Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Idiopathic Viral Leprosy-like Disease

What I have learned in vet school is when it doubt, call it idiopathic (meaning you have no clue), SO, I'm calling it Idiopathic Viral Leprosy-like Disease (distantly related to Karla Syndrome).

As you can see, my finger has gotten worse, but on the plus side, my ear has stopped bleeding!

If you remember, I went to the human doctor and neither of them knew what was eating my finger. I ignored it (always a good policy) then it started to crack one day. When I looked closer, I noticed that the spots had spread. So what do I do? I ask a vet. My profs didn't have a clue, so after class on Friday, after Bacteriology, we're standing around looking at my weird holy finger disease. We decided it was probably fungal or viral from my garden and suppressing my finger's immune system. I needed a way for my finger to recognized and kill whatever was eating my finger. But how do you go about treating something if you don't know what it is? You guess!

One friend declares "it's wart seeds." I was thoroughly amused by this. Whatever it was, warts are viral, and they sell wart medicine at the grocery store here, so why not?

Friday evening I stabbed the spots with a scalpel blade to see what was in them: clear transudate.

Sunday, I got Dr. Scholl's Liquid Corn/Callus Remover (Salicylic acid 17% w/w, Alcohol 18% v/v, and Ether 53% v/v) for $20EC. I slathered the clear liquid all over my finger where the spots were one time. I'm glad I didn't follow directions by adding the stuff 3-4 times per day! I thought, this doesn't really work. Covered it with a band-aid, and ignored it.

The next evening I uncover my finger and it's pale. At first I think it's because of the band-aid, but then I realize it's due to the corn/callus remover. I'm impressed and cover my finger back up.

This morning I was showing my finger to all my fellow back-of-the-class classmates during Bacteriology (mainly to gross them out). It was really creepy because the whole tip of my finger was numb! Then the skin started to slough off, so of course, I picked at it. Eventually I was able to go to the nurse and put a fresh band-aid with Neosporin on it (don't want to complicate this finger any more than I already have).

Right now I'm re-wrapping it. The initial picts didn't turn out as good, but I thought I'd post the ones from today. Looks pretty bad doesn't it!? Can you see the spots??? (Click on the picts to make them larger.)

The nurse said I take the cake for weird problems: the idiopathic nightly rashes 1st semester, the cardiac problems, the bleeding ear, the holy finger.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Karla, this is awful. What if it was on your face. Be careful it doesn't spread. Off to Vermont tomorrow to see your brother.
Love you, Mom

Anonymous said...

Maybe something from the cow?

Anonymous said...

Definitely looks like an infection. Given the swelling, I would guess that it's most likely a bacterial infection of some kind, and you may need antibiotics to treat it.

Alternatively, you could just use a hatchet or machete. ;-)

E.

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Unknown said...

Did you ever find out what it was? Or how treat it? I got this too, and have no idea.