I just want to ask people's opinions on this...its late at night here, so I can't go to the doctors yet...I doubt its even that serious...but anyway:

I slipped down the last couple of steps (annoyingly) and managed somehow to injure my thumb. Now its all swelled up and painful to move at all, with a constant background throbbing...really small throbbing. So it is now almost double in size, and in particular, the joint has swollen...

I don't think its anything serious, just a bone bruising maybe, but any bending brings a pang of pain...well, any bending I can do anyway. What do you guys think? Nothing serious, right?...right? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Ouch!
I'm afraid I'm no expert, but I think my sister did this a few years ago... Maybe you should see someone?

Umm, for now, put it on ice to try and bring the swelling down. Move it as little as possible. I'd suggest going in to a doctor regardless of how minor you think it is. Often it doesn't seem too serious, but it really is.

One of my teachers used to play soccer and got kicked in the thigh. He went home and thought nothing of it, just a bruise. Turns out he had internal bleeding and couldn'd feel his leg the next day. He got a friend or relative to take him to the hospital. The doctors told him he was lucky to be alive with how much blood he lost.

Not to say that you're in the same situation, but just saying don't take chances.

Thanks for the replies! I put ice on it, which numbed it and reduced the pain, but now that no ice is left its back to normal. I think I'll see someone in the morning if it hasn't changed...hm...sleeping's gonna be a bugger...oh well...cheers guys! Good night! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Edit: When I say back to normal, I mean with the swelling and pain...in case you got the wrong impression. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 11-11-2003, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: slicer15 ]

generally pain and swelling is your body's way of telling you that something IS wrong. even if it were just tendons then you should probably see someone.

But since today would be the next day, I'm assuming circumstances have changed. Did you find out what was wrong??

I kinda had the same thing as you once, and didn't see a doctor. I thought that the swelling and the pain would go away after a while. But it didn't, and after three weeks i decided to go to a hospital to have scans taken of my thumb. It appeared that i had been running around with a broken thumb for all these weeks, and of course like all injuries do, the healing proces had already begun. I now had a choice: do nothing, except for a bunch of Physiotherapy sessions, and accept that my thumb will never be quite the same, or have the doctors break it again, so they can fix things properly. I didn't like the thought of having someone breaking one of my fingers deliberately, so i went with option number one. I was never able to bend my thumb the way i could before the accident, but it's not a major problem.

But to make a long story short.... go see a doctor first thing in the morning. ;)

Slicer, I'm glad you are taking care of it, and will see a doctor soon? Because you may have broken it. :(

I'll add one more thing to the mix... in many parts of the world, there are medical centers open during the night for urgent care. If sleeping's too difficult, I'd consider heading in to one. Give them something interesting to talk about on the night shift... :D

All that said, I hope it's just bruised and complaining. Good luck.

Wow, thanks for the support. I really appreciate it.

Now, an update this morning (well, in the UK anyway). Its gone a nice dark purple colour on top which I reckon indicates bruising. If nothing has changed by the end of school (which I doubt will) we will see a doctor. My thumb sometimes feels overly warm, which I guess is all the extra blood there...strange feeling...anyway, I don't think the pain has receded any, but I may be able to bend it slighty more. But that just might be an impression.

And johnny, I won't wait three weeks to check it out, no way. :D My friend's mum once broke her little finger and didn't actually know it until it had fully healed! It was bent a wierd shape...

EDIT: Okay, scrap the bending. If anything I can bend it less than before. Anyway, we're going to a hospital this afternoon ( in about...7 hours or so) which means a looong wait....NHS...bah... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

It really is a wake up call to how much I depend on my right hand and thumb (I'm right-handed and its completely dominant). I couldn't even put my watch on this morning!

The odd thing is, right after I slipped on the stairs I couldn't move it at all. It was as if my nerves were blocked or something, I simply couldn't move it. About 5 mins afterwards I could move it fine again, but then of course the swelling started. Ah well, we hope to get it sorted soon. Thanks for your concern!! I really lifted my mood! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 11-12-2003, 03:05 AM: Message edited by: slicer15 ]

:D