So last Weds I had a little red bump on my right index finger and I woke up on Thursday with my finger swollen up (as you can see above). Called my doctor and got some anti-biotics to pick up after work. It was annoying for a day but i stopped by a Walgreens and got the meds. But then Friday it kept getting larger and the redness started spreading down into my hand. So then Saturday when it kept getting worse I went to the ER, got an IV and some stronger meds. It is getting better now, it did get into my knuckle and now I'm wearing a splint to keep it immobilized while it finishes healing.

So gonna share some experiences somewhat informally as I know have a better understanding of what it is to have one of these. First of all, the one thing that jumped out to me is something the fighters never mention, but these things fucking hurt. My hand was so swollen on Sat it was useless and everything hurt. Leaving it still just had a throbbing pain, trying to move the fingers caused shooting pain, and if I let my hand hang down that caused serious pain also. I was completely unable to sleep Friday night.

Second, these things move fast. I can see why fighters, who are used to having some aches, pains, and swelling might not realize what is happening until it is a serious infection. Happily I caught it early, but it was a close call to keeping me at the hospital a few days to give me several IVs worth of medicine. It also didn't spread beyond my hand to make me sick. In less than a week this can wreck your whole month.

Finally, I didn't actually have a cut. The best guess is that I had a slight abrasion on my finger and that is where the infection set up shop. And I don't know exactly how I got it, but my best guess is from the gi from someone at BJJ. So let this be a lesson, WASH YOUR GI! It might not effect you but you also could get your training partner really sick.