So anyway, Saturday night, my finger had swollen up so much that, despite seeing the dr at the local clininc and get antibiotics on Friday, the swelling and redness had shot up my hand and started going up my wrist, seemingly along my vein-route, I decided at 10pm to head to the ER. The pain was for the most part intolerable and I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep through the night.
Diagnosis: cellulitis.[quote]
Cellulitis (sel-u-LI-tis) is a potentially serious bacterial infection of your skin. Cellulitis appears as a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot and tender, and it may spread rapidly.
Skin on the face or lower legs is most commonly affected by this infection, though cellulitis can occur on any part of your body. Cellulitis may be superficial — affecting only the surface of your skin — but cellulitis may also affect the tissues underlying your skin and can spread to your lymph nodes and bloodstream.
Left untreated, the spreading bacterial infection may rapidly turn into a life-threatening condition. That’s why it’s important to recognize the signs and symptoms of cellulitis and to seek immediate medical attention if they occur.[/quote]
mayoclinic.com/health/cellulitis/DS00450
So, I spent the last two days sitting in a hospital bed, on a diet of IV, having young nurses squeeze the puss out of my finger twice daily leaving me in indescribable agony.
Good part was, I read a lot and got to final watch the rest of the first season of Lost.
My advice: if you get one of these damn things on your body, anywhere, get thee to a DR and get on antibiotics SOON. Don’t wait. As you too may be stuck in a room next to Wheezing Mucus Snoring Man.
Seriously, the thing was red for a week before I went to the clinic. I had been putting an antibacterial cream on it to no avail and in 24 hours it became so severe that the ER Dr admitted me in five minutes.
, well, I’m home.