Super glue on cut finger tip?
 

A long while back I had an accident that ripped the skin off the tip of my middle finger on my left (picking) hand. It left a pad of scar tissue that sometimes catches on the strings. Lately I've using my middle and ring fingers more often, and the skin is starting to tear a little at the base of that pad of scar tissue.

A question for those of you who fingerpick with bare fingers a lot, and need to be ready for performances, is what do you do about cut finger tips? I was thinking of applying super glue to the tear in the skin. Dumb idea?

I never could get used to fingerpicks, so that's not an option for me.

Thanks much.

Nick

I've never used super glue to repair cuts on my fingertips, but I've used it plenty of times on cuts in other places. Redneck stitches is what I call it. lol Super glue wont hurt you. Give it a shot.

It will work. Stings like crazy though. I get splits in my thumb from work (wood shop) and have used CA glue (commercial super glue) in a pinch. Liquid bandage from the drug store works a bit better for me.

My fingertips split from the cold. I use superglue everyday. It can be filed to make it nice and smooth. It's also very effective on cuts and has saved us a few visits to the ER.

I'd advise caution. Most superglues are cyanoacryllics and you may not want that around open cuts.

My bro the paramedic says that Crazy Glue (not Super Glue) is the same thing as Derma Bond, just that Derma Bond is made under approval of the FDA and is thus 1000x more expensive. Apparently Crazy glue stings less than Super Glue. I've used it several times on toenails (martial arts done barefoot, don't want to rip a nail on a cotton mat, cry like a schoolgirl, then have to clean up the blood) and it works great. You can also shape it once dry with a nail file...

I've used SuperGlue on minor cuts and those pesky skin-splits on my fingertips and it doesn't last for more than a day or two (at most) if you don't play your guitar. It detaches even sooner once you start to play. SuperGlue might get you through a gig in a pinch, but it's definitely not the proper solution. Also, as previously mentioned, it stings like hell.

What really does the trick is a medical/surgical adhesive called Dermabond. The doctors used this stuff on both of my kids instead of stitches and it works great. It not only closes and seals the cut or wound, it actually assists in the healing process. It used to be available only to doctors, but it's now commercially available if you look for it. It doesn't sting and will stay in place until you've healed. The excess then slowly detaches after about 10 to 14 days.

Liquid bandage is another option, but it's basically for minor skin cuts where there's not much stretching of the skin or pressure on the affected area of your body. Liquid bandage is only a fraction of the strength of Dermabond and doesn't last very long on finger cuts or fingertip splits once you start to play your guitar.

The last option is a veterinary version of Dermabond called Vetbond. It's pretty much the same as Dermabond, but has blue dye added to it so the Vet or pet owner can easily spot the treated area under an animal's fur. It's sinificantly cheaper than Dermabond, but you gotta walk around with blue fingertips for a couple of weeks, which looks kinda strange.

You can buy Dermabond here...

http://www.amazon.com/Dermabond-Topi.../dp/B002TSIP9O

It ain't cheap, but it's the proper medical treatment for finger cuts and deep fingertip splits.
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My main concern was whether it would wear right off when playing guitar, and /or slow the healing process. I've used superglue for small-animal surgery, but not in spots that get continual wear.

Thanks for the Dermabond site -- I didn't know about this.

I have had to use super glue before shows for finger cuts. On one occasion I would have had to cancel if it was not for the super glue. The rest of the band was happy

No offense to your brother, but that's a totally unqualified opinion. HHP is right (although it's "cyanoacrylate" not cyanoacrylic) that the type of cyanoacrylate in both Krazy Glue and Super Glue is toxic to 5% of the population. Dermabond is a butyl-cyanoacrylate that's safe for 100% of the population. I just wanted to say this because the misinformation in your post could be seriously harmful to someone who thinks it's ok to use Krazy Glue on a cut when it's been shown to be toxic to 1 in every 20 people. I'm posting this from my phone and can't post a link, but do a search of cyanoacrylates and you'll find that HHP is actually correct.

Ouch. I'll tell him!

For the money, Vetbond is way cheaper than Dermabond.... $16 for 3ml versus $29 for 1ml of Dermabond.

The only downside is that Vetbond makes you look like a Smurf. :D

If you believe Wikipedia, here's the layman's summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate#Toxicity

Reaction to the fumes is not the same as the implied "poisoning". CA was originally branded as Eastman 510, and sold to doctors as a wound closure. Yes, medical grade is far preferable to hobby/industrial grade for such use. But you won't die from it's use. At worst, it will piss off your doctor a lot when he has to try to debond it if it doesn't work, and you have to go in for stitches (don't ask...) Becasue skin oils do cause it to debond after a day or two, it is not a great solution to the original question. Maybe in an emergency just before a show, but otherwise, not something to routinely count on.

I have to disagree about using super glue on cuts. That is what it was created for. Something I learned in my Air Force days.


My neighbor cut his finger real bad. We drove him into the nearest urgency care clinic about 30 miles away. Guess what doc used to seal that cut. Yes, super glue.