Is there a doc in the house???

ACStudios

ACStudios

Joined
Apr 9, 2001
Messages
2,170
Hello,

I've got a strange situation going on and was wondering if anyone had ever dealt with it before...

My right elbow has been hurting this last week. Not during movement, but when it came into contact with anything. Well, today I while getting out of the shower, I noticed that the elbow has swollen up. The swollen area is red and very tender to touch.

I went and to run some errands, nothing big, and noticed when I came back that the swelling has doubled in size. Now the whole area that is swollen is tender to touch. I can't tell if it is warm or not... the whole house is pretty cold, so anything part of my body feels warm to the touch.

To my knowledge, I have not banged my elbow on anything. But I sleep on an air mattress on the floor and could have (I tend to thrash around occasionally... I've broken a thumb and a toe before), but usually I wake up when that happens.

I don't know if I should go in to see the docs at the VA (they get grumpy when it isn't life threatening) or what. I'm going to keep a bag of frozen veggies on it tonight to see if the swelling will go down. If not, I guess I'll have to go to the VA tomorrow.

Has anyone experienced this?? I'd appreciate any input!

Alan
 
what kind of pain is it? feel like fluid buildup? feel it in the bone or fleshy regions? is it more towards the forearm or tricep? inside the elbow feels fine? age? what activities do you engage in? patchy or uniform redness? anything other than pain felt when you move it? tension, grit, or something else?
 
Kind of sounds like bursitis, inflammation of the fluid filled sac around the joint. This is pretty common on the elbow, usually associated with repeated rubbing or leaning on the elbow, but sometimes occurs without apparent cause. Usually self-limited and not dangerous, but can become infected sometimes. Usual treatment would be ice packs, rest, elevate the affected limb and take some ibuprofen. In the meantime, go ahead and schedule a doctor's appointment, that way if it doesn't get better in a few days you can go ahead and see him. Sometimes they may drain off the excess fluid with a needle. If it gets infected (painful, swollen, red, pus discharge) you will need antibiotics.
 
olpappy said:
Kind of sounds like bursitis, inflammation of the fluid filled sac around the joint. This is pretty common on the elbow, usually associated with repeated rubbing or leaning on the elbow, but sometimes occurs without apparent cause. Usually self-limited and not dangerous, but can become infected sometimes. Usual treatment would be ice packs, rest, elevate the affected limb and take some ibuprofen. In the meantime, go ahead and schedule a doctor's appointment, that way if it doesn't get better in a few days you can go ahead and see him. Sometimes they may drain off the excess fluid with a needle. If it gets infected (painful, swollen, red, pus discharge) you will need antibiotics.
Click to expand...

Exactly. You might want to add a sling and / or some sort of cushion around your elbow. The cushion is to keep you from banging into things and the sling is to remind you not to use your arm and bang it into things.
 
Thanks guys. It does feel like fluid buildup. Uniform redness. Above and below the elbow on the outside of the arm. My elbows do end up on the desk a lot when I'm working on the computer... which I've been doing a lot this week.

I'll ice pack it and get an appointment. If the swelling doesn't go down, I'll go into the ER tomorrow.

Thanks!

Alan
 
ACStudios said:
Thanks guys. It does feel like fluid buildup. Uniform redness. Above and below the elbow on the outside of the arm. My elbows do end up on the desk a lot when I'm working on the computer... which I've been doing a lot this week.

I'll ice pack it and get an appointment. If the swelling doesn't go down, I'll go into the ER tomorrow.

Thanks!

Alan
Click to expand...

Hi Alan, Sounds like you have Bursitis. I've got cronic bursitis in my right elbow. It's not cool. this site will give some helpfull information: http://www.webmd.com/hw/arthritis/tp21119.asp Go to the doctor and have it looked out. If it does get infected like mine did, it can be really bad and VERY painfull. Ice packs didn't help me at all, it actually hurt worce. Heat packs felt better. Try both and go with which ever hurts less. ;) Good luck and Get it Fixed!!!

Heber
 
If there was any break in the skin - however slight -- even a scuff -- it could be staph. I urge you to see a doc ASAP.
 
yeah man go see the va docs hell thats what they are there for. ive gotta go back up there for another hearing test next week myself. belive me medics/docs hate it a lot more when people wait till somthing gets bad before they come in.
good luck man
jon
 
Okay. I'll really think about going in tomorrow to get it looked at. The bag of frozen veggies has reduced the swelling some... but it is still painful to touch.

Thanks again!

Alan
 
Any evidence of an insect bite? If there is a central ulcer - or anything that looks like a bite, you should get to a Doc fast.
 
I just got back from the VA. I've got bursitis AND cellulitis. The veggie ice pack didn't really do much but kill the pain (for the most part). The swelling and redness increased in size (about three times what it was), so I went in.

The doc gave me a HUGE shot of antibiotics and traced out the diameter of the red area. I've got to go back tomorrow... if the infection area gets any larger, I'm to be admitted to the hospital for a few days (opps). I guess this is more serious than I thought.

At least there is very little pain. It'd suck if I couldn't move my arm. I'm supposed to put a heat pack on it tonight. Hopefully the gram of antibiotics will kill it off... or at least halt its spread. My butt is sore :)

Thanks for the responses... I might just have put this off until Monday otherwise. Just another reason why the cantina is the best place on the internet :D.

Alan
 
Great that you know what it is, AND that it isn't too serious. Take care of yourself.
 
Yep, you did the right thing Alan. Swelling and redness can be infection just as often as something more benign...better safe than sorry.

Good luck:thumbup:
 
Cellulitus can be serious. Glad you're getting it taken care of. I imagine there's a remote chance your doc is being over careful, but if not, it could save your arm.
 
Well, I'm off to the VA again. From the looks of it, the infection has spread during the night and the pain is back. I might be staying at the hospital on this visit. Hopefully not. School starts back up tomorrow. I'd hate to start off a semester behind the power curve. But maybe they can put me on an IV pump or something??

Thanks again!

Alan
 
Back from the VA... they didn't admit me, but I've got another map around the infected area and I'm chaulk full of antibiotics (got another 1 gram shot and a bottle full of oral ab's too).

I'm supposed to keep a close watch on the infection and return ASAP if it spreads past the current line (My arm is starting to look like a topo map). It had grown past yesterdays by a couple inches.

The doc also drained my elbow to culture the fluids to see what kind of bug is messing with me and to make sure the antibiotics are correct for that particular bacteria.

So, I'm conducting a 24/7 surveillance on the infection and am swimming in antibiotics. At least I get to go to class tomorrow :)

I'm off to soak my elbow.

Alan
 
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