Well, over a week ago, Chipsy bit M on his ring finger, just near to the nail during one of their pretend playing. I was cooking lunch and heard M complained loudly that the baby monster just bit him on the finger. I briefly scolded Chipsy and consoled M quickly and returned to getting lunch ready. That complaint was swiftly forgotten throughout the busy day.
M didn't complained of any pain till the next morning when I was getting him ready for school. I was really horrified to see a badly swollen finger, a tiny hole near the nail area and what looked like pus underneath!!
We were already late for school and without a proper first aid box at home, all I had was Dettol anti-septic cream which I used to apply on the area and placed a plaster over before rushing him to school. I informed the principal and requested that she look at it, which she did and cleaned it too. It looked better after school when I picked him up and since he said it wasn't painful anymore, I left it as it was, thinking and hoping that it will recover soon.
It didn't. I just kept putting the same cream everyday and changing the plaster, still thinking that it will get better. My mum came for a quick visit one day, looked at it and told me it is a small matter and will get well in two days. I took comfort in her advice and got on with the busy days since M said it wasn't painful anymore. Damned! I feel guilty now of my negligence. I should have taken him to the doctor the day I saw the swell.
Over the next few days, it looked somewhat dried up but yet lots of small pieces of skin grew around it. I kept thinking the 'old' skin will peel/fall off by itself and the new skin will grow. I couldn't see any hole anymore and there wasn't any pus, but I didn't understand why the finger looked a slightly darker shade!
Anyway, I took him to the GP tonight and he is now put on antibiotics and given an anti-bacterial cream to apply. If I had waited longer, and the infection got worse, he might even need a surgery!
On hindsight, I just feel totally awful now about the whole incident and how I have handled it. E shocked me so much when he talked about the possibility of blood poisoning and how he may end up losing a finger because of this. Damned. How could I have totally overlooked the seriousness and possible consequences?! Though I must admit that it really didn't occur to me that he may lose his finger (though I am still not convinced) and I have no clue what blood poisoning is and what could have caused it.
Well, let this be a lesson learnt. It is just that my poor boy has to pay for it by taking the yucky medicine. I bribed him with Oreo for each dosage he takes. So far, it works.
The injured part of the finger is really ugly now. I have yet to take any photo.
4 comments:
O dear, I didn't think it would be that bad too! Marcus is so brave, maybe if he did cry more of the pain, you probably send him to A&E immediately...for me, no cry means nothing serious. Good reminder to me, not to take health matter lightly.
Exactly! If he whines or complains of pain, I surely would have taken him to doctor straightaway. But he is really brave and didn't shed a tear! He even let his classmate peel the skin off his finger last Friday! I was horrified to see it 'clean' of all the little pieces of skin after school.
It is really brave of him to be so calm throughout the whole event. A very clear reminder to everyone...
Hope it gets well real soon!
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