Finger Foo

[hrj]

I'm one of those people who bruises if a butterfly brushes past me, so I'm pretty used to noticing odd purple spots without remembering when I bumped into something. But I'm having no luck at all figuring out what I did to the tip of my left middle finger. At first I thought I'd clipped a little too close when I was cutting my nails and gotten an infected hangnail or something -- it was swollen and warm and painful, but no radiating streaks, no oozing or pus or other serious infection symptoms, so I figured I'd just leave it alone to get better. But after a couple days it was behaving more like a burn -- sort of shiny and tender on the surface but no obvious "center" to it all. Except I think I would have noticed splashing something hot on it, and there isn't the sensitivity to temperature that you usually get with a burn, and that wouldn't explain the slight swelling of the whole fingertip. There's one little tiny red pin-spot, which made me think either a staple puncture (a hazard of pulling staples to photocopy documents -- but see above comments on infection) or maybe a bite of some kind. The problem with the bite theory is that it hasn't itched at all (which a regular spider bite always does) and the reaction isn't severe enough for it to be one of the really bad spiders. Odd, very odd.

Comments

[maestrateresa.livejournal.com]

...get thee to a doctor?
punkmom had an oddly swollen fingertip that they finally had to do surgery on--turned out that it was a cyst, probably from an old quilting injury, of all things. Can't hurt to get it checked (well, okay, physically it might, but you *know* what I mean ;-)

[goldenstag.livejournal.com]

That is odd. I had a weird little sore spot by my ring a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was caused by the ice cream scoop, hard ice cream, and the way I was gripping the scoop (letting the ice cream sit on the counter 5 minutes before dishing it out solved that ... our freezer is COLD ...). I realize this isn't anything like what you're describing, just noting that the weirdest little injuries can happen. If it's been a few days, I agree with maestrateresa and p'raps you should see someone.

[mamaalanna.livejournal.com]

And while you're waiting to see the doctor, try soaking it in hot soapy water, as hot as you can stand it, a couple of times a day.

[loup_noir]

My guess is a minor infection from a puncture. Probably not worth going to see a doctor about. Here in redneck land, we swear by Campophenique (or however that's spelled). A little dab, a bandaid to keep the oil on the wound, repeat as necessary.

I have the same kind of skin. There are always mystery bruises and weird rashes because I'm allergic to so many things.

[wulfsdottir.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a localized infection, or like you have a nasty sliver. Those can rather suddenly turn into blood poisoning, as my mother-in-law discovered after a very minor mishap with a staple on a package of spinach. If it's been a while since your last tetanus booster, expect that to come up when you go see the sawbones. Oh, yes, and the co-pay for the office visit comes out cheaper than the hospital bills, so, if it were me, I'd go sooner and feel silly, rather than wait and feel stupid. Of course, I got the wonderful treat of an ER visit last Friday, so I'm still feeling that burn.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I'll skip the "too much information" warning, since anybody reading this has already shown an interest in medical details.

Thanks for all the feedback. I have now confirmed "localized infection" status, and the exit-point of the pus supports the hypothesis of "hangnail or nail-clipper accident", although thinking back on the weekend, another possibility is rose thorn. I remember picking some thorns out of my fingers after doing some stuff in the yard (and I know from past experience that rose thorn stabs can get nasty).

Rest assured that I'm familiar with the signs that an infection is turning into blood poisoning, and none have appeared. And now that it's getting the drainage taken care of, the situation is improving.

One thing I'm very glad of is having a robust immune system.

[wulfsdottir.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. :) Well, you know what I mean. I almost asked if you'd been doing yardwork again - I used to get those sorts of things from "hay jaggers." I don't know what they were, but they were insidious and nigh-on invisible, and in the middle of bucking a truckload of hay into a loft, one doesn't always notice such little things.

Also glad to hear you know what to look for. A scary number of otherwise intelligent people have demonstrated No Clue when it comes to their own bodies, and the amazing recuperative powers and coincident frailty of same.

*looks around, wonders if the antibiotics ate her brain, and wanders off again*