No finger-pointing on how I got hurt
I am *really* good at hurting myself in unusual ways. It might just be my superpower. I've hurt myself several ways just in clapping. CLAPPING. (Thank camp and teaching.) This past week, I've apparently hurt myself by...coloring.
You may recall that I made a post about buying myself colored pencils. I was so excited to get them that I immediately set about coloring when I got home. That was Tuesday. Wednesday, same. More coloring! It's tapping into non-musical creativity and helping me feel better.
Then came Thursday. All of a sudden my right index finger was swollen and red and perhaps infected. What the heck. The best I could figure at the time was that I had a hangnail that appeared on Tuesday from all the rubbing the pencils did against my nail. I don't even know. I just knew that it was bad and I had band that night and I had to go to work and function. I put some Neosporin and a bandage on it and tried to go about my business, but as it turns out I use my right index finger a LOT during the day--typing, using the mouse, pumping soap and lotion, et cetera. A lot of my computer-written correspondence looked like Dutch since there were a lot of extra Js getting typed into things thanks to the bandage hanging over the end a little. At least the pad of my finger tip was fine, so playing wasn't a big deal, though I had to put a plug in the hole of my F key, one of the joys of having an open-hole flute.
Friday. Still red and swollen and sore. Good lord, did I give myself a staph infection from the coloring pencils? What the heck. More Neosporin, more bandage, a couple ibuprofen. I got through the day, and because I used a Nexcare bandage and put it a little lower on my finger, it was a little more usable at work. By this point the tip of my finger wasn't so bad, but the top and specifically the side of my finger by my middle finger was still swollen and sore and I didn't want to put pressure there.
Weekend. The swelling has gone down a fair amount, to where it's mostly normal, thankfully. I discovered a small cut near the top knuckle, so that must be what's actually causing the problem. I've been slathering on the Neosporin at night and taking an ibuprofen, and that seems to be helping. I leave the bandage on as long as I can, but eventually, since I wash my hands a fair amount, it gets too wet and slides off. It feels like there's a slight bump on the side of my finger, and that is still tender, but it is greatly improved. I cannot begin to tell you how swollen it was around Thursday and Friday. My finger resembled a sausage. It was weirdly smooth. I was honestly concerned I might have to go to urgent care to have it lanced if the swelling didn't go down.
I'm still kind of babying the finger to some degree, but for the most part it's acting normally. I was able to practice today with no issues, and the bandage had already come off earlier than that so it didn't cause any problems. I'll keep up with the ointment for another couple days just in case. I just wish I recalled getting that cut in the first place, because I'd go back and Neo it up right away. That's my reminder to do that every time I get a cut, because when I don't, trouble arises.
You may recall that I made a post about buying myself colored pencils. I was so excited to get them that I immediately set about coloring when I got home. That was Tuesday. Wednesday, same. More coloring! It's tapping into non-musical creativity and helping me feel better.
Then came Thursday. All of a sudden my right index finger was swollen and red and perhaps infected. What the heck. The best I could figure at the time was that I had a hangnail that appeared on Tuesday from all the rubbing the pencils did against my nail. I don't even know. I just knew that it was bad and I had band that night and I had to go to work and function. I put some Neosporin and a bandage on it and tried to go about my business, but as it turns out I use my right index finger a LOT during the day--typing, using the mouse, pumping soap and lotion, et cetera. A lot of my computer-written correspondence looked like Dutch since there were a lot of extra Js getting typed into things thanks to the bandage hanging over the end a little. At least the pad of my finger tip was fine, so playing wasn't a big deal, though I had to put a plug in the hole of my F key, one of the joys of having an open-hole flute.
Friday. Still red and swollen and sore. Good lord, did I give myself a staph infection from the coloring pencils? What the heck. More Neosporin, more bandage, a couple ibuprofen. I got through the day, and because I used a Nexcare bandage and put it a little lower on my finger, it was a little more usable at work. By this point the tip of my finger wasn't so bad, but the top and specifically the side of my finger by my middle finger was still swollen and sore and I didn't want to put pressure there.
Weekend. The swelling has gone down a fair amount, to where it's mostly normal, thankfully. I discovered a small cut near the top knuckle, so that must be what's actually causing the problem. I've been slathering on the Neosporin at night and taking an ibuprofen, and that seems to be helping. I leave the bandage on as long as I can, but eventually, since I wash my hands a fair amount, it gets too wet and slides off. It feels like there's a slight bump on the side of my finger, and that is still tender, but it is greatly improved. I cannot begin to tell you how swollen it was around Thursday and Friday. My finger resembled a sausage. It was weirdly smooth. I was honestly concerned I might have to go to urgent care to have it lanced if the swelling didn't go down.
I'm still kind of babying the finger to some degree, but for the most part it's acting normally. I was able to practice today with no issues, and the bandage had already come off earlier than that so it didn't cause any problems. I'll keep up with the ointment for another couple days just in case. I just wish I recalled getting that cut in the first place, because I'd go back and Neo it up right away. That's my reminder to do that every time I get a cut, because when I don't, trouble arises.