Medical help please! (TW: pic)

[Maienia]

Not an aibu but I'm verging on a panic attack and I need some medical advice and this is the busiest board!

I have an infected finger, it's been very swollen, green and pus filled, it started to seep out of a hole near my fingernail today and most of it is out but the skin is now loose and there is still some inside.

I do have antibiotics.

Should I put antiseptic cream on it and a plaster or do I leave it open?

Ooh, that must be painful! I’d be inclined to go for the slathering in antiseptic and putting on a plaster, so it draws out whatever’s left inside, but I am not a medical person - just an enthusiastic sporner 😁

It's looking like it's healing well. Soak it in salt water to keep it clean but I'd leave it to dry out. If you do cover it make sure you use a non lint dressing, the type for burns.

@Maienia
I had the same thing last week.
I squeezed it really hard and it opened and drained. Then I soaked it in warm salt water like@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor suggested. It began to heal immediately.
Hope your finger feels better soon!

Thanks! It started off pretty small, I'd been on antibiotics for a week but the GP just started me on some new ones so hopefully this clears up soon, it's crazy how stressful this feels!

I'm stressed about it getting reinfected cos I have a dog and kids who are all messy filthy creatures 😅 so wasn't sure if cream and wrapping it was a good idea or not!

A pharmacist could suggest a non adherent dry dressing and a waterproof finger cover to keep it clean when you are washing up, preparing food taking the dog out.

No dressing unless you are doing something that might introduce more bacteria like washing up or changing a nappy. Soak in hot salt water, as hot as you can bear, twice a day and antiseptic cream afterwards.

That's what I do if a cut gets infected and have never needed antibiotics for them, although I'm quite good about sterilising blades so don't normally get infected anyway.

How did you do it, OP?😫

Keep it covered and keep the dressing / plaster dry (change as required). Bathing it in salt water is a good call, use cooled boiled water.

I’ve found Tea tree oil fantastic for this, you shouldn’t slather in any creams and leave it open to dry unless handling food. Moisture is a breeding ground for further infection

Boil a fine needle for a couple of minutes, hold your finger tightly until the end is numb and then pierce the finger where the build up of pus is. Once it has stopped discharging, soak in hot salt water and cover with a lint dressing. The pain is caused by the skin tightening due to the fluid underneath. My son regularly gets these mostly due to him biting his nails and the first couple of times they did this at the surgery, but now I just do it for him.