Cut Babies’ Finger While Cutting Nails? (Do This!)

We all know babies have quite delicate skin. Even a little rough handling can lead to bleeding and bruises. Therefore, trimming your little one’s nails is one of the most anxiety-inducing procedures. 

While cutting your baby’s nails, you have to be extra careful so that you don’t accidentally cut their delicate skin as well. Those fast-moving, tiny fingers and thin yet surprisingly sharp nails are certainly a difficult target for most parents. 

So, you were trimming your kid’s sharp or long nails and accidentally cut your little one’s finger as well – what should you do next?

In that case, first of all, clean your hand and wash your kid’s finger with water and soup. Afterward, use a sterile cloth and apply some pressure on the wound. This approach will reduce the bleeding and will allow you to apply a clean bandage. If you are seeing symptoms of infection or the bleeding is not stopping, you should visit your doctor immediately.

Even if you are being careful, accidents can happen. Therefore, continue reading to learn how to overcome these accidents and protect your kid from different infections while trimming their cute little toes and fingers.

What to do if you accidentally cut your Baby’s Finger with the nail clipper

Even for adults, there is nothing more painful than trimming your nails too small and cutting your delicate skin. But, what about your little ones? Compared to adults, kids have more sensitive skin and can feel a lot of pain with just a tiny cut.

So, the second you have trimmed your kid’s finger, you know you are in big trouble. Now you have to stop your kid from crying while apologizing to them and trying to stop the bleeding. Plus, if you are also fainthearted, you have to stop your tears as well.

Even if you are being careful and have good intentions, you can still cut their delicate skin by accident. This is because babies have tiny fingers that can get a little too fast, which is not an ideal condition for nail trimmers.

If you have accidentally cut your kid’s finger, you will have to take some steps to relieve pain and avoid infections. These steps include:

• Before offering first aid, make sure to clean your own hand to avoid infections.
• It’s a possibility that your nail trimmer had a lot of germs and bacteria. So, clean your little one’s hand with water and soap as soon as possible.
• Apply gentle yet firm pressure on the wound.
• Use gauze or a clean cloth to terminate the bleeding.
• After a few minutes, cover the wound once the bleeding is stopped.
• If you are facing a minor injury, you don’t need to apply a band-aid because your kid might swallow it.

However, if you have chipped your kid’s finger and facing a major injury, you must visit your pediatrician. You should pay close attention to your baby’s wound and look for numerous signs that might require professional help, such as:

• You kid hasn’t had any tetanus vaccines yet
• The wound has an ejection
• The baby is suffering from a fever
• The wound is surrounded by red streaks 
• The cut becomes inflamed or red

Keep in mind that you don’t have to imagine the worst. In most cases, it’s just a minor cut, and you don’t need to worry much. All you have to do is clean the wound and stop the bleeding. You should always have a first-aid kit in your medicine cabinet for these kinds of minor incidents.

An ideal first-aid kid at home include the following products:

• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Antibacterial Ointment and Spray
• Band-Aids
• Elastic Bandages
• Medical Tape
• Sterilized Scissors

If your Baby’s Finger won’t stop bleeding

So, you have tried everything, but your kid’s finger won’t stop bleeding – what to do next?

Remember, sometimes, it feels like an eternity for bleeding to stop when it comes to babies. First of all, apply gentle pressure to stop bleeding. You can also hold their finger over their head to reduce blood circulation. To stop the bleeding completely, you might need to hold the finger over their head for numerous minutes.

Wait for up to 10 minutes. If the bleeding is not stopping, you’ll need to visit your pediatrician.

How long does it take for a Baby’s Finger to stop bleeding?

Generally speaking, a wound created while trimming your baby’s nails won’t lead to a major injury. According to many experts, it might take up to 10 minutes to stop bleeding caused by minor wounds. 

If you are seeing excessive bleeding that won’t stop even with pressure, you will need to visit a doctor for professional help.

If you cut Baby’s Nail too short

Cutting your little one’s nails too short is just as aggravating and painful as cutting their delicate fingers and toes. This is because just below nails, there is hyponychium – the area of epithelium.

Hyponychium functions as a hurdle to prevent debris and germs from entering under your kid’s nails. It also features white blood cells that help your body fight infections. Furthermore, hyponychium contains nerve endings that make your fingertips more sensitive to sensations and pressure. 

More precisely, this epithelium is located near your fingertip and is normally protected by your actual fingertips. So, if you cut your kid’s nails too short, you might cut through hyponychium which can cause severe pain and redness.

In that scenario, just keep your kid’s hands clean to avoid infection and wait until the redness and inflammation are gone, and nails grow back. If the finger looks inflamed and red, you should visit your pediatrician because it might be causing severe pain.

Should you worry about tetanus from nail clippers?

According to CDC, your child can get tetanus even from a simple incident like getting their finger trimmed by a nail clipper. This disorder is not that rare in kids. So, you should always pay close attention to its symptoms. 

The duration of exposure to tetanus can fall anywhere between 3 and 21 days. However, the average duration from exposure is about ten days.

Here are some of the most common clinical signs of tetanus infection in kids:

• Prominent Heart Rate
• Irregular Blood Pressure
• Sweating and Fever
• Headache
• Seizures
• Trouble Swallowing
• Stiffness and Painful Muscles
• Muscle Tightening and Muscle Spasms 
• Lockjaw or Jaw Cramping

Tetanus infection can cause severe health complications. Therefore, your kid must get tetanus vaccines according to the recommended tetanus schedule, including a DTaP shot for kids at two, four, six, and fifteen months and again at four and six years of age.

The best way to Cut Baby Nails

To eliminate the risks of infection and bleeding, it’s important you take precautions even before the accident. If you have a newborn baby, you must know the best ways to trim their nails. 

You should always use a personal hygiene product that is exclusively made for babies. Plus, you should not try to trim your kid’s nails with your mouth because it can lead to jagged edges and germs that can surely cause some severe health problems afterward.

The best products to cut your little one’s nails are:

• Blunt-nosed scissors
• Nail clippers created for babies
• Soft and secure emery board

No two babies are the same. But on average, a kid’s nails grow faster than usual. So, you might need to cut their nails several times every week to avoid scratches. To cut your child’s nails without worrying about bleeding, you will need to follow some specific steps, which are as follows:

• Look for the ideal angle and position to reach fingernails
• Keep your kid’s hand steady while you are working
• Use a well-stocked nail kit that has all the essential gadgets for safety
• First, cut their nail straight and then make them round at the top

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind while cutting your baby’s nails:

• Try to trim their nail while they are sleeping
• Cut in straight and slightly rounder to avoid jaded edges
• Use a nail clipper made for babies because it has a rounded edge to avoid sharpness
• Try to avoid metal files because they might feel rough against your kid’s delicate skin
• Use emery board. It might take some extra time, but it is certainly the safest approach.

As you can see, trimming a baby’s nails is not actually rocket science. All you have to do is work with caution and keep a steady hand. Try to stick with products that are safe and hygienic. Using proper techniques and tools can surely make this anxiety-inducing procedure fun and entertaining.

It’s worth taking into note that you should always have a first aid kid around you. This is because even with extreme care, accidents can happen. If you have a first aid kid with proper equipment, it can protect your child from a lot of pain.

Last but not least, if you are unable to stop the bleeding in time, immediately visit your pediatrician and follow his/her instructions!