Bruised Fingertip - HELP!!!

Chronos

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My left ring fingertip is bruised!

It sounds like such a sissy thing to complain about, but Dustin (tsud) and I are supposed to perform tomorrow and throughout the weekend at Bushman's Ukulele Luau, and I need it to heal RIGHT NOW! I must have been putting too much pressure on the strings while doing fret board slides last night and now it's very painful whenever it touches anything. I basically can't play and I need some major advice right now...

Any help at all would be appreciated!
 
You don't think it'll heal before tomorrow? It should be better by then. Just take some aspirin before you go on and tough it out.
 
You don't think it'll heal before tomorrow? It should be better by then. Just take some aspirin before you go on and tough it out.

I'm really hoping it will heal. I just don't know how long it's going to persist... at the moment, the pain is enough to make me jolt my hand away when it touches something. I mean, I've had this happen before, but not so close to an event where I would really need it to be healed, haha.

And yeah... I'm definitely taking aspirin, regardless of how it feels!

On a tangent... I'll be seeing you tomorrow! =)
 
You'll be fine, dude. I'll see you tomorrow!
 
Thanks guys. I know it sounds like such a retarded thing to ask for help on, but it worried me because it's so close to the luau.

Time to go give this thing a bit of ice.
 
If it were your middle finger, my advice would be - keep it elevated.
 
I think if you put ice on it now, it will slow the healing process. Isn't that right? You should just ice it right before the show.
 
Try putting a band-aid on it. It seems silly for a bruise, but the band-aid will help cushion it and spread the pressure over a larger area to keep from exacerbating the problem, to give it chance to heal.

That's an interesting idea... I'll put a bandage on it before I need to use it.

Thanks SailQwest.
 
I recommend some beers before the show to soothe the pain :D. You'll be less nervous as well.
 
I recommend some beers before the show to soothe the pain :D. You'll be less nervous as well.

Haha. I remember taking shots of tequila one night during a party and then practicing... it was one of my best practice sessions, haha! It reminded me of Peter Griffin on Family Guy when Lois found out that he was a magnificent pianist when he was drunk.

Thanks for the suggestion. As humorous as it is, it's actually pretty sensible. =)
 
I'm new to Uke, but I've played Violin and Guitar for 25 years. I think you'll find that you only need enough finger pressure to fret the note - particularly with a low tension string set up. You should find chord changes much easier if your not torquing down too much!
 
I'm new to Uke, but I've played Violin and Guitar for 25 years. I think you'll find that you only need enough finger pressure to fret the note - particularly with a low tension string set up. You should find chord changes much easier if your not torquing down too much!

Thanks for your input. I agree. I must be holding it way too hard if it ends up giving me pains.

Once it's back to normal, I'll practice using the correct amount of tension.
 
I think you'll find that you only need enough finger pressure to fret the note - particularly with a low tension string set up. You should find chord changes much easier if your not torquing down too much!

Thanks for your input. I agree. I must be holding it way too hard if it ends up giving me pains.

Once it's back to normal, I'll practice using the correct amount of tension.

I know that's correct advice, and I try to remember it when practicing, but sometimes a person gets a little too "into it" when playing something, especially something complex.

I seem to live by the motto, "There's always room for one more passing chord" and end up most of the time playing out at the very edge of my abilities. I like being on that edge you understand, that sort of chord movement and such is what drives me to try and improve, but I've actually had the same sore fingertip problem on several occasions.

Alas, the "edge of my abilities" thing precludes any serious drinking beforehand. I'm perfectly capable of screwing up while cold sober. :eek:
 
that happened to me before. I was trying to disconnect a part of a water hose and the damn contraption snapped and pinched the hell outta my index finger. the next day anything i touched with it was painful and we had like a little meet up thing where i had to play. What i did was i jus wrapped it with medical tape on the hurt area to relieve the pressure, maybe like 3 layers of tape too.
 
I used to apply super glue on my finger tips to cover painful blisters (mainly caused by aggressive string bending on guitar.)

Most instruments are best played when the technique is relaxed. Tension, for the most part, is usually a technique killer.
 
Just cut off your inferior human finger and replace with a mechanical finger, then BAM no more pain :D
 
Also go to 7-11 or some other store like that, or a pharmacy and get some orajel. It's for toothaches but it works for any ache. Get both the normal and the baby kind. Try the normal kind first and if it makes your finger too numb go with the baby kind. It will help a ton. I creamed my middle finger about 2 weeks ago all the way to the bone by having a chisel slip while at work, using this method I was still able to play.
 
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