Weird Question? - West Monroe,LA

You really can't afford NOT to go to the dr. You need antibiotics. It's going to get worse fi you don't get it taken care of now. it will then cost more money and time.

My son had something like that and it was a strep infection. He soaked it in salt water and that helped, but he also needed oral antibiotics.

Oh my gosh, you'd better get to the doctor because you need powerful antibiotics. You have a staff infection! If you don't get antibiotics, you'll end up with a blood infection.

PLEASE go! There are NO home remedies for this. Before antibiotics, people just plain out DIED from this.

I can't believe you're describing all this and don't realize what kind of trouble you are in... wow...

Hurry, get help NOW.

Dawn

You have an infection. Put an antibiotic ointment or cream, such as Neosporin on it. I would put a band aid over it to keep the ointment/cream on the finger.

I would be concerned that you are having a shooting pain up your arm. This could indicate that the infection is spreading. If the pain isn't reduced, in a few days time, with using the cream/ointment I would seek medical attention. There are clinics that will see you on a sliding fee scale. Every county has one but private ones are starting up too.

My mother always soaked infected sores on hands and feet. Use water as hot as you can stand it. Epsom salts can help. Soak for 15 or so minutes keeping the water hot by adding more to it.

Later: If your hand and arm hurt all of the time then you do need to see a doctor or nurse right away. If they just hurt when you hit the sore than it's not so urgent.

You could have an infection. Watch for red streaks going down your finger, hand or arm. If that happens, you need medical care pronto. In the meantime, I'd probably soak it in warm water and keep it clean.

Don't bother with home remedies.
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If you infection (and you have one) has spread to the point that your hand and arm are now affected -- you need to get to the doctor today. Not tomorrow. Today. You need antibiotics and no home remedy provides those.

Then get help with whatever compulsion makes you bite your nails to the point of pus pockets. That is way beyond a mere "nervous habit" and in the territory of compulsive behavior. See a doctor about that, once you have been diagnosed for the infection.

Please go to see a doctor! How about one at the Health Department?

You need to go to the ER or an urgent care this morning. If you do not you will end up owing much more in the long run as the results of this kind of infection can lead to amputation...I am not kidding. The sooner you start on an antibiotic the better.

You have an infection. You need antibiotics.
Stop biting your skin and your nails. There are more germs in the human mouth than you can imagine and by biting and opening up your skin, you're inviting all kinds of nasty things into your body.
Stop biting. Go to the doctor.
If you don't get medicine, it could turn into sepsis or worse and you could lose your hand.
LBC

I think you need medical attention ASAP!
Good luck!

In the bay area, we have the city hospital where people go with or without insurance. Do you have one you can go to? Also, as a former nail biter myself (mostly as a kid) I too have picked at hang nails and they got infected.. They had me soak my hand in hot salty water.. can you do that to help cleanse the area? If things don't get better.. definitely call around to doctor's offices. We found that when we didn't have insurance, there are actually doctors out there willing to negotiate.. Case and point, husband needed a cat scan.. those can run into the 1,000s... we were quoted $3,500.. we got it done for less than 500. although still expensive.. but it did pay to shop around..we did the same for the dentist..

don't be shy about it. if you need help.. make the call... people are more generous than most think..

I wish you the best and much healing.. :)

You have an infection somewhere. Have you tried soaking in epsom salts??? Warm water with epsom salts to draw infection out---also, if your arm is hurting like that--you really should get some medication and see someone about it. Hope you feel better.

If you have an infection, you need antibiotics and the only place you'll get those is a docto, whether you have the money or not.

It does sound like an ingrown nail -- whatever it is it's obviously infected.

It's unlikely this will happen, but if you notice red streaks up your arm, get to the hospital right away, because you could have a life threatening infection of the blood stream.

But, the infection is probably just localized. I am a major biter and picker, and have caused lots of infections around my nails. Here's what works for me: put a whole bunch of Neosporin on a bandaid and wrap it securely, Keep it that way for a few days. You will have to change the bandage and apply more Neosporin once or twice a day, or if it gets wet.

Like others said, it's good to start with a hot soak in Epsom salts or just plain hot water and table salt will do the trick.

If this works, you will notice an improvement within 24 hours. Keep doing it until the infection is gone.

But watch out for any red streaks on your hand or arm. If you have any sense by feeling or looking at is that this infection is anywhere other than your finger, you HAVE to go to the emergency room right away.

p.s. - I always bite my nails, but they are long right now because I painted them with clear nail polish, and I won't bite them with nail polish on them. Maybe when this clears up you can try it.

it probably is an infection as someone said. treat it and for goodness sakes stop hurting yourself.

IF, just if, that doesn't help, you could also be having an allergic reaction to something. i would get dozens of tiny pin sized blisters under my fingernails. they were excruciating. then they would pop, peel, and start again. it was really agony for about six months. i stopped using the GOJO hand soap at work, brought my own softsoap, and have not had a problem since (unless i am travelling or get stuck using a public restroom, then occasionally it flares up again but not near as bad as it used to be).

but most likely as the ladies have said, it's an infection.

I do not know "why" or "how" this works but it dose.. I would do the same thing to my toes as a child... I did it one year on summer brake at my G. Grandmothers house. She warped it raw pork bacon a bandage then put med tape on to to hold it in place. . ... .. it was so nasty to me. 8 hr, later there was no more swelling or puss... After that summer I stopped cutting my toe nails to short... .. .. .. . L.O.L.

I also used to bite my nails and now I end up picking at the sides, until I also have these "pus pockets."

I had that happen once, and it was because the pus was below the surface but didn't have a way to get out. (usually if I push on it it will "pop" like a pimple) I sterilized a needle and poked in the corner where the skin met the nail, where it would usually "pop". Out came a ton of puss and it felt a lot better after that.

I'm not saying you should do that, but I hate going to the doctor if it's something I could do myself. I don't remember it hurting all up my arm like yours is, although it did hurt like the dickens. Maybe a trip to a Walgreens Urgent care is in order.

infection..Soak in warm epsom salt water rinse then use peroxide let air dry apply neosporion or a generic form of it wrap with a good band aid for a few hrs repeat process then let air dry over night repeat repeat only you know when to see a Dr. this is just to help relieve the pain and help w/ infection

Soak it in a warm epsom salt bath.

It is probably a tiny spike of nail, like an ingrowing toenail - you will need to get that spike out, or get the doctor to get it out. Get a file from walgreens - the tiny ones used for ingrowing toenails, and see if you can get it out.
I second the epsom salts.
But it could also be staph, and you don't want to leave that go to long!

It sounds like you definitely have infection.
For starters, I would get some epsom salts and soak your hands in that in warm water. Actually, as warm as you can stand it. Then, dry your nails well, even using a hair dryer on low heat to make sure you get the moisture out of all corners. Let them stay dry before putting on neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment. Another thing you can try is slathering Vick's vapo-rup on your nails and cuticles and put a sock over your hands while you sleep.

If you have contracted a fungal infection, you may need something from the doctor to clear it up, but soaking in epsom salts certainly won't hurt anything.

You have to make up your mind that you are done biting your nails. Forever. It's obviously terrible for them. And, if you have infection, you are putting that in your mouth. Seriously not good for YOU.

When I was little, I had an aunt who always had her fingers in her mouth chomping on her nails and the skin around them. After spending a week with my cousins, I came home chomping on my nails. My mom was not happy about it. She told me next time I saw my aunt to take a good, long look at her hands and ask myself if that's how I wanted my hands to look.
Well, I checked it out, and NO, I didn't want my hands to look like hers. She basically had no nail beds left and had all kinds of straggly chunks and scabs on the sides and cuticles.

I never bit my nails again.
I actually an known for my healthy nails. I don't do anything to them, rarely polish them, but they grow out evenly and some people don't believe they can be my natural nails, but they are.

If soaking doesn't help or give any relief, you may have no choice but to see a doctor.

Best wishes.