Allotments 4 All
General => The Shed => Topic started by: Mrs Ava on January 08, 2009, 22:44:06
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Honestly, only me huh! Worked yesterday cutting down a sloe hedge. Had my thickest, chunkiest leather gauntlets on, but at the end of the day, the last few branches to go, and one of the long thin thorns got me in the middle knuckle of the ring finger on my right hand. It went way in and hurt like +£$*%$!_(*^, I thought I was going to pass out! It bled like billy-oh and by the time I got home the finger had started to swell. Well, I had a ring on that finger and by the time it struck me to remove it.....I couldn't. My finger was throbbing. This morning, dropped the kids at school and shot to A&E in Chelmsford. Saw the triage nurse who very efficiently, if rather painfully, cut the ring off my finger. Now she starts poking my knuckle and is worried about what is stuck in the joint. Next off to see a doctor. He is also worried, prescribes a double dose of antibiotics for a week and suggests a tetanus injection. He talks to ultrasound who agree that they should do a quick scan to see what they can find in the joint. Trapse off there, have the scan, no waiting around, I seemed to jump the queue, and sure enough, not one, but 2 splinters in my joint stuck in the tendons just on the bone, so well in. Back to A&E. Probably need surgery I am now told. Bloods taken, tetanus, canula left in just in case, then walked over the the plastic surgery and micro surgery unit. Sit for nearly 2 hours waiting to see a surgeon. He finally arrives and takes a look. Does more poking and proding and explains that it is actually quite a big op opening the knuckle to look for something so small, and most peoples bodies are very efficient at dealing with foreign bodies stuck in them, so rather than cut me open, I am left sitting in the day room with my hand up in the air doing finger exercises until the swelling goes down. It is now 3pm - I only had porridge and a coffee at 8am and nothing since. Feeling rather light headed. The surgeon makes me a cup of tea, bless. At 6pm they finally decide the swelling has gone down enough for me to come home, but there will probably be long term problems, aches and stiffness and they are concerned as I cannot bed the very top of my finger, not even under force so the thorn may currently be interferring with nerves and tendons that deal with that joint. Anyhow, have lots of emergency numbers and names and if it flares up I have to call to ensure they have a bed and go straight back - they will then peel back my knuckle skin and have a poke around, as the doc said and if they cannot find anything, wash the joint, stitch me up and keep me in for a couple of days!!! Couple of days. When I had my hernia done I was in and out in 6 hours!!
So, my day, 12 hours I will never get back. Will be bathing my sore finger, and it is still sore, in sloe gin from now on!!!!
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Ouch!
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Hi EJ many years ago I had a similar problem, I managed to cut the tendons in my ring finger right across the knuckle.
Ended up having surgery to repair them and now that finger is very week.
I know you have to take advise from the medical people but I would try to avoid surgery if at all possible.
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Gosh! Poor you. Sounds like you've had a bit of an ordeal. Hope you get a good night's sleep and the soreness gets less.
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Poor you! I do hope the thorns 'dissolve' quickly and don't leave any problems behind.
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Poor you, that sounds so painful. My son (when he was 18) severed the tendon in his ring ringer at a rave (don't ask). He was in hosp for 3 days, had an op and it didn't fix it. That finger is mis-shapen and he can't bend or straighten it. I managed to slice my finger and had 11 stitches, luckily just missed the tendon, but have no feeling in the tip.
These things always happen when you're at the end of a job, possibly concentration is less then. What bad luck.
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Ouch indeed. :o
Hope it sorts out soon :)
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Gawd sounds awful, I hope it's getting a little better now. ?
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Oh EJ reading that made my b-m go cold. Really hope you managed a nights sleep. How is it this morning? Let us know.
Lorna x
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You just make sure that tetanus is up to date.
I had to do a risk assesment once on removing a blackthorn hedge. It was pointed out that blackthorn is one of the biggest culprits for lockjaw.
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I had a thorn in my palm from early july, it came out just B4 christmas!! (loads of washing-up)
To avoid issues with wedding rings, I had mine TATTOOED on!!!![attachment=1]
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Ouch. I was planning to plant a blackthorn hedge for sloe gin. Might be having second thoughts.
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Ow! Feeling a bit nauseous after reading that! Hope it doesn't give you too much trouble, EJ.
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sorry to hear about your ordeal, hope it stops hurting soon and hope the thorns work themselves out quickly, in my experience they can take weeks to months, but normally i get them in places that are not to painful with daily use they normally callus over and fall off in time but in a knuckle joint might be a bit more bothersome I'm sure :-\. goodluck and like i said hope the pain and swelling goes soon.
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Hope it's feeling a bit better now Emma.
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Aaaggghh...you poor thing EJ. I do hope it's not too painful today. I trust you are tasting the sloe gin before inserting your finger... ;D
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Hope your finger is better this morning EJ
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Hope you get better soon.
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What bad luck EJ. Hope it gets better quickly.
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Sorry - slow catching up on this one. Made my blood run cold just reading it, so I can imagine what you must have felt like! Poor you.... Hope it's started healing by now.
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Poor you EJ. Oooh!! That sounds so painful. Hope the swelling keeps down and your body can get rid of it naturally. My son had a foreign body in his finger which they decided to wait to get at, and eventually it did move up so they could remove it without too much trouble. It did take a while however, but the op was simpler in the long run. Just depends on how much of a problem it becomes. Take care and much sympathy. love busy_lizzie :-*
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hope it's feeling a little better today, either that or you're anaesthetised from the sloe gin
;D
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Ouch sorry to hear this EJ hope it gets better soon. :'( ;D ;D ;D
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Have only just seen your post EJ. Bet that hurt like mad. I know how much Pyracantha hurts and the thorns on Sloe are much bigger than that. I do hope it gets better soon for you.
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Thanks folks. The swelling has started to go down and the bruising has come out. It is incredibly stiff and tender still. I still can't move the top of my finger at the last joint, and the doc fears that might be the damage.
Tetanus done yesterday Ace, that mixed with Diptheria and polio so I am covered for all eventualities now!
I will try hard not to have surgery, especially as I am such a chicken, just got to keep exercising the finger and hopefully nature will takes it's course and my finger will start to recover. The anitbiotics will hopefully sort out any infection. Can't straighten my finger at all now. :'( :'( :'(
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Hope it heals soon EJ.
At least you have gone to a decent hospital, i've been there plenty of times and very happy with the way i have been treated.
Neil
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YEOUCH! Poor you, hope it feels better soon. :-* :-*
OH had a Hawthorne thorn in his thumb, finally got it out, but every spring his thumb itches!! weird!
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oh EJ, how terrible - hope you have a speedy and fully recovery.
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I feel all queasy now :-X
No, seriously, hope you recover soon and that it does not result in a further trip to the hospital x
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My son fell over outside when playing in a water gun game- he came in crying saying he thought a thorn had gone into his hand- I dug about where he thought it went in with a sterile needle could not find or see anything. We forgot about it.Then about 5-6 months later his index finger kept swelling up and painful going blue/black at night but went back down in the day. I took him to the doctors I did remember about the potentional splinter but was not sure it was relevant- they thought he had a rheumatoid type condition, he had bloods taken etc. Then one morning in the early hours he was screaming with pain in the finger so I took him up to Broomfield Hospital A and E. We were seen straight away- he had an x-ray that did not show anything. We were then refered to the fracture clinic. After a long wait we were seen by 2-3 doctors who had great discussions and decided to admit him-( bearing in mind I did keep telling them about the possible splinter)for IV antibiotics. After about 3 days they eventually scanned the finger and found a large splinter- I knew what it was-pyracantha. It had travelled from his hand into his finger. They decided to operate- but this took another 2 days because of other more serious cases. My son has never forgiven me for not doing something originally, but the splinter must have gone in very deeply as I went quite deep with the needle originally. This occured 2 years ago just before christmas and he was unable to play his clarinette solo in the school concert. Pyracantha although pretty with its berrie it can cause some problems- we have had numerous punctures from this. I hope the slinters come out of there own accord or move to a more suitable place for them to be removed
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right chain metal and teflon gloves needed if i ever go need the garden again :(
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Didn't look in here earlier because I HATE hospitals. Not the thing to happen to a working Girl!
Reminds me of the day I pinned my foot to the ground with the fork. But that came out easily!!
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:-\ Yee-ouch hun!
Wishing you a speedy recovery ;)
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Thanks all, recovering slowely but surely. The fingeraches and is stiff now really, but if anyone touches my sore knuckle...they will be leaving with a black eye!
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Reminds me too of taking my stepson to hospital with a crochet hook hooked into the palm of his hand :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
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Thanks all, recovering slowely but surely. The fingeraches and is stiff now really, but if anyone touches my sore knuckle...they will be leaving with a black eye!
:o ;D ;D ;D
glad you on the mend!! (and able to give black eyes) ;)
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Hope it gets easier each day Emma.
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Ouch!
Bizarre - I saw the thread title this morning but didn't read. Went to lottie today & did pretty much the same thing. Sounds like I was lucky mine was just a bramble thorn & we did manage to prise it out! It went through the *only* bit of my gloves that is fabric (back of the fingers) & into the middle joint of my middle finger - presumably hitting a nerve or something cos my whole finger was aching. I have a stiff / sore joint now but blimey, it sounds like it could have been so much worse!
Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery!
x