Boyfriend Hurt AGAIN!

[LillFilly]

This is not shaping-up to be his year.

He cut his right thumb yesterday on a machine at work. It was painful and swollen, but didn't look too bad. Apparently today it got worse FAST, hot and puffy with redness iiiinnnccchhhhiing up his arm...Yeah. He called me a few hours after I dropped him off asking to be picked-up at the local clinic. Boss had brought him in (since it's a worker's comp. injury) and they'd gone and given him a tentus, an antibiotic iv, antibiotics and pain killers. His thumb looks like a sausage! So he'll be out for the rest of the week with his arm in a sling and on bed rest, but hey, that means I get him for 2 whole days! Lucky those drs. seemed to be on the ball, because I don't know if this was blood poisoning or a staph/strep infection but it could have been bad!

[Food Lady]

I am SO glad they caught it. My dad had the same deal: a cut on his hand that got infected (he was an airline mechanic). There was the classic line going up his arm. My mom shoved him out the door to the car, made him go to the ER. He didn't even know anything was wrong! (That's my dad for ya). Anyway, the doctor said if he'd gotten there even an hour later, it would've hit his heart & probably ended him. He still doesn't properly take care of cuts. Well, maybe he does, now that he's diabetic. But I've had to scold him.

[kansasgal]

I'm sorry to hear that he got hurt but I'm glad the docs caught it. I hope he gets better soon!

[Food Lady]

He's covered by workers' comp, right? That's the good thing. Hope he heals quickly.

[Der Cute]

I think that's cellulitis. I had a similar issue this year. Somehow my thumb got infected and was swelling, almost PURPLE. It hurt. This was over a few days though. I went to the doc, he popped the thing (ew neat) and had me immediately take antibiotics. BUT mine wasn't so bad, it took a long time for mine to do anything. (I did get the red line up my arm). Doc said if it didn't feel better by tomorrow I'd need to come back and do the IV thing.

Then after it healed, I got one on my left ankle (inside). It's healed up but the color scar is about the size of a small thumb. Joy!

[Seshat]

Red line going up from an injury => immediate ER visit and show the triage nurse.

I'm so glad that both the OP's boyfriend, Food Lady's dad and Der Cute all got treatment.

[laborcat]

I got a spider bite while camping when I was pregnant with alpha child. Had the same thing happen. I was terrified watching that line go up my arm, but doc seemed to not worry about it too badly and cross-checked with my ob/gyn and they got it all fixed up pretty quick... Glad to hear that your bf is going to be ok. It looks worse than it really is most of the time though.