OT Red Finger

unaveragejane

One of DS's fingers is red and swollen near the cuticle. I can't tell if it is a bad hang nail or if he injured it somehow. It was slightly red yesterday but is much worse today (of course b/c everything always gets worse after the pedi's office is closed). Would you put anything on it? If so, what? He is 13 months old, so everything (hands included) still go in his mouth.

unaveragejane

Chickypoo2468 said:

Wash his hands. Often.

This will probably sound stupid, but how do you wash a baby's hands? My step stool is not tall enough for him to stand at the sink, so for now I just wipe him down with a wet rag throughout the day and rely on his bath to do most of the heavy work.

unaveragejane

secondaryPULSE said:

sometimes people get an infection of the nail/nailbed. It's called paronychia. Typically it's treated with antibiotics. Does it seem to hurt him?

It isn't bothering him, but it looks like it must hurt at least a little.

stoneycakes

unaveragejane said:

Chickypoo2468 said:

Wash his hands. Often.

This will probably sound stupid, but how do you wash a baby's hands? My step stool is not tall enough for him to stand at the sink, so for now I just wipe him down with a wet rag throughout the day and rely on his bath to do most of the heavy work.

I mostly do the same thing, but if DS touches something unreasonably gross I wash his hands at the bathroom sink.  I hold him in one arm and wash his hands one at a time with my other hand.  It is pretty challenging to do, lol.

TJ1979

I'm a big believer in hydrogen peroxide. Rinse with it a few times a day to kill/prevent infection. But coconut oil sounds like a good idea too since it's antibiotic/antifungal.
Hope LO feels better soon.

unaveragejane

The spot is still red but not as puffy today. He also has a skinned knee and scrape on his elbow from where our 90 lab knocked him down by accident on the concrete patio Friday. The finger thing started the same day, and all three wounds were much redder Saturday. They look better today, so I'm hoping the finger is healing and not getting infected.

@Chickypoo2468 and @secondaryPULSE, now I'm curious about the peroxide deal. I used to use that to clean my pierced ears b/c my second piercings get inflamed really easily. But those holes also will close really quickly (unlike the original ear piercings I got when I was 10). Is the peroxide making it do that?