By which I mean SERIOUSLY THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS. I think I need to take some major time off from anything involving cutlery or sharp edges. Yesterday I was washing dishes – washing dishes! such a dangerous undertaking, I know – when I experienced a little reprisal of the Great Arterial Spurt of 2009. It was glorious; a near-perfect re-creation of Kendrick’s ploy to land himself in the hospital: a thick china plate slipped out of my hands and went crashing into the bottom of our ceramic sink, taking a portion of my ring finger with it. At this rate, I will be lucky if I actually have two whole limbs a month from now – forget about them looking pretty.
Anyway, it was scary – we’re talking lotsa blood – but I think I handled it relatively well. I wrapped a clean cotton towel around the wound and held my hand above my heart until I calmed down, and then inspected the damage to determine whether a trip to the emergency room was in order. After a quick Googling, I decided that it wasn’t.
While it’s never ideal to stop to think about insurance coverage when you’re dealing with, you know, blood pouring out of your body, the truth is that these things do factor into my healthcare decisions – and I’d bet they factor into yours, too. If all I was dealing with was a little cut, I didn’t want to fork over a $100 ER co-pay (or much, much more if they decided to decline coverage for some reason…you never know). So when is it time to hop in a taxi, and when will a little Neosporin and TLC do the trick? Basically, if you can see any bone or fatty tissue (ick), or if the bleeding doesn’t seem to be moving in a slowing-down direction, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Also, if whatever the thing that you cut yourself on is dirty, you may need antibiotics. Bottom line: if you’re worried, head to the hospital.
