5 days after bitten with a scorpion on the hand, the patient's hand swelled despite the steroids given intravenous and subcutaneous direct to the site of the bite. The fingertips became pale signifying ischemia due to the pressure created by the swelling. On examination, the dorsum of his hand was fluctuant signifying accumulation of fluid. This prompted me to aspirate the hand with a 10cc syringe. Lo and behold, the aspirate was pus. The patient confessed that he punctured his hand on his own using a needle thinking that he could be a surgeon on his own body. The scorpion bite became infected. In my past cases, scorpion bites produce a fluid filled vesicle which were clear and non-turbid. Definitely he needed incision and drainage. I did it this morning and extracted about a 100 cc of pus.
Moral lesson: let us surgeons do the management. You can never treat yourself.
Moral lesson: let us surgeons do the management. You can never treat yourself.
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