deep wounds

So, while opening a package of cheese this morning with a giant butcher knife (I could've had the feta but no, I had to go for the gouda), I made a pretty deep incision in my forefinger (about 1/3 inch). I called my dad who came and disinfected/bandaged it, so it's taken care of. Has anyone had a similar experience? How long does it take to heal? Should I be concerned about infections?

This is obviously the first time something like this happened to me, I was in so much shock from all the blood that I fainted. Twice. :(

It's no big deal, in fact, I pretty much did the exact same thing a couple weeks ago. Keep changing the bandaid once or twice a day, each time with a new coating of disinfectant (like Polysporin). Mine still hasn't healed completely but I don't even notice it. It might hurt for up to three/four days. =)

Thanks so much for replying, I feel more optimistic about it now. :) I'm definitely changing the bandage later tonight.

Ouch! Sorry about that...it sounds painful! That happened to my mom once...I remember it was scary! But it sounds like you handled it well (well, except for fainting haha) and you should be alright if you keep it clean and change the bandage. Do watch for signs of infection like redness, swelling, itching, or discharge, and take it easy for a couple of days!

I did the same thing about two years ago.  I cut the tip of my left index finger (cheddar for the broccoli at dinner).  I had a guitar lesson the next day.  I walked in with this huge bandaid on my finger.  The insturctor looked at me and said, "Why did you do that?" We launched into the lesson (no blood on the fret board) and at the end he said "Try to stay away from the knives."  Everyone is right a couple of days to close and two weeks to heal completely. 

wiliwigi - yeah, after this incident I'm never touching a knife again, haha!

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll make sure to take good care of it. All that's left to do is just wait til it heals. :)

I did the same thing in January.  Mine was very deep, almost sliced a part of my finger off.  I def. should of gotten stitches, but decided I did not want to wait in an ER for 10 hours so I just dealt with it.  If it is very deep like mine, did you slice any nerves?  It took about a month to heal to where I could get it wet.  I still have little feeling in that finger and the doc told me the nerves could take years to regenerate or it might never get better.  Hopefully yours is not as bad.  I did all that the previous posters suggested.  After about 2.5 weeks I would let it air dry during the night.

It STILL bothers me.  The skin on it feels too tight.  Good luck!

Ouch, sorry to hear that, sounds like a terrible case. ):

My finger generally feels touch at all points, though stronger in some places than others, except in places fairly close to the wound where it doesn't feel at all, though I guess I can expect that. The wound itself is very deep (I should've gotten stitches too), so I'd be surprised if there was no nerve damage at all, especially in such a place (fingertips being important in tactile sensory perception and all). I don't think I severely damaged any nerves, but it feels like I did to some degree. In any case, I'm just glad I didn't chop the whole thing off; whatever recovery it takes, I'm ready to take it. :)