By the end of day 4 of the antibiotics there is a significant decrease in the pain in my thumb/hand. Thank God!!! There is still, however a significant amount of swelling, redness & visible infection along with a definite relief map of the infection. Varying shades of red and accompanying numbishness and sensitivity tell the story of how far & deep the staph infection went. It feels like some sort of a slightly stiff sheath over my thumb, which if I could just lift off would reveal a perfectly lovely, normal thumb underneath.
I got the stitches out today! The rest of the thumb nail will be forfeit - I can tell that it's coming off soon.
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The Dr. was satisfied with the healing and while he would not commit to how long it would take for my thumb to totally heal he said it was looking good - that must be totally relative!!! - and to call if I had any questions.
I made the mistake of Googling about staph infections in surgical wounds. I know that it's only day 4 of a 10-day course of antibiotics but now I'm thinking about that MRSA that the nurses always ask about when you check in at a hospital. LOL!!! As long as there is visible,daily progress I'll be fine and won't obsess over the more dreaded possibilities. It seems silly but thinking about how icky the skin peeling will look once the blisters heal seems trivial compared to the real grossness of the lack of a thumb nail!!! The nail will take 2-3 months to grow in.
I am going to take mmy friend Dr. Paddy's advice and get plenty of rest ... as soon as I finish my mojito.
Unfortunately, alcohol can impair the effectiveness of anitbiotics. You might want to re-think the mojitos untill the infection clears up.
ReplyDeleteSaline soaks and draining the pockets is a definite yes! And live culture yogurt to keep your digestion happy.
There wasn't anything in the information sheets that the pharmacy gives with meds about alcohol being counter-indicated so I think it'll be fine ... I'm definitely seeing changes/improvements in the thumb. And I'm not a heavy or even every day drinker. Yesterday was just a mojito day. LOL
ReplyDeletewhat do you use tolance the infection? inquiring minds want to know
ReplyDeleteJust a needle - a sharp tapestry needle - that I've dipped in rubbing alcohol and I absorb the drainage with a new paper towel. My radiation oncologist wasn't impressed with the lancing, he said it could cause an infection, but I reminded him that I already had a staph infection, I couldn't do much worse and I'm already on anti-biotics so I figure I'm fine.
ReplyDeleteBefore & after I lanced the infection pockets I soaked in hot salted water.