It’s not anything you’d wish on your worst enemy but in the case of an emergency, you may find yourself wondering what to do when a body part such as a finger or toe is accidentally cut off.
Thankfully, the TikTok account @tinyheartseducation, run by an ex-paramedic who is dedicating their life to “teaching parents how to save their child” has just the advice we need, and it could even save our severed body parts.
In a video posted last year, Tiny Hearts advised on exactly what to do and it’s actually a lot simpler than you’d think for, y’know, literally a detached body part.
What to do with a severed body part
In the short video, Tiny Hearts emphasised that you should not wash the body part and instead, do the following steps:
- Wrap it in gauze
- Place into a dry zip-lock bag
- Place ice-cold water into a bigger zip-lock bag
- Place the body part inside the bag and seal it
- Get to a hospital!
In the caption, Tiny Hearts wrote: “Your first reaction might be to clean off the body part by washing it, but this is NOT what you should be doing. Getting the body part wet could actually damage the cells making reattachment less likely to be successful.”
How successful is finger reattachment surgery?
According to VeryWell Health, about 70% of reattached fingers are successful, meaning the finger is usable (viable).
However, VeryWell Health points out that even if the finger is usable, it may not function like it used to, adding that there are downsides to having a finger reattached. For example, people with reattached fingers may:
- Have only about 50% of normal motion
- Experience significant loss of sensation
- Have difficulty with cold tolerance
Of course, if you sever a finger or any other body part, get medical attention as soon as possible.