I hurt my middle finger on my right hand?!
Question:
I hurt my middle finger on my right hand?
about 6 weeks ago..i tripped and landed on my hand and injured my finger...i could still move it and bend it ..it felt like a buise. Then the next morning i woke up and it was swollen. Just the middle finger not my hand.. I ve seen the doctor once and he told me heat and cold and wrap to 3rd finger.. But its fewling worse and the knuckle on the finger is still swollen. What now? Ive have not had any xrays done.. oh my god it hurts.. some days the swelling is not so bad .. but when i do things like laundry or dishes or writing it swells up again..
Answers:
it could be one of a few things...
firstly, it could be a damaged tendon/ligament.... Depending on how you landed on it (this is most likely if you landed on it and it bent backwards)... This type of injury needs at least 6 weeks to heal, but the finger MUST be kept imobile during that time and you should take a fairly regular dose of Ibuprofen or some other anit-inflamatory.
Secondly, you might have damaged the cartilidge in the knuckle itself... It's the smooth, semi-soft tissue between the joints. If this happens, the smoothness and the gliding motion that you normally have when you flex the finger will not be present and you can casue more damage and swelling... Again, this will require anit-inflamatories and plenty of rest for the finger.
Thirdly, you could have chipped a bone... If the bone chip is still there, it could be causing a problem when you move it (bone chips are usually quite sharp) and causing damage. This would require a doctors' treatment.
And lastly, it's possible you may have damaged a nerve... If that's the case, then you may need to see a doctor and have proper medication prescribed... There are some drugs that act as antiinflamatories for nerves and also releive pain (diclofanec sodium is one example).
In any of these cases, I would go and see the doctor again... 6 weeks should be plenty of time providing you kept the finger imobile as often as possible... If it's still not right, you need to get it seen too or more damage could result.
Hope it gets better soon!