Hi, about 4 weeks ago I sliced the corner tip of my index finger off while chopping onions. It didn’t hit bone but it took some of the nail off also. I’ve had it bandaged since. Every few days I wash it with saline, then apply an antiseptic and then a gel substance that’s supposed to aid in wound healing, then apply one of those healing bandaids and then wrap it with stronger, thicker bandaids to keep the other one in place and keep it dry.

This seems to be working. There is no funny smell, my finger is clean looking every time I open the bandage up and my finger is slowly healing, but I’m just wondering if I’m doing the right thing? I keep getting conflicting advice. My mum who is a nurse tells me to take off the bandage because it’s no longer needed and to air it out. My uncle who recently sliced off part of his nose, told me that his pharmacist told him to keep it covered and moist until it healed and that I should do the same thing. I’m not sure which advice is right for my situation.

I would happily keep it bandaged for another 4 weeks, but my nail is starting to look a bit funny. It is getting thicker and started to grow crooked (this is the whole nail, not where it was sliced). I assume this is from lack of air and light. So if the bandage is no longer necessary for my finger, I’d like to remove it so I can stop my nail from growing funky. However, I am afraid if I stop bandaging my finger I will decrease the chance of my finger healing as best as possible. Plus it is still sensitive and open so it seems to me that it should remain bandaged. Can you please advise me what to do? Thank you