1/24/07

WFMW: Fixing Boo Boos

With two kids of my own and the kids that I babysit, we get more than our share of boo boos every day. Most of them are superficial and don't require more than a hug and a tissue. Once in a while, though, we get a doozie!

You know... like when I tried to cut my finger off last night while cutting the lettuce for our salads in a hurry.

Okay, so maybe its usually me that has the doozies. In any case, I'd like to introduce you to Steri-Strips.

Steri-Strips are clear or flesh-toned strips of surgical-quality tape with reinforcing threads through them. They are sterile and used in place of stitches in many, many surgical applications these days. They will even stay on through showers and baths!

In fact, these were used to put me back together after my c-section with Steven. Yup! They "taped" me back together... well at least on the outside... and they worked WONDERFULLY! So you can basically saw a woman in half and 'steri-strip' her back together.

Okay, maybe not, but you get the idea.

I was first introduced to steri- strips when Matthew was 3 and he fell as we left a friend's house 3 hours from home. His little finger got bent back really far and (to avoid gross details) he ended up with a cut at the base of his tiny little pinkie finger that was about 1 cm long. At 3 years old, 1 cm was all he had across his pinkie.

After a bandage and kisses, he made it 2 hours before he bumped it in the car about an hour from home and got it bleeding again. It was about 10 PM when we arrived home and he was tired, hurt and crying.

I figured that a trip to the ER would only make him scared and he'd only need (maybe) one stitch. I called instead. The nurse was wonderful and said that they would most likely put a steri-strip on it and immobilize it for a couple of days. She told me to make him eat a popsicle, tape the cleaned stick to his bandaged finger with whatever we had and buy some steri-strips at the pharmacy in the morning.

The popsicle got him to stop crying and made him giggle at the idea that the "Doctor" had actually "prescribed" a popsicle. The stick did the trick and prevented him from bending it back through the night and I have been hooked on Steri-strips ever since!

Steri-strips handy at all times works for me!

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

4 comments:

Shalee said...

I've never heard of these strips before now. Thanks for the heads up.

And my kids would love to have the doctor prescibe a popsicle too!

Stephanie Appleton said...

I had those too after my csections. Never thought of buying them for hone.

Lindsey said...

Huh, I'll have to keep my eyes open for these. I seem to cut myself in the kitchen a lot. Thanks!

amy@flexibledreams said...

I wish we'd had steri strips the Christmas morning my uncle duct taped my finger back together so we wouldn't have to go to the ER before we opened presents.

One comment about using the popsicle stick as a splint. Put it on the inside (palm side) of the hand. If you tape a straight stick to the back of your finger it hyper-extends the joints and causes much pain when removed days later. That's why true medical splints are curved. Found that out the hard way.