*Warning: graphic toe mutilation details to follow* I went to the doctor yesterday! A couple weeks ago, I tore the skin of my left big toe (not all of it... just a little patch!). The day after that, we went into The Big City and did all kinds of errands (including
Talladega Nights, recommended), with my foot jammed into a sock and shoe. Thusly, upon arriving home I found it infected. That began two weeks of constant hydrogen peroxide and neosporin application to no avail. Finally, I had to get doctored before I developed gangrene. Don't get me wrong, it never actually looked particularly bad at all, but it just wouldn't get better. The doctor cut off part of the toenail and the extraneous new skin that was trying to grow up over the toenail. It hurt a whole unimaginable lot, especially since just touching that part of the toe had been excruciating. There was no anesthetic. He claimed that it would hurt more to get the anesthetic than to do the cutting, which I think was a trick so he wouldn't have to wait for it to kick in. He also gave me a tetanus shot, presumably for fun as rusty metal had no part in any of this. So now I get to pop antibiotics and soak my foot three times a day in salt water before, and this is the best part, jamming a piece of cotton under the nail to force the skin to grow in the right direction and the nail to not cut into it. Oh, it's pleasant indeed.
The moral is simple: properly bandage and neosporin (betadine, bacitracin, hydrogen peroxide, whatever antiseptic you use)
any injury you get! Especially toes. The doctor said he had seen a lot of toes that week. They're notoriously difficult to manage. Adhering to this moral would've saved me money, a long drive to the big city doctor, enormous pain, and a tiresome routine I have to do for a week or two. It also would have saved me from both lunch and dinner out, so it may all be a wash.
Too bad about that chatroom we had for a little while... Thank you for ruining it, spammers! I'm very busy with LL2, so I don't have much time to spare in search of replacement chat (or making one, which I think is the best plan). So it'll be gone for a while.
