Alright - I'll ask - should I go to the Urgent Care?

[mikester]

Yesterday I was carrying boxes of holiday decor out to the car and on the way out the front door my hand and the corner of our nice copper box type mailbox became one.

I hit that corner so hard the other side of my hand hurt. Seriously - afterwards it swelled up and I couldn't easily move it for a few hours. I took some ibuprofen and iced it. Swelling went down a bit. I've also wrapped it an ace bandage and since last night it has gotten more mobile but it still hurts like hell.

I'm sure I bruised it pretty good and that's probably why it hurts but I told my wife last night if it still felt pretty bad today I'd probably take it to urgent care.

I'm on the fence about it now - just not sure if I should or not and don't want to waste my time. It's pretty sore but I can use it. Thumb is fine it's just moving the fingers that hurts. Pain is probably about a 6 or so. More than a dull soreness but less than last nights 15 at impact and 9 or so after during initial recovery.

It still hurts on the otherside of my hand too. The impact was on the top it hurts all the way through.

should I stay or should I go now?

[kaisen]

I'm not a doctor, but I'd say there's not much they can do for you. They'll just tell you to keep doing what you're doing and it will heal. Deep bruises are no fun.

[J P Stein]

Can't hurt....no pun intended. Nastys can get shoved into a cut caused by a semi blunt instrument........nastys=infection. BTDT many times.

[RWebb]

I'd get an X-ray -- just to make sure.

[Moses]

All fingers moving with no numbness or loss of sensation? Probably OK.

[wdfifteen]

This is an ER situation if you are in a hurry. You really need to have it X-rayed to see if you broke anything. Urgent care (at least in my area) doesn't have X-ray capabilities, so they would just send you to the ER for X-ray and diagnosis. They will X-ray, diagnose, and send you to your family doc on Monday. OTOH urgent care might give you some nice drugs for pain. Ask for Norco.
If it was me, I'd call my family doc Monday and see if he would see me ASAP. He would probably do the same things the ER would do, but at much lower cost and include follow up. But then, I have a good supply of pain control meds.

[mikester]

no numbness some radiation of pain into my arm but not as much today as yesterday.

I'm not going to the ER - this isn't an emergency.

I will see if I can get in with my Doc on Monday.

Thanks Moses - appreciate the comment (and the others too).

[masraum]

My guess is that it's probably just a really bad owie. I have an "urgent care" place about 1/2 mile from my house this is essentially a private emergency room. It does include the ability to take X-rays. It's much cheaper, faster, cleaner and easier than an Emergency room.

It couldn't hurt to get it checked out. If you broke something, then you will know to take a bit more care than if you were just toughing out a bad hit. It would be better to know for sure and have it heal well.

[john walker's workshop]

i get those regularly. bandaid and carry on.

[Gretch]

copper is a natural antibacterial...... stop being such a pussy and man up.

[Seahawk]

I'm going to evoke the Burnin' Oil mandate and not post what I think.: How many times do you start to post

[KFC911]

I figured he injured his right hand

[dependencies]

Pah, flesh wound.

I've come to expect better from these should/shouldn't I thread titles

Perhaps we've been spoiled with proper edge of the seat type injuries, this one barely qualifies

[mikester]

I'm left handed. :-)

[LeeH]

I was playing around with my daughter and hit my right hand on the corner of a countertop in the exact same spot about a week ago. It's still sore.

Do I see surgery scars on that hand?

[mikester]

No, I think those are just the lines from the ace bandage. I have had surgery on that hand before but it was probably close to 30 years ago. I was between 3rd and 4th grades.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

i get those regularly. bandaid and carry on.

This. I have smashed my hands many times, very hard. %t will start to feel better in about 24 hours. Ice it.

[nostatic]

at least your nails don't look bad...

[Schumi]

I have broken 2 metacarpals (bones in the back of the hand) and 5 proximal phalanges (bottom bone in the finger) in my time.

I broke one of the metacarpals in my left hand doing exactly what you describe- I was moving a couch with someone out a door, with my hand around the corner of the couch. The couch and the door frame hit at a pretty good rate, smashing my hand in between, and swelled up shortly afterwards. Hurt like hell.

For small fractures- not total breaks, but just fractures- many times they will put your hand in a sort of splint glove that keeps you from moving the finger affected and the fingers around it. For clean through breaks they may do more in way of setting the break, or, if really bad, pins or wires to hold it together.

You probably bruised the bone pretty hard, or at more have a small fracture. If it was broken all the way through you'd be at the hospital already.

Last time I simply splinted my hand with tongue depressor boards on either side and medical tape, had to keep it like that for about 2-3 weeks, and took the rest of my pain killer supply from the last serious injury (I severed my left big toe with a plate of glass roughly a year ago- yea, I've had a lot of injuries)

[JavaBrewer]

Rub some dirt on it and have a few shots of Jack D.





After the wife/gf is in bed wash it throughly, top with Neosporin and big bandage. Clean 2x a day.