What type of antibiotic can I use on my Heberden Node?

Question

My finger is so swollen, and it hurts real bad. what can I do to
rid the pain and swelling? I can hardly hold a pen now and I do
alot of writing and typing. I tried wrapping it, but the wrap caused pain, can't touch it, bang it or anything. Its making my nail deformed, it's large and with a red spot in the center. My doctor said it was bleeding from the bone. Didn't know bones bled. Started with a small dot of red, now it's a large dot of red. very painful. need help, help, help...........

Answer 1

This web site http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20167 may help you.

Answer 2

Heberden Node

Answer 3

Great question, thanks for asking. I did look it up and now know what to call these nodes I have on my hands as well. Perhaps you can ask your arthritis consultant to prescribe an antiinflammatory medication that will help with the pain, decrease the swelling allowing for better range of motion. Can take ibuprofen up to 800 mg being careful not to take with any other anti-inflammatory med (eg aspirin). Can take tylenol along with the ibu or anti-inflam. Hot water soaks/application of heat also helps. If the nodes are newly forming, ice may feel better and will help to reduce some of the swelling and redness. Good luck.......

Answer 4

Well, it's a bone spur, a calcified spot on the bone so antibiotics are not what you use to treat it since it is not an infection.

I would recommend you see an arthritis doctor. These types of nodes are a symptom of osteoarthritis. You might benefit from some over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like Advil or Aleve.

The NSAIDS can cause stomach upset if not taken with a full meal and a glass of milk/water so keep that in mind.

You might want to try Tylenol Arthritis and see if you get any relief from that. It's pretty well tolerated by most patients, can be taken on an empty stomach and you can take both Advil and Tylenol together to reduce inflammation and reduce the pain. I love that combo for my aches and pains.

If you need a written referral from your primary care physician to see Rheumatologist in order for your insurance to cover it, call them and get one. If you do not need a written referral, but you need to know the name of a Rheumatologist in your area, look here:

http://www.rheumatology.org/directory/geo.asp

Best of luck to you. Take care.

Answer 5

Heberden nodes, are protrusions of bone, that spur laterally, from the ends of bones affected by osteoarthritis(the arthritis in which you lose cartilage between bones), seen most frequenltly, between the bones of the phalanx of the hands... IT IS NOT A PROBLEM THAT WILL BE SOLVED WITH ANTIBIOTICS, as you depict your problem, the redness, pain and swelling, maybe caused by increased uric acid (gout),,,it will be wise to check your uric acid levels.-...
Your problem, needs to be solved by surgery under local anesthetic by an orthopaedic surgeon, most of the times, its a surgery performed at the office..
Get yourself tested for uric acid, and ask for referral with a proper orthipaedic surgeon....

Answer 6

Did you see an orthopedic doctor or a rheumatologist?Might be a surgery to help?

Here is a link to clinical trials for osteoarthritis..there are lots of them..don't forget to turn the pages...

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/search;jsessionid=458E60EF953B44ABE1B8D6B7474A282E?term=osteoarthritis&submit=Search

You could try the anti-inflammatory diet. It is low protein, low concentrated sugars, low fat. Avoid plants in the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). Here is some info on that. Vegan or vegetarian diet might help.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

To supplement anti-inflammatory nutrients while continuing to ingest pro-inflammatory substances is counter-productive. These dietary guidelines help reduce inflammation for most people.

1. Decrease or eliminate red meat and dairy products. Some arthritis patients also seem to react to poultry.
2. Decrease or eliminate refined sugar.
3. Eliminate caffeine (including coffee, black tea, cola drinks, and chocolate).
4. Eliminate any likely food allergens during the initial three or four weeks such as gluten grains, citrus fruit, and night shade vegetables (tomatoes, white potatoes, red and green peppers, eggplant, paprika, and tobacco). These foods can be added back into the diet one at a time (one new food every third day) while carefully observing the effect. Forms are available to make it easier to monitor the effect of these foods.
5. Drink plenty of pure water. Chlorine is an antibiotic and can diminish our friendly gut flora. Studies have associated chlorine in drinking water with increased risk of some types of cancer. It is probably best to drink at least a half hour before the meal and no sooner than a hour after so the digestive juices won't be diluted.
6. Increase your consumption of fresh, raw or lightly steamed fruits and vegetables. Good fruit choices include apples, bananas, grapes, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, prunes, kiwis, and other sub-acid fruits. Use discretion if the patient has blood sugar problems although fruit often does not cause a problem if the diet is low fat and high fiber. Good vegetables include asparagus, spinach, zucchini, parsley, artichoke (without the butter), kelp and other sea-veggies, okra, snow peas and many more. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower as well as onions, chives, and peppers are very nutritious but may create digestive difficulties for some people. The solution is often simply chewing the food better and possibly adding supplemental digestive enzymes such as Metazyme or Beano. Spices such as garlic, tumeric, etc. are also very healthy and should be used regularly if well tolerated.
7. For snacks, consider raw vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. The fruits and veggies contain lots of enzymes, bioflavonoids, and other phytochemicals, while the raw nuts and seeds are rich in essential fatty acids, especially flax seed, pumpkin and sunflower seed, walnuts and almonds (almonds can be allergenic to some people). Raw seeds like sesame and flax need to be ground for proper digestion. An electric coffee grinder works well.
These healthy snacks can be combined e.g. raw vegetable sticks dipped in tahini (ground sesame seeds) or almond butter.

These suggestions are very helpful for most people with inflammatory conditions such as sprains, strains, bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. and can be used in conjunction with supplementation. Most people find that eating this way also often lowers blood lipids, smoothes out blood sugar variations, helps with weight management, reduces digestive problems, increases energy, and more. It is important to note that fats digest more slowly so when fat is reduced in the diet, we may become hungry sooner and be tempted to eat M&M's, corn chips, snack crackers, cookies, etc. This hunger is not a problem if we have prepared plenty of healthy snacks as mentioned above.
http://www.dcdoctor.com/pages/brimhall/pdf/antiinflammatorydiet.pdf (need adobe reader)

http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm
http://www.cidpusa.org/diet.html
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QA/QA252779/

Answer 7

Nothing, leave it well alone. Heberon node is due to Osteoarthritis and I agree they are painful. However to my knowledge their is not cure.