes can lead to more damage when vital oxygen and nutrients can't get to the tips. Covering a finger injury is not a bad idea, especially if you're still working, but keep it loose. How Are Common Finger Injuries Treated? What to Do in a Day or Two Smashing your finger is just the beginning. After a day or two, blood will likely start to build up under your nail. You might see the nail turning color—usually dark blue or black—and feel a lot of pressure. This is what happens when a bruise is contained in the tiny space at the tip of a finger. Letting the pressure out will help the healing process and significantly reduce the pain—just make sure you touch base with a healthcare provider before trying to do so. Steps to Relieve a Blood Under the Nail You'll need a lighter or a candle, a pair of pliers, and either a clean, sterile paper clip or a safety-pin. From here on out, we'll only refer to your tool of choice as a paperclip, but it doesn't matter which one you use. Wash the finger thoroughly. You do not want to develop an infection in the tip of your finger.Open the paper clip so that you have a straight edge.Holding the paperclip with the pliers, heat the tip in the flame until it is red-hot.Carefully touch the red-hot tip of the paperclip to the area of the nail where most of the blood is collected (usually the darkest spot on the nail) and put just a little pressure on it. Keep it there until the paperclip burns through the nail. Don't push hard; just let the heat do the work. The blood might gush out of the hole once the paperclip burns through. In time, if the hole closes up again, you can repeat the procedure. This procedure shouldn't hurt much if at all. If the pain is too severe to try this, you'll need to see a doctor. When to Go to the Doctor In most smashed finger cases, you don't need to run to the emergency room. Occasionally, the finger might be broken. There are exceptions to any rule, however, so visit your favorite healthcare provider if you have any of the following: DeformityNumbness before you put any ice on it (especially if you don't even feel throbbing)Signs of infection If your fingernail falls off, don't panic. It's not ideal, but chances are very good it will grow back without a problem. While it doesn't necessarily mean you should see a doctor, a missing fingernail is at least worth a call to the office. A Word From Verywell Don't worry, most of the time a smashed finger will heal just fine. Fingers are very important, but they also can take a lot of abuse. Learn How to Buddy Tape an Injured Finger Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine. Smashed Finger. 2017. Warren D. Childhood finger injuries. Paediatr Child Health. 1998;3(2):78-80. Hung KKC, Graham CA, Lo RSL, et al. Oral paracetamol and/or ibuprofen for treating pain after soft tissue injuries: Single centre double-blind, randomised controlled clinical trial. PLoS ONE. 2018;13(2):e0192043. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0192043 Won SH, Lee S, Chung CY, et al. Buddy taping: is it a safe method for treatment of finger and toe injuries? Clin Orthop Surg. 2014;6(1):26-31. doi:10.4055/cios.2014.6.1.26 Bonisteel PS. Practice tips. Trephining subungual hematomas. Can Fam Physician. 2008;54(5):693. Additional Reading Nelson SW, Gibbs MA. Hand and wrist injuries. In: Adam JG, ed. Emergency Medicine: Clinical Essentials. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2013:chap 89. NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine. Smashed Finger. 2015.