Fractured thumb?

[Nachie]

So I injured the shit out of my thumb a little while back (2 weeks, I would say) and it hasn't really stopped being tender/I haven't regained my full range of motion, so I'm thinking it might be fractured. It definitely isn't a compound fracture unless there is a way to get one of those without any swelling or significant loss of motion.

It was caused by a big "jam" against somebody else during some sports, but never really got beyond numbness so I figured it wasn't serious. About six days ago I said fuck it and pulled on the sucker as best as I could. The middle joint realigned pretty well and immediately stopped hurting. What hasn't stopped hurting is actually at the very base of the thumb, the inner part on the web to be exact. The pain has definitely gone down a lot since it happened but it's still really uncomfortable to "force" it.

I can't pinpoint the injury to any particular muscle which is why I'm assuming it's a fracture, but any second opinions would be appreciated.

My big "DIY" plan at the moment is to break a pencil in half and use that + some electrical tape to make a splint for about a week :lol:

Again, any more "learned" advice would be appreciated, though obviously this is just some random Internet question and it's not like any of you can inspect the thumb in question.

I'd also just like to say that on the same day, I punctured my foot on a broken beer bottleneck deep as shit but was able to burn the fucker shut within minutes. I see no reason why my thumb injury shouldn't also come with an easy solution like that :P

[black magick hustla]

why not asking a doctor man

[Nachie]

I was hoping somebody on this forum was one.

Bah-Dum, Ding!

Ok but seriously... breaking a pencil in half is just much cheaper.

[Mujer Libre]

If it really is fractured, all you can do is splint it. So go the pencil. But if it swells and goes red you should get it checked out by a doctor because there could be an infection (caused by the fracture). But that's just me thinking too far ahead...

[Nachie]

thanks :)

[Red Polak]

I fractured my thumb about 3 years ago in the exact same way actually (was football); hurt like fuck aswell and never really healed (used to be able to bend back way further).

Had an xray etc done and the doctor just told me to leave it for a while to heal by itself.

A pencil seems like a good idea, but I wouldn't use electrical tape because that stops the air getting to your skin and might go a bit rank after a couple of days. Get some medical tape or something which lets air through.

[Samuel]

it is very hard to diagnose a fracture over the Internet. It could be a fracture, but there are plenty of hip doctors you could look up that work at various public clinics and the like. A trained physician's eye is more useful than an army of Forum users, so I recommend you look up hip medical help in your area.

Even Che knew there was a need for a revolutionary doctor; you can't do it yourself.