Ok, so a rose thorn pierced my hand this afternoon and went in about 5 mm - hand is now numb and painful- should I be worried???

[LauriefairycakeeatsCupid]

Can barely type, the whole top of my hand is hurting, finding it difficult to bend one finger. There was no blood earlier (very weird)

mush up a bit of bread with water and put it over the puncture fr an hour or so

You can use a plaster to keep it on

It might draw out any poisons

Don't feel a twonk! Far better to get advice. Hope it settles down for you!

celulitis in the hand is a possibility-ds had this when he stabbed himself with a pencil-took 24 hours to come out his symptoms very stiff and swollen thumb-it can be very nasty-get it checked.

To be honest i think NHS direct talk shit - it's a computer generated reply most of the time, and the nurses do not know everything (and most of the time it seems the ones answering the phones know nothing)

I have quite often had to pick up the pieces from bad nhs direct calls

some interesting info:

here

here

if you get at all worse over night, esp if redness spreads up arm or if you have a temp then you need to be seen. if not go tomorrow, emergency appt with GP. arm yourself with knowlegde from above, as not very common so doc might not know (esp if A+E junior SHO - type of doc)

How are things this morning?

How are you? Has it got better?

Agree - nurse 'consultants' up here on NHS Direct have to have 5 years post qualifying experience to apply for the posts. That, apparently, qualifies them to diagnose all sorts of things using pathways and scripts over the telephone! 'Tis a scary thought...

Anyway, how are you today?

Nurses on NHS Direct aren't meant to diagnose. They're just meant to give you an advised course of action (eg home care vs A&E now vs see your doc in the morning). Hope you're ok Laurie.

She has been posting on other threads so is clearly OK...wonder why she has not updated this one?

this one

Yes, you're right - diagnose was the wrong word. However, I still have serious concerns about their ability to assess what requires home care/A&E/see your doc in the morning simply from a telephone conversation.

They advised my father to derive my mother to hospital (a 10 mile journey through busy rush hour traffic in a city) when she was having a heart attack, although of course they couldn't diagnose, but instead asked their scripted questions and made a decision based on that - and told him to "take your mobile just in case". Fortunately, and very unusually for my parents they ignored the advice and called an ambulance themselves, which was just as well as she arrested just as she reached A and E, and they were able to save her. The paramedic advised them NEVER to phone NHS24 if they were at all worried.

oh they do diagnose, they're just not meant to!

Sorry to hear about your mother's experience You are right that they are just reading off a computer algorythmn (spelling??). They told me to take DS1 to hospital immediately and if he collapsed on the way or stopped breathing to pull over and call an ambulance . Cue gibbering wreck at my end.

Hope your DS is OK now...it's very worrying though when you're given this type of advice as part of an NHS one size fits all service, isn't it?