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Children's health

Another accident from nursery - do I need to go to hospital tomorrow?

12 replies

ireallyhavenoidea · 02/03/2013 21:48

Hi

When I went to collect my ds from nursery yesterday I noticed his thumb was red and the nail was a bit 'gunky' but he wouldn't let either me or the key worker see. I put some sudacrem on it last night, whilst he struggled, and today have put more sudacrem on when I can but it currently looks like the picture on my profile.

Is thre anything I can do to encourage it to heal or do I need to take him to a dr / minor injuries unit / pharmacist?

He is 4 if that matters and says it doesn't hurt, doesn't complain about it but he won't let me look at it and it is very red and swollen.

Thanks in advance

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sausagesandwich34 · 02/03/2013 21:51

draw a line in biro where the redness stops

if the red has got bigger in the morning then take to the out of hours gp

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dikkertjedap · 02/03/2013 22:00

In addition to what sausage has already said, keep an eye on his temperature and also how hot his thumb feels (eg whether it feels a lot hotter than his other thumb for example, as this is likely to indicate infection). Also, no playing with dirty stuff until it has healed to reduce risk of infection. You could disinfect with diluted TCP once or twice a day, but pat dry afterwards.

You need to be firm with him and let you look at it IMO, not just for this, but just generally, you need to be able to check he is okay.

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ireallyhavenoidea · 02/03/2013 22:01

Thanks sausage. I am really busy at work on Monday and can't really get him to a hospital then - BUT I obviously dont want him to get worse!

The skin has mostly come off the worst side. Should I take that as I sign I should have taken him today? It's so hard to get him to let me look

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ireallyhavenoidea · 02/03/2013 22:07

Thanks dikkert. Yes, I have tried. I got him to let me tke photos - partly so I could look as much as I liked. I agree, he does have to let me do this.

Good idea about the temperature. He has been quite sleepy the last few days (but, apart from being grumpy, has been OK mostly). Fingers crossed that's related to his cold last week rather than his thumb. It obviously hurts if he wont let me look at it properly.

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ireallyhavenoidea · 02/03/2013 22:08

Ah, sorry, i see this should be dikkertje not dikkert!

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dontwanttobefatandforty · 02/03/2013 22:13

it looks infected, my sons fingers used to go the same when he picked, he used to need anti biotics.

What makes you think it was an accident at nursery?

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HobKnob · 02/03/2013 22:17

No need to take him to hospital, IMO, just take him to the GP on Monday if you're still worried.

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drinkyourmilk · 02/03/2013 22:20

Looks infected to me. You could get some magnesium sulphate paste from a pharmacy. A little in a plaster or his thumb then covered in a plaster will draw the infection out. Dr may be better though

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ireallyhavenoidea · 02/03/2013 22:23

OK, thanks for the advice.

I only thought it might be to do with nursery because he was OK on Friday morning. He changes his story every time I ask though. He's not complaining about it now so guess he wasn't then. (He hurt his hand at nursery before and they didn't notice it so guess I wouldn't be surprised)

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WickWackThurso · 02/03/2013 22:30

Looks like a paronychia to me:

"Acute infective paronychia usually starts after a minor injury to the nail fold, through nail biting, picking or manicures, for example. The affected area is red, warm, tender and swollen. After a while pus may be seen, which can track around the nail and even lift the nail off.
Acute paronychia is often caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, although any number of germs can be involved. Treatment is with antibiotic creams and/or tablets. If there is a large amount of pus, it can help to have this surgically drained.
Sometimes, acute paronychia is caused by the cold sore virus, in which cased it is known as herpetic whitlow.
Acute paronychia can completely clear in a few days with treatment, but if it is not treated or does not respond to treatment, it can become chronic."

From the NHS website.

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WickWackThurso · 02/03/2013 22:31

When it says "surgically drained" - that can mean the tiniest of scratches with a needle to let the infection out if needed. One of my favourite jobs when i worked in a Walk In Centre

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ireallyhavenoidea · 02/03/2013 23:04

Thanks wwt. I googled and found that too. Just went in to check him and he is really hot. Cant find the thermometer so gave him some calpol and he's gone back to sleep.

I appear to be starting the symptoms of a v&d bug that was going round nursery last week. Great...