I broke my finger/need advice

Sorry to hear about your small accident, I hope you're not in too much pain!

It's very difficult to see from the photos you posted, but your finger do not look that bad!

Perhaps it's just a slight sprain? (if that is the correct word in English?)

A sprained finger are very common when the finger is bent the wrong way.

Sprained Finger - Diagnosis and Treatment of Finger Sprains and Dislocations

orthopedics.about.com...

When I broke my finger (long time ago) it was twice the size of my normal finger, and the finger was completely darkish blue - and I couldn't move the finger at all, not even a couple of millimeters because of the severe pain.

There could of course be a small fracture, but there is not much one can do regarding this - try to not use that finger at all, let it completely rest up for a week to let it heal back to normal again.

And be very careful not to hurt your finger while it heals - and as other people said on this thread, you can tape/wrap and fix the finger together with your other finger to keep it steady, and please avoid hitting your finger with any hard objects, or slamming it into any hard stuff or walls again for a week or two! lol!

(it's sometimes easy to break up a small fracture again or making a small fracture worse during healing time - so to be on the safe side, try to be extra careful with your finger for the next ten days)

Cheers to a speedy finger recovery

reply to post by Chevalerous


"finger recovery" Thank you! I think it is a sprain because I can move it a little. That's why I posted this, and I'm so grateful for the advice. The pic wasn't very clear, sorry about that. Once again, thank you for taking the time to respond!

Originally posted by benintheuk
Over here in the uk pretty well all they would do is strap the bad finger to a good one so its kept straight.

Dont forget you actually have healthcare -- we have to resort to swinging dead cats by the tail at midnight in the graveyard - using you good had of course.

OP you really should have an xray to make sure the bone if it is broken or dislocated, can be set in the right position. Emergency rooms are the only care in the United States that will treat people who cant afford insurance. Shouldn't be that way but it is.

reply to post by spyder550


Well, last night it started swelling and and hurting pretty bad, so I went to the ER....it IS broken.....so....I have a splint on it, and some medicine for pain. I can't wait to see the bill *sigh* Thanks for the advice, I'm glad I went to check it out!

reply to post by StealthyKat


I'm sad for your poor broken finger but also glad to hear that you went to the ER and had the X-ray and the finger checked by professionals in the end, and got the attention and care you needed.

Sorry for being curious, but how much do you think the bill will be for your visit?

In situations like this when hearing your story of being an uninsured person, I feel soo sad to hear how expensive these kind of visits can be for just small accidents over there - so I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope & wishes you to stay a healthy and uninjured StealthyKat until you can get some health insurance coverage again.

Cheers to a speedy StealthyKat recovery!

reply to post by Chevalerous


Thanks.....it will probably be around $500, and I had to wait an hour and 15 minutes to get out of the waiting room, and another 30 minutes waiting for the doctor to come to the room to see me. It's crazy. My mother went for stomach pain one time, and had a cat scan done (multiple views), and some blood work. They gave her 1 bag of IV fluids.... All they did was tell her that it was nothing serious, and gave her a prescription and told her to rest. She got the bill a few days later.....for several THOUSAND dollars!

My advice is to see an orthopedic specialist. Back in December my wife slipped and fell and broke her fall with her hand. The tip of her finger bent backwards and broke. It was swollen and bruised and she could not move it. We splinted it and she went to the family Dr. a few days later. The family Dr. took x-rays and said it was a hairline fracture. Weeks later, the finger was still not healing, so my wife went to an orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion. It turned out to be an injury called "mallet finger" and it required surgery, or else the finger would have been rendered useless for the rest of her life. The Orthopedic surgeon said that if she had waited much longer to have surgery, then surgery would have no longer been an option and she would have had to live with the injury for the rest of her life.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Wow.....well I would do that, except I am sure I will get a whopping bill from the ER and I have no insurance yet. Soooo I am hoping it will heal. I had good insurance for the past 8 years, and never had to use it once.... and after switching jobs, while I am not covered, this happens! Isn't that always the way?

Originally posted by StealthyKat
I had good insurance for the past 8 years, and never had to use it once.... and after switching jobs, while I am not covered, this happens!

Isn't that always the way?

I can relate to that. Many years ago I switched jobs and opted to NOT go on Cobra insurance while waiting for my new insurance to kick in, because Cobra was just too costly and I never get sick. BIG mistake...I ended up in the ER with a kidney stone and it cost me a bit over $3,000.

I hope your finger heals well. I have broken a couple of my fingers over the years and it is not only painful, but being limited to one hand makes doing every day tasks challenging.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Thanks....Ouch ....kidney stone...now THAT is painful!

Originally posted by seedofchucky
"I do not have insurance so I really don't want to go to the ER"


This breaks my heart when i hear this =*( I wish i could do something to fix broken healthcare

There is nothing wrong with the Healthcare System. In fact some of the highest quality care can be provided to anyone at just about any hospital. The problem lies with the Insurance Companies, Personal Claims Attorneys, and Big Pharm. Those institutions are what need to be fixed.

reply to post by amaster


If you have money maybe. If you don't have a few thousand laying around, and you get ill or hurt, you will be in a bad place. No such thing as free health care. At least that's how it is here.

reply to post by StealthyKat


True, but thats not a result of the quality of healthcare, its a condition of insurance.

And emergency healthcare can be free under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act which require pratically all hospitals to give quality medical treatment to emergency patients regardless of ability to pay.

reply to post by amaster


Yes, that's true, but a relative of mine was out of work and fell from a ladder....he went to the ER and even signed a paper saying he was unemployed and could not pay....they treated him, then the bills started coming anyway.....he called them and they said as long as he signed the paper, don't worry about it. Soon after that he began being harrassed on the phone and by mail by a collection agency, They are still doing it to this day.That's what makes me afraid to go to the ER until I get my insurance straight. It's really scary...I decided to go get treated because my job (911 dispatcher) involves a lot of typing, so I need my finger

reply to post by StealthyKat


Obviously you're friend isn't an illegal immigrant. Next time just go and pretend to not speak English, HAHAH!!

I have a friend who's wife is a 911 dispatcher. Interesting.

reply to post by amaster


Good one.....and probably true! About the job....it's very high stress, but never boring for sure!

Hi Steathlykat, I'm sorry to hear about your finger. Even though your gonna get whopped by a bill from the ER, it's good that you went.
Someone else had posted about infection. I know first hand about broken fingers and infection. In my college days I used to play on a womens softball team. I pitched. I got a few broken fingers, The first time it happened I just wrapped it and went and got drunk with the team after winning. A few days later I couldn't stand the pain any more so I went to the doctor. He fixed me up and lectured me on infections from broken bones, even had a few nasty pictures to show me.
I never messed around again. I'm happy to say I have all my digets and they work fine.

Good luck to you. Ice Ice Ice

Hi Hun!

I posted to you earlier, but, the post got lost in the glitch ATS just went through.
So I'll try again.

I wish I"d seen this post earlier. Working with horses for so long - well - one learns how to take care of bumps and bruises and breaks. At this point? Days later? All you can really do is keep the hot to the point og boiling Epsom salt baths going whenever you can.
That and I'm sending a *smoochie* to kiss it and make it better! LOL!

Oh, and I almost forgot.

This too..

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/961500400271.jpg[/atsimg]

HUGS and love to you
gracie

Originally posted by StealthyKat
Thank you all for responding so fast! It's straight, just swollen. If it gets real bad I'll go, but I don't want to pay $1000 for someone to tape my finger...it's my middle finger, and I can't bend it, so it looks like I'm flipping everyone off

here's a pic of it... sorry about the crappy quality, but you can get an idea of what it looks like.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/27d39712a49c.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e2918f298052.jpg[/atsimg]

Where is the picture....? The link please....and also...don't you have free clinics in your city? I suggest you go to one of them. It sounds like a bad sprain.....I hope you recover and heal quickly. My heart goes out to you.

Good luck with your finger. I hope it heals okay. you might want to call your hospital about Payment Assistance.

I see that you live in New Orleans. i just did a search and found a hospital Ochsner, and on their website they have some information. I don't know which hospital you went to, but they might have something like that too. I know Catholic hospitals tend to.

Q: I am an uninsured patient. What am I required to do?
A: Uninsured patients are required to deposit the estimated cost of scheduled services in advance. If additional testing, physician consultations or hospital admissions are necessary, additional deposits will be required. You can contact our Fee For Service line at (504) 842-3815 to obtain a quote for services. Discounts for your services may be available.

So you might qualify for a discount, or might not have to pay anything. Doesn't hurt to call!


You should also consider calling the FHCE. You might qualify for free or discounted health care. And I'm not kidding. It just depends on your income.

Government Program Resources for the Uninsured

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education (FHCE) offers a unique online tool and call center to help you find health coverage. Answer five simple questions about your household and instantly receive a customized profile with information on public and private health plans for which family members in your household may qualify. The tool can be accessed by clicking on the links below, or you can call the US Uninsured Help Line at (800) 234-1317.