I get a surprising amount of traffic from people searching the web for information on finger felons.  A finger felon is an infection in the tip of your finger and this happened to me at the end of last year.

It turns out that finger felons are not that common. Blogging about finger felons is apparently even less common. Go figure.

I feel like I owe the people in search of info on finger felons an “It’s Going to Be OK!  (Someday.)” post, so here it is.

To those of you who found your way here because you have pain in your finger and think you might have an infection in your finger tip, let me be the first to say, “Hi!”

Then I’ll say, “I’m sorry”.

I’m sorry because I know how much this hurts.  I’m sorry because I know how ridiculous you feel searching the internet about  your painful, swollen, feels-like-it-could-rupture finger tip.  I’m sorry because your cooking, dish washing and keyboard practices are about to be seriously thrown for a loop.

But please, don’t despair.  This too shall pass.  Life will return to normal.  You will pick your nose with your pointer finger again some day.  Promise.

Here’s my left pointer finger today, 7 months post finger felon surgery.

Not too shabby, eh?

It’s just a thin white line down the middle of my finger now.  I’m pleased to report that it has looked like this for a few months I’d say.  It was tender from the surgery for quite a while, but doesn’t hurt at all anymore.  I can say that I do have some loss of sensation in the pad of that finger.  I also have a big old wad of scar tissue in there that feels like some surgical instrument may have been left behind.

And now for the Google Search Q&A portion of our post.

Q: how do you get a felon in your finger?

A: I’ve come to the conclusion that mine probably had something to do with a sliver I got in my finger a couple months before this all went down. Actually, it probably had more to do with my digging around for said sliver with a not-at-all-sterilized safety pin I most likely snagged from my junk drawer. Let that be a lesson for the rest of you!

Q: how bad is a finger felon

A: Well, you’re probably not going to die, but yes, it’s gonna suck for a while. (Again, I’m sorry.)

Q: is cold bad for finger felon

A: cold, like an ice pack? I don’t think it will make things worse, but it’s going to take a lot more than some ice cubes in wash cloth to make this thing go away.  If it is in fact a felon, you’re probably gonna be talked into having it lanced open and drained.  Put that ice in your drink and wash down your Vicodin.

Q: how to drain felon infection

A: Go to the doctor, go directly to the doctor. Do not pass go, do not attempt to do this yourself at home. Be prepared to fork over $200.

Q: self care of a finger felon?

A: Before or after surgery? You can’t do jack squat with this thing at home. At least that’s what the orthopedic surgeon scared me into believing. After? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you what you need to do. If you have a more specific question, I welcome you to leave it in the comments for all the future finger felons of the world to read.

Q:  time to heal felon finger

A: My finger was sliced open in mid-November.  I think I was done with the twice daily soakings and bandaging two weeks later, going completely naked fingered again before The Man with the Bag left presents under our tree.

Q: felon finger infection picture

A: OK, but remember: you asked for it. Clicky clicky to enlarge.

If you’re scared now, just scroll back up and look again at the top picture. Rest assured that your finger will feel better someday. I do recommend asking them to do post-operative count of all their surgical instruments one more time though.