Finger infection, advice please

[cocox]

Have a swollen finger tip, cut, bit of puss coming out, throbbing, lot of pain, red. There is a red line going up my finger. Where do i go? Pharmacy? GP emergency appointment? Walk in center?

Don't want to be dramatic but don't know what to do! Have put antibacterial and salt water, not getting better.
TIA

Walk in or GP. DH had this and they had to lance it in the surgery.

Make an appointment at your doctors surgery to see a nurse. They will clean it up and will advise if you need antibiotics or not.

do u think this counts as an "emergency" gp appointment? They have no normal appointments free for today

See someone ASAP. Ring GP for an emergency appointment if they do not have any then walk in centre.

No,not unless your in a lot of pain or are feeling unwell in yourself.
Get some TCP or Dettol, mix with hot water in a bowl and steep your finger in that for a good 10mins that will help a bit

If you describe it to the person on reception they'll tell you if it qualifies for an emergency appointment

The red line traveling up your finger is not a good sign. You should get it seen to by a medical professional not strangers off the internet. If it is getting worse please seek advice from a professional. If you don't feel it is urgent enough for an emergency appointment at least go and see a Pharmacists.

The receptionist said basically said it's not emergency appointment and the nurses are fully booked today! Dont know what to do now...

Did you book an appointment for another day?

Yeah go to a pharmacist and see what they suggest

They said call back tomorrow to see the nurse in the morning

Can you ask to have a telephone consultation with one of the nurses today?

she said the nurses are fully booked. unsure whether to call back and ask for emergency appointment. Don't want to be over dramatic about it though

Do you have a walk in clinic close by? I think they're a good middle ground between emergency appointment at oversubscribed surgery and waiting until the morning.

Going to the pharmacist now. hopefully they will be able to help

If you have streaks going up your arm then you need antibiotics.
Infections in fingers can be tricky to clear-hopefully chemist will advise.
Otherwise call 111 they can get you an emergency appointment.

With the red line going up your finger, yes it's an emergency appendectomy you need.

I nearly lost my hand/life due to Septis from pretty much exactly this, you need to be seen quickly to rule that out

Appointment, bloody autocorrect

Yes, see pharmacist. It was a pharmacist who insisted I went to A&E, they probably saved my life

i went to pharmacy, she said i should just get a GP appointment tomorrow, is that too long to wait? I'm getting worried but my family think i'm being dramatic...

IME my GP wouldn’t lance it (was minor surgery, which they don’t do) so sent me to A&E. A&E triaged me to the GP next door, who (after a wait) sent me back to A&E because (like my GP) they don’t do minor surgery. Finally saw an A&E nurse who said it wasn’t big enough to lance yet, gave me some mag sulphate paste and antibiotics, and told me to come back when it looked poppable. Which I did, two days later. The relief when it’s popped is great, not so much fun when she squeezed it very hard to get all the pus out, though...

It's hard to say without seeing your finger as there's a big difference between a simple paronychia and - say - a felon. The throbbing probably means that there's a tight pool of pus somewhere and the tracking redness isn't a great sign either.

It might not need antibiotics/drainage but it might do and what it does probably need is an urgent assessment by someone who can offer those things and knows their way around hand infections.

Give 111 a call as they should be able to suggest what services are available for you locally. It might well be appropriate for A&E if there isn't an appropriate alternative, e.g. an urgent care centre. DOI: A&E doctor.

Can you post a pic OP?
If there are red streaks you absolutely have to go to A&E
I was nearly hospitalised with antibiotic drip as let it go too far-
fingers are very tricky as so far away from heart the fresh blood doesn't put through to clear so easily (note-not a Dr...and this was told to me and sounds plausible)
I did it pricking my finger with a sewing needle very sleeping beauty

Sounds like cellulitis which can get very nasty.
Draw a line round redness

I would go to out of hours. Soak in salty water or epsom salts. Apply lavender...red line needs sorting...

A red line is called tracking. Tracking is bad because it indicates that your lymphatic system, which is you major immune system containing your white blood cells, is inflamed. The red line is usually 'tracking' to the nearest lymph gland to the infected wound.

You need to be particularly concerned if you can't bend your finger. I'd call 111.