i posted here the other week— i still have a thorn in my finger. dermatologist gave me a surgeon referral????
do i seriously have to have surgery to remove this thorn? it went in under my cuticle and it’s lost
i’ve soaked it in epsom salt and used a salve
by fr0glog
22 Comments
Looks like that hurts. You should at least use your referral and see what the surgeon says.
I’ve been pricked over a dozen times with the worst glochids to big thorns, perks of the hobby. I’ve never had mine swollen like this. Usually they come off as the body pushes it out slowly, or I can use glue/bug suck it thing to pull it out with the help of tweezers.
Does your inflamed area hurt? You want to make sure it’s not infected.
Not a doctor, so please seek medical advice but I do think surgery in this context is extreme in my opinion.
That looks infected unfortunately. Should be a pretty simple in office procedure to drain and remove it.
You just have to start digging with a sterile needle. I do this many times a year. You do not need to get surgery!
Oh it will eventually make infection, and you will have to pop it, and it should have the splinter in the infection when you break it open.
I do surgery myself. I get 1.5” 18 gauge hypodermic needles and use the to cut/dig in and dig out. The work amazingly! The spine is likely right in the center of the bubble and since it’s so swollen I’m guessing that once you dig deep enough, it’ll just slide itself out from the fluid pressure built up behind it.
I have had a very similar looking infection around my fingernails three times now. Every single time I had a minor cut on around the he cuticle or on the edge of the nail and then I went and did some gardening and I guess bacteria in the dirt cause an infection. I’ve had plenty of glochids in my fingers that were stuck for days and they never swole up like this bad, but the infections I had looked just like this. It’s possible the thorn created an entry point for bacteria into your finger and caused an infection. I’d recommend going to the doctor for some antibiotics at least. I doubt you’ll need “surgery” to remove the thorn because it’s probably not that deep into the skin, they might cut it and drain it and get it with some tweezers but you’ll not need stitches or anything too serious. Don’t let it get as big and purple and numb as mine got before I went to the doctor, it feels awful
https://preview.redd.it/g7k114b0zzwg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a00d52cc570cd3181737c234fd3b91fe8b882ed
It’s just honestly expected at this point with owning cactus. It should callous, Make infection, then you should be good
Yeah I remember your post 20 days ago.
I’m sorry! That’s gotta be frustrating
Your immune system is attacking it. Keep it clean and antibiotic ointment on it, and you should break it down eventually. If the swelling is an issue, try a cold compress and wrapping it.
I usually dig mine out with a sterile needle but mine never looked swollen like this – more like visible but unreachable/ can’t be pushed out. Can you even see yours or is it just a bump now?
I bet some dog medicine would toughen those hands up in no time 🙌 No worries from then on
If i can’t get one out I usually just wait it out. It’ll get a little infected and I end up being able to pop it out
Knowing my dumb self, I’d be trying to pop this and digging at it with dirty tweezers on my lunch break.
Don’t be like me… if you have the opportunity to, definitely go in and get this safely taken care of by a Dr/ nurse.
Just keep digging at it a little with a sterile needle and trying to pop it like a zit. It will come out eventually and the relief is great. I had the exact same thing happen to me
use a drawing salve. PRID works wonders. look it up. it’s the best thing ever!!!
I had an infection that looked like this. The thing that helped the most is hot water soaks. You fill a cup of water with hot water that you can barely stand, so not like boiling water but around 40-43 degrees probably. Soak your finger for 15 minutes at a time. The water will get colder during that, so you will need to top up with new hot water. Afterwards dry your finger well and put a bandaid on it. Not tight, just to cover it so you don’t accidentally hurt it. Do this 3-4 times a day. The reason this helps is kinda amazing to me. Apparently when you heat up your finger, the blood cells that can help fight infection realise something is wrong there and rush to help fight the bacteria. So basically it is a way to activate your immune system. If you have fever, visible/obvious pus building inside, throbbing, worsening of your symptoms or extreme pain you should go to the doctor. If you have some pain but it does not feel serious, you can take ibuprofen. Do not try to drain it yourself. I am hoping that the hot water soak will at least improve the situation. Good luck and be safe!
That is a paronychia. Go see your primary care doctor.
I’ve picked opened up and dabbed a little superglue on a point to attach …. can’t say it was advisable, pain-free, or smart. But …
I do my own surgeries.
If dermatology referred you please go! A surgical consult doesn’t guarantee that surgery will s to be scheduled, doc just wants another set of eyes to evaluate which is rarely a bad idea. There isn’t much subcutaneous tissue to keep foreign bodies away from bones, tendons, etc. The last thing you want is to end up with osteomyelitis or worse.
It would be best. Thorns/glochids/spines remaining in skin is really not good, can cause a slew of chronic conditions.