Calling in sick over a cut finger?

Late last night, I sliced a small piece off of my middle finger! I was supposed to work today (direct patient care RN) but called in sick last night as my job requires me to come into contact with a lot of yucky stuff and I don't know how I can wash my hands and keep the wound dry??

For smaller cuts I have used liquid band-aid and tegaderm and they were OK, but wouldn't work this time. I hate to call in sick when I otherwise feel fine (waste of PTO)! Has anyone had a similar experience? Any ideas?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Did you have a doctor's note? Otherwise it might not fly with your manager. Or, you might want to talk to your folks in employee health and see what they say. I know I've went to work with various cuts on my hands, keeping them covered, and yes, handwashing was a problem. One thing I did was double-glove the injured hand where the dressing was, and use waterless hand sanitizer, as I could keep it off the dressing. I've also used duct tape over a dressing to keep it dry while at work. It worked pretty good, looked awful weird, but it worked.

Never tell your boss or EH or HR anything about your personal business that you don't have to.

Take off if you need to.