Cut The Tip Of Your Finger Off Accidentally? Here's What To Do

Accidentally chopping off a fingertip isn't uncommon in the kitchen — and making the wrong move after doing so isn't either. 

The movies may tell you to put a severed fingertip directly on ice to preserve it until you arrive at the emergency room, but Instagram's favorite doctor and Family Medicine Physician Dr. Mike Varshavski says otherwise — sort of. 

"If you put it directly on ice, you'll damage the tissue," the doctor explains. "It's like frostbite."

Here are the four steps to follow instead:

1. Wrap the severed fingertip in some sort of tissue — or a wet towel, preferably, the doc says.
2. Place the wrapped fingertip in a plastic baggie.
3. Fill a separate plastic baggie with ice
4. Place the plastic baggie with the severed fingertip in the ice-filled baggie. 

Now, whether or not the fingertip can be reattached at the hospital will be determined on a case-by-case basis, of course, Dr. Mike says, but "get to the emergency room with this [baggie] as fast as possible."