Sunday, April 06, 2008

A quick kitchen-related PSA and medical rant.

Never ever lift off a Saran Wrap plastic cover with your dominant hand and pull in the opposite direction (e.g., with your right hand and pulling right-to-left).

Signed,
The Girl with 3 Steam-Burned Fingers Which Are Hurting Like A Mofo

Yes, dear friends, I was stupid enough to do that this early afternoon. I was heating a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave, when I went to do a quick stir. It all happened in maybe 2 seconds, but I knew from the first one that it wasn't going to be good.

By the time I walked Maddox a little later, the pain wasn't any better and the inflammation hadn't lessened. That was having sprayed it with Bactine and put some Noxzema on it. So I stopped at CVS on the walk and got this gel stuff with lidocaine, just for burns. I also got some tubular gauze, which is now wrapped around my fingers, and covered in medical tape. There are also these little rubber gizmos to put on my fingers for handwashing or showering. Little finger condoms (for real!).

So why didn't I haul myself in for medical care? Lack of urgent care facilities in our county -- plain and simple. On our insurance plan, the co-pay for an office visit and urgent care is the same ($20). The co-pay for the ER is six times that cost and a little more ($125). No way am I spending that much for a co-pay, but I also wasn't going to drive to Greenville just for urgent care. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Urgent care for my county: what a concept that would be.

EDIT: Well. I just found out there's an urgent care facility in Clemson. Had I known that four hours ago, my happy butt would have gone!!! Making a note for the future.....

3 comments:

Seraphim9 said...

Seems like it must have been a clumsy day for both of us! Sorry for the burn, just take good care of it, especially after it blisters (if it does - you'll know it's not too bad if it doesn't).

I myself was walking through the kitchen and accidentally kicked the refrigerator guard thingy that goes just under the doors (we'd removed it to try to change the water filter and had not put it back on. I didn't realized I had cut my toe (right foot little toe next to the pinky toe) until after I had gotten up from the dining room table and looked down to see blood streaked all over the linoleum. I went back into the master bathroom and when I game back all the blood was gone from the floor. I knew Tal had not cleaned it up because he didn't know it was there. I have only one other culprit I can point at, and I don't know whether to be grossed out or to think it's sweet that Puddy licked up her Mommy's blood from the floor!

I think they blood may have made her a little bit savage, as later when we were having lunch and I was giving her a piece of smoked pork chop, she nearly took off my fingers. She got bopped by a doo-d'doo realy quick. Write me if you wannd know what a doo-d'doo is. :-)

Talmadge said...

1) Nope, it wasn't me.

2) Yes, it is gross. But it's to be expected from a dog, right? Even ours.

3) Man, that sucks. I second the wifely one's concern and best wishes for no blisters.

4) I could really rant about how our HMO (which is otherwise rather decent) would not cover an urgent care visit for a near-flu attack last Fall when - of all times - our doctor was on vacation. No benefits for urgent care, but she did encourage me to visit the E.R.

I cannot count the stupidity points that would be ... both for draining resources which are there for REAL emergencies (mine wasn't; I just felt like whale crap), and for Blue Cross paying more money.

That makes sense HOW?

5) God bless America. Land of the only industrialized nation without affordable health care for its citizens.

Kate/Susan said...

Pretty soon, CVS is opening "urgent care" type clinics in its pharmacies. Crazy, huh?

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