SWOLLEN LEFT HAND

You can see how the swelling my left hand developed about 6.30 this evening, so I went down to the causality department of the local hospital. I was too busy talking about the kidney problem, the bone marrow biopsy and the kidney biopsy, not to mention the perforated appendix that I forgot to tell the doctor the really relevant information that I had my spleen removed about three years ago.

When I get an infection, I need to report it, but I think it is only minor it will go away. Let me not trouble people unnecessarily, and then the symptoms do not go.

I get given a diary every year, and I never fill it out consistently. My resolution this year is to record any observations I make about my health so I can relate them to the relevant doctor. The problem in consultation is that I do not have a check list of things to report, nor do I record the results of tests. Then again it is so easy to miss the big things, such as my splenectomy. My local doctor has full records, but it is hard to review them all in a single consultation. I am trying out this method, which I hope has a reinforcement loop embedded in it.

We will see how this goes. This post is reminder to apply myself to the project. The casualty doctor gave a course of oral antibiotics. My hand is now looking a lot more swollen. Photos to follow if there is not improvement by tomorrow.

Postscript:

I do not like to whinge, or even see doctors – does that sound familiar? The most popular post on this blog was my report on my swollen thumb. My recommendation, it goes without saying, and subject to possibility, is to go and see a medical doctor. As for the palmist out there, only tell me the good news.

You can see how the swelling my left hand developed about 6.30 this evening, so I went down to the causality department of the local hospital. I was too busy talking about the kidney problem, the bone marrow biopsy and the kidney biopsy, not to mention the perforated appendix that I forgot to tell the doctor the really relevant information that I had my spleen removed about three years ago.
UPDATE: 8 hours later:The swelling has increased and spread to the right hand.

These photos I can send to my renal specialist, if my GP suggests that there could be another reason for the swelling. In the collage the top photos are of my left hand, and the bottom two of my right hand. (The left hand is a lot easier to photograph than my right hand.)

UPDATE:

So far there is no diagnosis. I spent the morning that the Medical Practice.

Refer comment below. By Saturday morning a noticeable improvement and decrease in swelling in my left hand had occurred. By Sunday morning the pain and swelling in my right hand was no more. The hotness of the skin was gone, and my hands had resumed their normal shape, which I had not noticed before. On Saturday, I had some blood tests, which the lab processed and phoned through to my treating doctor, who phoned me at home. She has also spoken to Wollongong Hospital in the eventuality that I had to report to Emergency. I mention this because she does not have to do this. (The antibiotics were called: dicloxacillin.) I notice the advice at Wikipedia is that it should be used with caution by patients with “renal impairment”.)

This case and outcome, reinforces my conviction about the importance of access to health services and the importance that I perhaps did not fully appreciate of information flows, so that . for instance, general local conditions can be identified, and then be elated to particular cases.And pushing the generalization some further steps along the way. I would suggest there is a form of globalization of health science from the bottom up, more so than in other fields. But feel free to disagree with me, as I know you always do.

For the impact on medical providers when things go very wrong, I suggest you read Colleen’s experience as an intensive care nurse, which is a reminder to me that as patients and family members we should not forget the people that provide the medical services we are reliant on.

POSTSCRIPT:

There was an annonymous multiple commenter who seems to think that I was complaining. The swelling I imagine was some kind of reaction to what I had contacted while cleaning up over the backfence. The prudent course is to where gloves.  The photos help to document what happened. At the time, and it is now eleven months I was not given, or able to discover cause and effect story, and for that reason the experience was interesting. I notice my neighbour was wearing gloves when was working in a similar area.

The rules for commenting here are elementary – be courteous and does not preclude criticism.

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