whats your threshold to seek medical help?

[KFC911]

Just let Hank lick it out ... old redneck fishin' tip

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

One of my vintage race friends cut his foot at a race weekend and it was wet most of the time....

He ended up with a nasty infection. Hospitalized a couple of times. It took them months of various antibiotic treatments to clear it up. After watching him go through that, my threshold is lower.

That's what would scare me about storms/floods/etc. cleanups ... toxic H2O can make a minor nick or cut serious in no time....

[vash]

Originally Posted by KFC911

Just let Hank lick it out ... old redneck fishin' tip

you wouldn't be saying that if you saw what he was just licking...nope

[jyl]

red streaks yet?

[gchappel]

Find a good hand surgeon- and see him.
Going to a walk in clinic or ER, you will get general but not specialized care.
Good luck.
gary

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

My last ER trip I had the red spider lines from my hand to my elbow, I wouldn’t recommend that.

I got a "burn" mark from fiberglass resin on my wrist. It was open - more like raw - and I dipped my hands in some skunky water. Two days later stopped at the Home Depot to get some plumbing bits. There was a 40 year old lady looking for stuff and I helped her. She saw the lines (half way to elbow) and said get your ass to the hospital right now. Don't worry about your sister's basement project, you can die. Made me promise her.

It was not presented as an option. Thank you, Ma'am!

I was there all day getting several bags of antibiotics. Lines went above the elbow in the five or six hours I was there.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

When the injury wakes me up at night...

You guys may try to revoke my man-card but I agree with the above.
I used to follow the thought "its only a flesh wound" but now that I am older, I have decided that life is too short to be miserable. If it is worrisome, causing me to not sleep, or painful to the point that it is limiting my enjoyment of the day; then I go to the doc-in-a-box urgent care. Get a shot, an x-ray, or antibiotic. This way no worrying, no sleepless nights, no living in pain. I'm too old to worry about what other people think.

[wdfifteen]

If I cut myself and it isn't gushing blood, I'll lick the blood off to see if it stops bleeding. If it stops after a couple of licks, I'm good to go. If it doesn't, I bandage it. If it bleeds through the bandage, I go to an urgent care place.

Vicki insists on going with me when I see a doctor because she says I always minimize the symptoms I'm having when I talk to the doctor.

[GH85Carrera]

One of our former Pelican RKDinOKC stepped on a roofing nail. He just took vitamins and poured some hydrogen peroxide on the nail hole. A few days later, he was in the hospital with a horrid infection, and lost a lot of his foot. It started a downhill health spiral with more issues, and strokes and eventually death. He lived 1.5 miles from me and we ate lunch once per week. I really miss him.

He was a really smart man, that took stupid health decisions.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I’m also paranoid and don’t fully trust doctors. We’ve had enough instances where I have felt like they were making decisions to maximize revenue, not patient care. So that doesn’t help either.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

One of our former Pelican RKDinOKC stepped on a roofing nail. He just took vitamins and poured some hydrogen peroxide on the nail hole. A few days later, he was in the hospital with a horrid infection, and lost a lot of his foot. It started a downhill health spiral with more issues, and strokes and eventually death. He lived 1.5 miles from me and we ate lunch once per week. I really miss him.

He was a really smart man, that took stupid health decisions.

Wow. I remember him. I had no idea.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

He lived 1.5 miles from me and we ate lunch once per week. I really miss him.

Im sorry, Glen. I remember him and you talking about your lunches together.

His passing may have been mentioned before but RIP RKDinOKC.

[vash]

dang...

I stepped on a nail once, my boss took me to the hospital ASAP. I got the tetanus shot, as I was telling the doc, "I just got the teta...but but!". stab.

they dont mess around with deep punctures... RIP RKDinOKC..I had no idea.

[Tobra]

Pretty high.

Have all the stuff for stitches, IV fluids and a cornucopia of wound care products at the office

[steveo12345]

Unrelated to the Op's issue but a dear friend of 25 years just died because he did not seek help soon enough. Had some chest pains and his wife, as she put it, finally convinced him to go to the ER. As she was putting her shoes on he slumped over and became unresponsive. Died in the ambulance. The service is on Friday.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by vash

I stepped on a nail once, my boss took me to the hospital ASAP. I got the tetanus shot, as I was telling the doc, "I just got the teta...but but!". stab.

When I was a little boy I stood on a nail. My mother and a nurse asked me if it was a rusty nail and thinking I would get extra sympathy, a bag of sweets and a day off school I said yes. Instead I got

[Baz]

Broken rib (#8 - see photo). Didn't seek medical attention for 3 weeks.

Pain didn't seem to be going away so got an X-Ray and then a Rx for some pain killers. About 6 weeks later it healed up enough the pain subsided.

[vash]

I lived. all that is left is a blemish on my palm that is mildly itchy. I think the sliver went into the trash along with a bandage change.

[gacook]

My tolerance for NOT seeking medical care is pretty high. Partially because our hospital is horrible; partially because that's just how I was raised. "Rub some dirt in it--you'll be all right." I've never gone to a doc for an open wound; have used super glue a time or two.

I "fell" off my roof maybe 10 years ago. Was pretty obvious I'd messed up my arm. Wife finally convinced me to go to the ER that evening. After waiting there for 3 hours, they confirmed it was likely broken; put on an ACE bandage and told me to go see my doc the next day. Confirmed how much our hospital sucks. I have no intention of going back unless I'm dying.

[vash]

Once elk hunting I climb thru a fence. I got a wood sliver under my pinkie fingernail. Hurt bad. I yanked it out with my teeth and kept hiking.

It looked like an ET finger. Pulsing in pain. I was in the boonies so I cleaned it with my kits. I got very lucky. It dried up. The skin peel was epic.