To drill or not to drill

My Pivots slammed shut on my finger this weekend, and it looks like its getting ready to 'xplode. Never had one this bad b4.
1) I've seen where you drill a hole in the nail and let it gush.
2) Do nothing. Just wondering if it will explode all over...say, my wife at 2am?
3) Have a doctor look at it and charge me $300 to do 1) above.

Attachment 222179

TIA.

Drilling works! I use a red hot needle though. Pick the juiciest part to relive the pressure and go slow so you don't go too far past the nail.

i prefer a new thin drill bit and a slow twist rather than the hot needle poke
and as a ski tech i recommend not getting digits near the dildo end of that binder
but you already figured that out

I had one of those on my palm this summer from waterskiing. Left it alone and all was well till I pulled away from my parking stall in the grocery store parking lot. As I pulled out it exploded blood all over the steering wheel. I had to pull over and wipe everything down. It was very Fargo like.

^Yeah that's what I'm worried about. My wife bought new bed sheets a few weeks ago. I figure if it lets go on them that could be the end of our marriage.

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Originally Posted by skifishbum

i prefer a new thin drill bit and a slow twist rather than the hot needle poke
and as a ski tech i recommend not getting digits near the dildo end of that binder
but you already figured that out

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Thanks--I'l try the drill method. And thanks SFB for that binding advice--even if it's a bit late --nothing quite like having a ski and binding hanging from yer thumb as you jump around yelling "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK" in front of people.

drill it and post a TR

I see the biggest problem in the pic, orange soda? You need hard stuff followed by strong beer. Then proceed to drill, sloooooow

The best thing to do here and even more of a fun self test is to do what I do when this has happened before. Find the smallest drill bit like 1/16" metal bit. Then with your good hand twist that bit into the top of your finger nail until that stinky puss shoots about 4ft into the air. Don't wait until the pain wakes you from your sleep it's far less painful getting at it sooner. You'll most likely need to drill multiple holes too. I had to drill 3 the last time I did this. Save that money and home surgery yourself...it's a fucking blast....literally!

i just went through this back in Nov

if you're a soldier, or more like some of the manly beasts upthread, do it yourself
if you're more human, get your doc or local walk-in clinic to hot needle it...they are set up to do it quickly and as painlessly as possible

i was not a soldier and after trying a bunch of methods didn't have the pain tolerance to do it myself

what didn't work for me:
hand twist drill bit (too much pressure required to get it to bite)
power drill (too much torque with a tiny area of work + pressure to drill...just too heavy handed to work out)
drill press (didn't go there because of the above, tho it may have been "easier" to control than the above two)
paper clip with candle (never got red hot, which is necessary to melt thru)
paper clip with bigger candle (never got red hot, which is necessary to melt thru)
paper clip with jetboil burner (it DID get red hot, however it was painful because it took a long time to start melting in...I didn't have the stomach for it; i managed to get two divots)

what I did not try:
sewing needle with jetboil burner (this is what i should have tried first; it probably would have worked the best for DIY; smaller tip would have slid thru faster & with less pain)

what i should have done:
go to zoom care or urgent care or personal doc and have them de-pressurize it

Nail is separated and coming off at this point . I cut it back. It still catches on stuff tho

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ff5fe95742.jpg

I can't wait to get home tonight and try this.

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Originally Posted by acinpdx

i just went through this back in Nov

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Pivots?

I'm just glad my DIN was set at a more Pugski-like 8.5, I'm not sure I could have gotten the fucker off at TGR level DIN's.

The “before” is not nearly as ugly as the “before + a week”, but I didn’t take a photo

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

Pivots?

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Framing hammer
wrong nail

If you do it right (go slow) with a hot needle or paperclip it doesn't hurt at all, ya weenies. It's like a hot knife through butter.

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Originally Posted by muted

If you do it right (go slow) with a hot needle or paperclip it doesn't hurt at all, ya weenies.

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for this weenie, it was hot as hell and unbearable for something that needs to be applied multiple times to reduce pressure

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Originally Posted by muted

It's like a very slow, red hot knife through bread.

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FIFY

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Originally Posted by acinpdx

for this weenie, it was hot as hell and unbearable for something that needs to be applied multiple times to reduce pressure


FIFY

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You only feel it if you go too far, there's no nerves in nails. You can feel when there is no resistance, and then you stop. It's subtle, I'll admit.

If it didn't reduce pressure, you didn't put it in where the pressure is. I've mistakenly thought you just poke wherever it's black, and yes that's a painful mistake.

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Originally Posted by muted

I've mistakenly thought you just poke wherever it's black, and yes that's a painful mistake.

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If the whole thing is black where do you poke it?

Do I do it on the meat cutting board, so the blood drains into the channels? I have another without the channels for vegetables.
Attachment 222190

In the rear?

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Originally Posted by muted

You only feel it if you go too far, there's no nerves in nails. You can feel when there is no resistance, and then you stop. It's subtle, I'll admit.

If it didn't reduce pressure, you didn't put it in where the pressure is. I've mistakenly thought you just poke wherever it's black, and yes that's a painful mistake.

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no, the heat builds and radiates to the stuff nearby that does have nerves, so going slow does not help in the slightest
it never melted all the way through, so no pressure relief


if i'd started with a needle, instead of a paper clip, i expect the melt-thru would have been both faster and less painful

though the resulting hole might not have allowed enough volume to push through, meaning more holes likely required

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

If the whole thing is black where do you poke it?

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you're trying to give the blood a place to go, poke where the blood is



i read somewhere when i was trying to figure this out that the nail is less thick at the sides than dead center, so maybe easier there
maybe some medical type can substantiate that

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Originally Posted by acinpdx

no, the heat builds and radiates to the stuff nearby that does have nerves, so going slow does not help in the slightest
it never melted all the way through, so no pressure relief


if i'd started with a needle, instead of a paper clip, i expect the melt-thru would have been both faster and less painful

though the resulting hole might not have allowed enough volume to push through, meaning more holes likely required

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interesting, i've had quite different experiences doing it. the slow method is so you don't stab yourself when you burn through the nail, so it does help.

either way, i doubt i'm going to convince people to use the burn method after your posts, ha.

i think brant moles had a hell of a time getting his off his finger alone atop main chute on a early season dp
hand twisting a heated brand new drill bits always worked for me

Quote:

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Originally Posted by muted

interesting, i've had quite different experiences doing it. the slow method is so you don't stab yourself when you burn through the nail, so it does help.

either way, i doubt i'm going to convince people to use the burn method after your posts, ha.

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no doubt
if it had gone better, i probably would have less to say about it
youtube was an unforgiving teacher: "look! it's easy! [except when it isn't]"

Agree on drilling/screw. Needle hurts pretty good if you go to far. You'll have to put some pressure on it but the taper of the screw will help avoid it going to far.

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Originally Posted by acinpdx

no, the heat builds and radiates* to the stuff nearby that does have nerves

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* conducts 😉


OP... I've done exactly this with my finger. And three other times to the same finger but by different means.

Use the drill bit. A word of caution: make sure the tame end doesn't have any burrs or sharp edges... one time I cut little plugs of flesh out of the fingertip that was keeping pressure on the end of the bit.

The relief is orgasmic.

Just cut off your distal phalanx and cauterize it on the stove. Done.