Few people would think a simple cut on the finger could lead to a hospital stay, but it happens more often than you might think. As FOX17's Nick Paranjape found, a Franklin girl nearly lost a finger because of a simple cut. 5 year old Emmie Howell didn't really know how serious the situation was. Her mother did. It all started when Emmie was playing outside. She came in to tell her mom something happened to her thumb.

"When I looked at it, it was like a red spot," says Susan Howell. "It looked like a bug bite or bumped it on something and I just kissed it and said it'll be okay."

It wasn't okay.

"When it started hurting really bad, it got worser and bigger," says Emmie Howell.

The next day, her thumb was red, puffy and twice the size.

"Yucky looking," says Susan.

What Emmie had was a staph infection. Bacteria had seeped below her skin and into the bone and tendons.

"Even a minor cut like a paper cut or a simple cut on the foot or hand can turn into a staph infection," says Dr. Camiron Pfenning, ER physician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

She says staph infections from a simple cut can be common, especially if it's on a finger.

"A finger is the end of the blood supply, so every little poor profusion which means increased risk of infection from any kind," says Dr. Pfennig.

Doctors drained the abscess from Emmie's thumb, but it wasn't enough. She needed surgery, and Susan Howell was warned her daughter could lose her thumb.

"He had told us that when he got in there if the infection was in he would need to cut her as far as he needed to go to get to where that was going to stop," says Susan.

Fortunately, doctors got the infection. Emmie is back to using her thumb, for the important things, like playing with her toys. Susan Howell was told to bleach everything in the house from toys to furniture to all their clothes.

Doctors say if you or your child has a cut, you should:
Immediately clean it with soap and water.
Use an anti-bacterial ointment to put on the cut.
Keep it clean, covered and dry.
Avoid putting fingers in your mouth and touching different parts of your face or other surfaces.Doctor: Staph Infections Happen More Often than You Think