Bruised my hand - Doctors?
Discussion
Hey,
Basic overview.
Last Saturday I was at a friends house, I'd had a few drinks and was given a bit of information that I didn't take particularly well. So I lost my rag and punched a solid wooden door, very stupid of me.
Anyway, about 10 minutes later it started to swell up around the knuckle of my little finger. I ran it under cold water and put some ice on it to bring down the swelling. It didn't hurt, but I put this down to the effects of alcohol.
I woke up in the morning and the swelling had reduced by about half, so I decided against going to the hospital, strapped it up with some bandages I had and took a few ibuprofen.
Later that day I noticed bruising on my fingers and whipped the bandage off to have a look. It was still quite swollen and was turning a lovely shade of purple.
I could still move my fingers and wasn't in any pain, so I again wrote off the idea of a trip to the doctors.
So now it's Tuesday, it's still very bruised and is starting to ache a bit. Common sense dictates I should probably go to the doctor, but I guess he will just send me to hospital. Now it's not really a case for A&E so I'm thinking I should probably go to primary care?
I'll attach a photo of my hand as it is now.
What do people think, a trip to primary care or just man up and it'll be fine?
It just looks bruised to me, but a few people are telling me to get it checked out in case I have broken or fractured something...
I know a few people are here will tell me I'm stupid for waiting a few days and not getting it checked immediately, but I hate feeling like I'm wasting the doctors time with trivial things.
Basic overview.
Last Saturday I was at a friends house, I'd had a few drinks and was given a bit of information that I didn't take particularly well. So I lost my rag and punched a solid wooden door, very stupid of me.
Anyway, about 10 minutes later it started to swell up around the knuckle of my little finger. I ran it under cold water and put some ice on it to bring down the swelling. It didn't hurt, but I put this down to the effects of alcohol.
I woke up in the morning and the swelling had reduced by about half, so I decided against going to the hospital, strapped it up with some bandages I had and took a few ibuprofen.
Later that day I noticed bruising on my fingers and whipped the bandage off to have a look. It was still quite swollen and was turning a lovely shade of purple.
I could still move my fingers and wasn't in any pain, so I again wrote off the idea of a trip to the doctors.
So now it's Tuesday, it's still very bruised and is starting to ache a bit. Common sense dictates I should probably go to the doctor, but I guess he will just send me to hospital. Now it's not really a case for A&E so I'm thinking I should probably go to primary care?
I'll attach a photo of my hand as it is now.
What do people think, a trip to primary care or just man up and it'll be fine?
It just looks bruised to me, but a few people are telling me to get it checked out in case I have broken or fractured something...
I know a few people are here will tell me I'm stupid for waiting a few days and not getting it checked immediately, but I hate feeling like I'm wasting the doctors time with trivial things.
difficult to tell if it is broken or not without X-Rays
have a good press of all the bones in your hand and see if there is A LOT of pain in any particular area..
but in general - if you can move it, and if it is not too painful then it is probably not broken
just carry on with your ibuprofen and paracetamol for now and keep your hand elevated as much as possible to help with the swelling.
if you are worried about it then go to A&E and get it imaged
(im a doctor in orthopaedics)
have a good press of all the bones in your hand and see if there is A LOT of pain in any particular area..
but in general - if you can move it, and if it is not too painful then it is probably not broken
just carry on with your ibuprofen and paracetamol for now and keep your hand elevated as much as possible to help with the swelling.
if you are worried about it then go to A&E and get it imaged
(im a doctor in orthopaedics)
I'm neither powerfully built nor do I wield a goatee. Just a emotional reaction I'm afraid.
Andrew, thanks for the advice. The knuckle of my little finger is very painful if I apply pressure to it, so I may call primary care later and have it looked at. I have an underlying health condition relation to my blood, which causes low platelet, red and white cells, so I may err on the side of caution in this instance.
Andrew, thanks for the advice. The knuckle of my little finger is very painful if I apply pressure to it, so I may call primary care later and have it looked at. I have an underlying health condition relation to my blood, which causes low platelet, red and white cells, so I may err on the side of caution in this instance.
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