Finger Infection

**Billgrass** · May-16-2012, 11:55am

Reaching out to see if anyone here has dealt with this before.

Three weeks prior to a gig, I tore a hang nail on the middle finger of my left hand. Okay, I admit it I am a nail biter. After a week, I went to the doctor and was told to soak in hot water a couple of times a day and lance it when it comes to a head.

Seemed to get better, but after a rehearsal a week later it suddenly spread to the entire last joint of my finger and throbbed all night long.

I returned to the doctor, who tried to lance it, only to discover that it had not walled off and formed a puss pocket. The entire fingertip was now infected.

Antibiotics prescribed, I was advised not to practice to 4 days. Swelling went down, pain went away, and it seemed like the drugs had kicked it.

Cleared to practice, I worked for 2 hours to try to catch up. All this fast twitch stuff is hard for me. The next day, the swelling was back with a vengeance!

Doc tells me to stop playing but the gig is 4 days away! My band mates will not be happy!

Thoughts anyone?

**JEStanek** · May-16-2012, 12:01pm

Don't play. Soak your finger, add Epsom salts, give yourself a chance to heal. I assume you had the stuff cultured to see what it was to ensure the antibiotics you're on are effective? Who want's to risk losing a finger/hand to an infection by not letting it heal in its own time?

Jamie

**Billgrass** · May-16-2012, 12:10pm

Actually they could not get enough to culture it!

I hear you about 1 show not worth losing a finger.

**OldSausage** · May-16-2012, 12:17pm

I'm not a doctor, but I do play the mandolin: do stop playing, you could also die from blood poisoning or something, and then you wouldn't be available for many gigs at all. Think how mad your buddies would be.

**Billgrass** · May-16-2012, 12:22pm

Well, they have been making noises about replacing me...

Thanks for reinforcing the right thing to do.

**Wolfboy** · May-16-2012, 1:38pm

All right, I have to post on this one...

A couple of years ago a mysterious swelling appeared at the base of the nail on my right index finger. I went to a local doctor, who prescribed antibiotics and said if it didn't go down in two or three days I should see a specialist. It didn't go down, and my wife Jodi - God bless her - went on the internet and started reading about finger infections. Before long she came flying out of the office, white as a sheet, and said "We need to go to the hospital NOW." We headed for the nearest big hospital, which as luck would have it was one of France's leading hand clinics, and I had emergency surgery that afternoon to remove the source of infection. Caught it in time. I don't like to think what would have happened if the infection had reached the bone, but I can tell you I'm very, very grateful to still be a ten-fingered musician.

Moral of story: go to a hospital. Now.

**JEStanek** · May-16-2012, 2:06pm

My wife is a veterinarian and has a limited number of antibiotics she can safely take. Once every couple of years a cat will bite her in the hand and get the joint and straight away she's to her doc to get started on antibiotics. She's had several nasty, slow to resolve infections, even got hospitalized for 2 days from a dog bite in her index finger joint. If you really have an infection in there, a drop of what's coming out should be cultureable. Maybe they just botched the test. Without confirming the identity of the organism(s) in there, and doing susceptability panels, how can they choose the most effective antibiotic?

With organisms like MRSA (methecillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) while the infection grows the tissue displaced is killed. It's one of those flesh eating infections and nasty. It can hide in your nasal passages as well and it can take a couple of weeks to clear while on sulfas. Most of the time MRSA doesn't cause a problem but once an infection is established it can be tougher to remove.

If it were me and the swelling has returned after treatement, get thee to a hospital or specialist ASAP. I'm not trying to be alarmist. Worst case, they confirm you're doing things right. If it is serious you can get proper treatment faster before damage gets worse. I'm not a doctor, but I am a microbiologist.

Jamie

**nobullmando74** · May-16-2012, 2:09pm

So glad there were no photos of the finger. Just sayin, sounds funky.

**greg_tsam** · May-16-2012, 3:03pm

You guys obviously live in that mystic land of health insurance since you can afford to go to the doctor's office so easily. I'd lance it, squeeze it, doctor it myself by soaking in a hot tub with epsom sallt's and then squeeze it dry, apply alcohol as deep as posstible then put a topical antibiotic gel and band aid on it. Works every time and I average one doctor's visit for a complete physical once every 10 years.

Guess I'm either lucky to be blessed with a strong constitution or unfortunate to not have health insurance. I think it's both.

**Hey Wolfboy - Checked out your site and some of your youtube vids. Nice stuff there. I love how the Baltimore City Paper called you a Celtic Guitar God.

**OldSausage** · May-16-2012, 3:11pm

I just want you to know, Greg, I've always really enjoyed your posts.

**greg_tsam** · May-16-2012, 3:12pm

Rofl...

**Mandoviol** · May-16-2012, 3:22pm

Yes, always soak these guys in epsom salts. That will draw water out of your finger and away from the infected area (making life harder for the little bacteria living in there. This occasionally happens to me, and it helps resolve it quickly. If it opens, slather it up with triple-antibiotic ointment and keep it clean and covered.

**Toycona** · May-16-2012, 3:29pm

Insurance or not, take care of it and watch it closely. There have been plenty of drug resistant staph infections in the news lately.

**bratsche** · May-16-2012, 3:32pm

I always keep colloidal silver on hand. In fact, I've been making my own since the stuff is so darn useful in so many different ways. I'm not a doctor, but I haven't been to one yet in my adult life. And that's saying a lot, since I've been a cat rescuer for decades and have been bitten and scratched more times than I can remember. (First thing I do in that kind of scenario is suck out as much blood as I can before soaking or otherwise treating it.)

bratsche

**Rodney Riley** · May-16-2012, 4:06pm

After soaking in the Epson salt, bandage it with a good slathering of Corona ointment. Best drawing salve ever seen. If there is a splinter or metal shaving involved, use Prid. Will actually draw out the foriegn object overnight.

**Mando Tristan** · May-16-2012, 4:44pm

I agree with the Epson salt, then some Neosporin (triple antibiotic). Or, if you listen to the Greeks, Windex fixes everything.

**jaycat** · May-16-2012, 6:42pm

Originally Posted by greg_tsam

You guys obviously live in that mystic land of health insurance since you can afford to go to the doctor's office so easily.

Come on up to Massachusetts. We gotcha covered.

(This is not a paid political endorsement of Mr. Romney!)

**Bernie Daniel** · May-16-2012, 6:52pm

Just a quick note.

It might seem clearly you had an infection and the antibiotics worked on it.

I say seem because you did two things to allay the problem -- 1) take the meds. and also 2) stop playing.

So it is not 100% certain that it was the antibiotics that caused the pain and swelling to go down -- might have been the inactivity/ rest? Just suggesting.

Now you practice for a day and it comes back. Seems to me unlikely that you reinfected you finger? So this is more evidence that this swelling may be related to the mandolin practice more than the bacteria? Just a thought.

You would be well advised to return to the MD and get a handle on exactly WHAT is causing this problem. It's not all that obvious to me from what you have described. Any chance you have a sliver or some other foreign object in you finger?

**dang** · May-17-2012, 11:15pm

Originally Posted by Mando Tristan

then some Neosporin (triple antibiotic).

Actually would be better to use double antibiotic ointment due to the rise of neomycin allergic reactions in the general population.

Go to an infectious disease specialist if there is any question about it, don't mess around with potential severe infections.

**Ivan Kelsall** · May-17-2012, 11:53pm

It sounds very much as though what you've got is a 'Whitlow',or something very much like it.The usual treatment is to lance the area to drain puss & then to treat the infection with wide spectrum anti-biotics.Bathing the finger in warm water will help with the pain & the addition of Epsom Salt will help with keeping the area clean. My mother had one of those on a finger many years back & they surely do ache.It's not the sort of pain that you can ignore & i hope you're ok soon,
Ivan

**Mandoviol** · May-18-2012, 11:01am

Originally Posted by Mando Tristan

I agree with the Epson salt, then some Neosporin (triple antibiotic). Or, if you listen to the Greeks, Windex fixes everything.

Or if we're going ancient Greek here, purge thoroughly with black hellebore. It might kill you, but hey, don't have to worry about your finger any more....

**greg_tsam** · May-18-2012, 11:46am

Well, I'm Greek and that's all Greek to me.

**Buck** · May-18-2012, 11:53am

Back on the farm, we would dip it in kerosene and wrap in in a semi-clean cloth. Not saying that's the best course of action, just noting it for the sake of conversation.

Seriously Bill, I hope you get well quickly and completely.

**Fran** · May-18-2012, 2:09pm

Dip it in a chlorine solution (i.e. half water, half Chlorox) for a few minutes.

**Timmando** · May-18-2012, 3:00pm

There is alot of good common sense advice here, but show me a man who medicates himself and I will show you a man who has a fool for a doctor. In other words, go to a specialist, an infection specialist and nip this in the bud completely. I know a man who had a pain in his neck, so he went to a pain doctor who prescribed him painkillers. The pills took the pain away, but 2 weeks into the problem he falls over paralyzed from the shoulders down. Turned out he had a C1 to C5 spinal column infection. It swelled up in the spinal column, crushed the spinal chord and he is now a 61 year old quadriplegic in a nursing home. Don't mess with infections...get them taken care of by someone who knows what can happen if it is not.