Here is how a hangnail put me in the ER room last night

onewebfoot · #1 10-28-2011, 08:16 PM

I don't think I could make this up. About 10 days ago, I simply pulled a hangnail off my primary index finger (plucking right hand). That d#mn thing got infected almost instantly because I cycle-commute with open fingered gloves. The streets have some robust bacteria floating around, let me tell you.

Over the next few days, it got red, swollen, puffy, inflamed, and painful, but I was doing the neosporin thing by that point. No matter. I kept banging that finger by doing mods to a new bike in-house and daily use, had a fairly heavy showtime performance, then had a heavy band rehearsal 3 days later.

Last night, the red, inflamed infection had gone completely through that one finger, through my entire hand on the inside, rose to the surface at about the wrist, along the entire top, and then progressed aggressively up my forearm, 2/3rds the way to my elbow. Red, inflamed skin pattern that was painful to touch, with subtle burning sensation throughout. And rising in streaks. This freaked me out.

So went to ER room. They compared it to the behavior/symptoms of a poison spider bite, and said i'd been wise to come in.

What a trip. I have to gig this Sunday (two days) using #2 and #3 fingers exclusively. I'm actually curious....

major10th · #2 10-28-2011, 08:42 PM

Yeah, the littlest cut can turn bad real quick if exposed to the wrong environment. I, apparently, had a very minor cut on my elbow, I say "apparently" because it was really just a tiny skin tear and I didn't even know it was there. Went to the gym in a short sleeve shirt and did some curls on a machine that had a pad to rest your arms on. The next day my elbow was swollen to the size of half a pear. Went to the ER and they said it was likely MRSA, a nasty, aggressive bacteria that's in virtually all gyms, locker rooms, etc. I now always wear a long sleeved shirt to minimize the likelihood of this happening again.

OldDog52 · #3 10-28-2011, 09:41 PM

Signs of infection are nothing to take lightly. Go to the ER or urgent care. Likewise for animal bites, like dogs. Go, don't wait.

Big_Daddy · #4 10-29-2011, 12:07 AM

seanm · #5 10-29-2011, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Daddy

I HATE when that happens!

Munjibunga · #6 10-29-2011, 12:44 AM

You went to the emergency room room?

onewebfoot · #7 10-29-2011, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You went to the emergency room room?

I was wondering how long it would take before someone called me on that. I'm glad it was you. :-)

EDIT: This infection through the hand thing sucks. The entire infrastructure of my index finger is infected because of one @#$% hangnail that I pulled off while riding. And here I am, 10 days later.

john grey · #8 10-29-2011, 08:00 AM

That's not that unusual. It's similar to blood poisoning in that the infection spread. Thousands of years ago, people died from situations similar. I live not far from the Mexican Boarder and some of the towns on the US and Mexican side still have cases of TB, plague, & Cholera. The Hanta Virus was discovered in New Mexico and some cases of Plague still occur in this area.

It's actually not infrequent that a small piece of cactus needle or glass becomes blood poisoning or serious infection in this area. Without proper treatment, it IS possible that it can turn life-threatening. Many people in the Boarder areas & airports have some of the strongest immune systems in the country due to exposure to pathogens from all over the world.

Gopherbassist · #9 10-29-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You went to the emergency room room?

Glad I didn't have to say it.

shadowtippy · #10 10-29-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You went to the emergency room room?

That's like saying, "ATM machine." (Automatic Teller Machine machine?) It irks me to hear that phrase.

DigMe · #11 10-29-2011, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john grey

That's not that unusual. It's similar to blood poisoning in that the infection spread. Thousands of years ago, people died from situations similar. I live not far from the Mexican Boarder and some of the towns on the US and Mexican side still have cases of TB, plague, & Cholera. The Hanta Virus was discovered in New Mexico and some cases of Plague still occur in this area.

It's actually not infrequent that a small piece of cactus needle or glass becomes blood poisoning or serious infection in this area. Without proper treatment, it IS possible that it can turn life-threatening. Many people in the Boarder areas & airports have some of the strongest immune systems in the country due to exposure to pathogens from all over the world.

Plague is found throughout the western US up to Oregon. Has nothing to do with the proximity to the Mexican border and everything to do with proximity to squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents. Small cuts or pricks becoming serious infections occurs throughout the US. Has nothing to do with your area.

bc

Pilgrim · #12 10-30-2011, 12:04 AM

Good lesson learned about treating those small injuries, and not exposing them to potentially infectious environments.

Munjibunga · #13 10-30-2011, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john grey

That's not that unusual. It's similar to blood poisoning in that the infection spread. Thousands of years ago, people died from situations similar. I live not far from the Mexican Boarder and some of the towns on the US and Mexican side still have cases of TB, plague, & Cholera. The Hanta Virus was discovered in New Mexico and some cases of Plague still occur in this area.

It's actually not infrequent that a small piece of cactus needle or glass becomes blood poisoning or serious infection in this area. Without proper treatment, it IS possible that it can turn life-threatening. Many people in the Boarder areas & airports have some of the strongest immune systems in the country due to exposure to pathogens from all over the world.

Border. A boarder is someone who pays to live in your house.

anonymous122511 · #14 10-30-2011, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

A boarder is someone who pays to live in your house.

....or someone with a cutlass leaping uninvited onto your boat.

jp58 · #15 10-30-2011, 01:21 AM

I got a pretty nasty staph infection that happened about the same way back when I played HS sports. Being a 16 year old DA, I waited until I had a leaking sore to go to the doctor or ask anyone about it. Ended up missing 3 weeks of matches/games and practices.

Evil Undead · #16 10-30-2011, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff arddun

....or someone with a cutlass leaping uninvited onto your boat.

Dirk Diggler · #17 10-30-2011, 09:09 AM

Warning, hospitals can also be dangerous places to receive bad creatures as well.
But you learned a lesson hopefully, any opening in your skin can get infected quite easily. I really don't think it just jumped on you as you were riding your bike through your town or city.
Dirk

Tegzsa · #18 10-30-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp58

I got a pretty nasty staph infection that happened about the same way back when I played HS sports. Being a 16 year old DA, I waited until I had a leaking sore to go to the doctor or ask anyone about it. Ended up missing 3 weeks of matches/games and practices.

You're a District Attorney at 16?

i_got_a_mohawk · #19 10-30-2011, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowtippy

That's like saying, "ATM machine." (Automatic Teller Machine machine?) It irks me to hear that phrase.

PIN number (Personal identification number number) gets me.

OP, any cut can get nasty. At least now you know to take that bit more care when dealing with any wound

Pilgrim · #20 10-30-2011, 12:14 PM

Glad you got it taken care of! That can be more dangerous than many people realize.

One thing we forget is that the cuticles on our fingers are also a barrier to bacterial invasion - and many of us get our hands into pretty nasty stuff from time to time.