Have I been a bit daft...?

[mahking51]

Weird query section!

Recently for some reason I have been getting a lot of small 'paper' type cuts in the ends of my fingers/thumbs. They seem to be caused by the skin at the ends of the digits drying out and splitting into the 'meat'.

Very small and while not that painful they are very annoying as I constantly bang them or catch them on clothing etc.

My answer to this was to put small tiny dabs of Mitre fix superglue over the cuts and give them a squirt of the hardener!
This has worked well and the cut seems to heal nicely under the glue 'skin' which then comes off after a day or three. Plus I can carry on working at once.

The problem is that now I seem to be getting pins and needles and some numbness in the 'fixed' fingers; it comes and goes but is a little worrying. Have I been a complete pineapple?

I read somewhere that superglue was formulated for this application originally.

Any thoughts please.
Martin

 

[Roger]

It was for that purpose originally Martin, but if you have those initial symptoms and then these latest ones - get yourself to a sawbones! You're just making the symptoms - NOT the cause!

 

[blurk99]

I'd be inclined to use a decent heavy duty moisturiser - like the stuff the garden centres sell, and if the numbness doesn't go away get yourself off to the vet. you could also try that 'Daktarin' athletes foot cream - see if the skin stops splitting then.

jim

 

[wrightclan]

As to the initial cause, have you recently been working with cement, plaster, tile adhesive, grout etc.? These kinds of things can cause such symptoms. Some people are more susceptible than others.

Brad

 

[TonyW]

My answer to this was to put small tiny dabs of Mitre fix superglue over the cuts and give them a squirt of the hardener!

The problem is that now I seem to be getting pins and needles and some numbness in the 'fixed' fingers; it comes and goes but is a little worrying. Have I been a complete pineapple?

I read somewhere that superglue was formulated for this application originally.

I have tried the superglue trick a couple of times and it seems to work ok without any problems.
I believe that it was used in the Vietnam war to aid healing wounds. I am neither a chemist or have any medical training but from your description I wonder if you may have had a reaction due to using two part glue i.e. squirting the hardener on after glue application. Along similar lines a friend of mine who is balding and grey decided to use hair colorant but instead of mixing the two bottles together decided to economize and mix a little of each component - result red and itchy scalp!

I believe that the superglue used in medicine may be a slightly different version of that which we buy off the shelf. It could be that the standard glue contains impurities that are filtered out in the medical version. These impurities may cause a reaction in a wound.

There is quite a lot of info on the web
http://www.fensende.com/Users/swnymph/refs/glue.html
When used for repair, ideally the wound to be closed is fresh, clean, fairly shallow, with straight edges that lie together on their own. The glue is applied to bridge over the closed edges; it should not be used within the wound (on raw surfaces), where it will impair epithelization.

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm
It is also ascertained that CA cannot trigger allergic reactions through skin contact.

Personally I would seek medical advice - although I suspect the answer will be "stop using superglue"

Tony

 

[Chris Knight]

Martin.
I doubt that the glue is to blame - a checkup with your doc is the obvious course to take.

I get the sort of splits in the fingers you describe when working with Iroko and I have to use a barrier cream to prevent it.

 

[DomValente]

Go to the Doctor Martin !!!!!

Dom

 

[RogerS]

Martin

I also get the same problem after working wth wood. My solution is to tape them tight using micropore tape or steri-strips and then they usually go away. Neutrogena is excellent for moisturising the hands.

re pins and needles..have you been doing any activity differently recently? New tools? new techniques? Can be caused by muscular impingement on the nerves that feed the arms ...often around the shoulders. if you think this might be a possibility then maybe consider a physio as well as the doctor....

 

[Woody Alan]

When I was putting the bikes onto the towball bike carrier, I had to crawl under them to put the security pin in, when I came back out I stood up too soon and caught my head on the bottom of a sprocket and heard this popping sound followed by quite a bit of pain. Went to the quacks and he used a blue super glue which stung like hell to stick down the triangular tear I had created. That superglue was there for ages even when I washed my hair it wouldn't dissolve. I tried modelling superglue on cuts and it works for a short while but wears off quickly so I would say they are quite a different product.

GO TO THE QUACK!

Alan

 

[Ring]

They use super glue in casualty for minor cuts ;-)