My finger injured last Monday (see last post) was really sore and swollen by Tuesday. Tuesday night, I used a red-hot paperclip to try and burn holes through the nail to relieve the pressure. I was really sure I got all the way through, but I was unable to get anything out. Wednesday morning, I went to my doctor hoping they could help and concerned about the fact that the purple color had spread to the skin around the nail. I was only able to see a PA and she said they didn't have the tool needed to cut through the nail. She gave me a referral to an orthopedic hand surgeon who should be able to help me. I tried all afternoon to get an appointment with them, but the referral hadn't gone through. Here's a couple pics of my finger on Wednesday. You can see how swollen it was.
I tried the orthopedic office again Thursday morning. This time they had the referral, but it was going to be three weeks before the doctor had an appointment. By this point, I was about ready to go to an urgent care center and fork over the $75 copay to get relief. I showed my injury to our EMT at work. His advise was to get the smallest drill bit I could find (1/16" or smaller) and use my fingers to turn it and drill through the nail He thought that if I did get through with the hot paperclip, it may have cauterized the hole. Unfortunately, he could not legally drill the hole for me. So over my lunch hour, I went to Home Depot and bought a 1/16" bit. When I got back to work, I tried using it. It took a little time, but it did drill through. I had to apply a little pressure after the hole was drilled, but I got lots of blood out and my finger quickly felt better. Now I just have to keep a band-aid on it and wait for the nail to fall off.
Fun times! Are you really grossed out yet? Are you even still reading? :)
3 comments:
Lovely! I hope it gets better soon. Now you can say you drilled a hole in your finger by yourself!
I saw something like that on Deadliest Catch. It's up there on the "Gross-o-Meter" (Alex can spike the meter from time to time). Are you up for some fishing in Alaska?
AAAAAAghhhhhhh. Yuck !!!! I am about to loose my lunch. Heidi. You did NOT do that with a drill bit, Oh my. Love you, Kara
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