staph infection on index finger

[caboLH]

I have a staph infection on my index finger that was treated with an antibiotic 'clindamycin'. But it keeps coming back and since I have a surgery upcoming no more antibiotics for me. So, I am wondering if there is an herbal remedy or ointment that can be used to clear it up. It is painful and even more so when I am diving. My grandma said to use benzoil peroxide as it is a treatment for infections. Any ideas?

 

[SueMermaid]

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I do know that a staph infection, especially one that has been unresponsive to antibiotic therapy, is something that can go Very Bad, and Very Fast. You need to call your doctor. Today.

 

[pennypue]

I smear hydrocortisone on anything I want to go away.
But I have to agree with Sue. Call the doctor now. I hate making appointments, but in this case DO IT!! You wouldn't happen to be diabetic would you? I have a girlfriend that is and she has had lots of trouble with antibiotics not doing the job. She regularly has infected areas on her feet. Make sure you surgeon is aware of the staph infection, please.

 

[The Kraken]

Cabo, what do you do for a living?
The reason I ask is that, for some reason, stainless steel splinters seem to generate an inordinate number of staph infections.
I witnessed/experienced this many years ago when I was working as a machinist.
I have no idea what the correlation is, but it happens!

 

[SueMermaid]

See, that's why you have to talk to your doctor. Trying to self-medicate something like this could result in bad things. Cortisone would certainly make the infection worse.

 

[GoBlue!]

Yes, avoid hydrocortisone. It could definitely make it worse. Clindamycin is only one of a slew of antibiotics used to treat the various Staph species. You should let your healthcare provider know that it's not getting better, and switch antibiotics. Herbal remedies could also just make a simple matter far worse.

Best,
Jim

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

I smear hydrocortisone on anything I want to go away.
But I have to agree with Sue. Call the doctor now. I hate making appointments, but in this case DO IT!! You wouldn't happen to be diabetic would you? I have a girlfriend that is and she has had lots of trouble with antibiotics not doing the job. She regularly has infected areas on her feet. Make sure you surgeon is aware of the staph infection, please.

DONT SMEAR CORTISONE ON ANY INFECTION UNLESS DIRECTED BY YOUR PHYSICIAN!!!!!

Cortisone is an immunosupressive and as such infections can get worse, much worse!!!

Staph is a very common organism found on the skin. It's everywhere. If you have an antibiotic resistant strain that keeps reinfecting, please have it treated BEFORE you have surgery. The is a liklihood that it can cross infect your surgical incision site and if you think you have a problem with your finger now, just wait until your surgical wound gets infected.

Forget herbal remedies. You will waste your time, money and health. With all due respect to Grandmothers everywhere...is YOUR grandmother a physician? Chicken soup isn't gonna work and benzoyl peroxide won't either.

Please, please, see your physician and if he can't help, see an infectious disease specialist. This is really important! Get rid of this infection before your surgery and if you can't, TELL THE SURGEON!

Laurence Stein, DDS :11:

 

[Saturation]

DONT SMEAR CORTISONE ON ANY INFECTION UNLESS DIRECTED BY YOUR PHYSICIAN!!!!!

Cortisone is an immunosupressive and as such infections can get worse, much worse!!!

Staph is a very common organism found on the skin. It's everywhere. If you have an antibiotic resistant strain that keeps reinfecting, please have it treated BEFORE you have surgery. The is a liklihood that it can cross infect your surgical incision site and if you think you have a problem with your finger now, just wait until your surgical wound gets infected.

Forget herbal remedies. You will waste your time, money and health. With all due respect to Grandmothers everywhere...is YOUR grandmother a physician? Chicken soup isn't gonna work and benzoyl peroxide won't either.

Please, please, see your physician and if he can't help, see an infectious disease specialist. This is really important! Get rid of this infection before your surgery and if you can't, TELL THE SURGEON!

Laurence Stein, DDS

Fully support Dr. Stein on this recommendation. HC is not a drug to smear on infections, it will worsen. It isn't a good idea to randomly put it on wounds. Bacitracin ointment, an over-the-counter antibiotic is more helpful, and if it doesn't work it won't worsen it.

Herbal remedies are fine if you're stuck in the boonies with no recourse, but we have many tried and tested treatments especially for this type of problem, why guess? If you were cut by a rock in Grand Turk you're better off using bacitracin before considering garlic.

 

[pennypue]

Foot is now fully and safely installed in mouth.
(Foot was cleaned first.)

 

[Saturation]

It can get pretty ugly if it goes awry.