Possible wrist fracture?

Question

i slipped getting into a hotel tub yesterday afternoon (no safety bars) and tried to catch myself with my left wrist. bad idea! edge of tub hit right over my carpal tunnel area, and the other edge of the edge hit about 2.5 inches back.

i iced it immediately, and took advil. we had family plans that night that we had traveled quite a distance for, and spent $ on the hotel room, so i didn't want to ruin the night by going to an unknown ER.

it's sore, it really hurt for the car ride home, it is getting worse even with icing every hour and advil. my fingers are starting to swell and i cannot make a fist, using my thumb at all really hurts (the 'hit' was a bit off-center, towards the inner side of my wrist), and there is faint bruising.

i already have pretty severe carpal tunnel (sensory type) for the past 15 years, and severe radiculopathy in my arms from several herniated discs in my neck (for the past 8 years). i already treat those with advil and heat. this new pain is of course aggravating my other problems.

should i bother going to get an xray? or are they just gonna tell me to ice it, elevate it, and lay off any heavy usage? (my other conditions have me home on permanent disability, so i don't have to worry about going to work or not...but household chores are hurting, too).

i'm also wondering if anyone knows, if i'm on medicare, is it cheaper to go to one of those standalone-open-ever-day clinics with a xray machine, or better to go to an ER?

thanks!

Answer 1

Given your history and the story you tell I would definitely recommend getting an X-Ray done.  Might as well also have it done in an ER - why? because if there is a fracture you're going to need an operation anyway.

As a pain physician and acupuncturist, I've seen my share of trauma injuries and this one has the red flags of a possible fracture.

Answer 2

it's broken, go to the er, those medical places almost killed me, and they gave my friend such a high dose of medicine it could kill her, her doctor that she went to afterwords said "that dosage was enough to kill a grown man let alone a 15 year old girl."

Answer 3

It sounds like you may have a broken wrist.  Go to the hospital emergency room as soon as possible and get it x-rayed.  Swelling of the fingers tells me it might be broken.  Can you move your fingers normally?   If not, the wrist might be broken.  If you don't go get it checked out, an infection could set in and make things much worst.  The longer you wait to do this the more likely complications could dely the healing process.