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Why I hate the index finger (1980)

(pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
255 points consumer451 | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.262s | source
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dnsco ◴[] No.42185285[source]
I partially amputated (at the joint closest to the nail) my index finger a decade ago, and it’s been a huge impediment. This has motivated me to seek out some other opinions.

Sent it to some doctor friends and they are floored by the writing style as well.

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sph ◴[] No.42186569[source]
It's hard for me to rationalise that a few cms off the index could be a huge impediment, so can you please share where you find yourself impaired the most? I imagine gripping things, like a glass, should be more or less unaffected.
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dnsco ◴[] No.42187049[source]
TL;DR nerves are really weird.

It tingles all the time. There's a ton of "referred pain". It frequently feels like there is a dental drill going of in my face, when it's not painful, it's a a persistent nagging tickle, on my cheek/temple/around my eye.

It gets reynauds phenomena, my house is 68F 20C right now, but my finger is freezing/painful because of how cold it is, this happens pretty much any time I wash my hand, so even in the summer when there's a slight breeze I'm hiding my hand in my pocket for warmth.

When I bang it on things it really hurts, and like this paper says it's extended basically all the time when I'm trying to use my hand for other things.

When I use it to grab things, it feels really weird, so I've kind of trained myself to keep it out of the way. This paper says cut it off, which the few other orthopedists I've talked to have not advised, but at this point, it's been a decade, and seeing a doctor be like "dude, the thing that's only there to make your hand more precise, is actually making your hand way less precise and detracting from your quality of life, cut it off", is a perspective I'm happy to hear. I manage mostly alright, but it's been a decade of major annoyance at best.

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1. buildsjets ◴[] No.42187888[source]
I lost the tip of my right thumb on a planer, but kept the joint. I experience similar phenomena. The worst thing is pushing a supermarket shopping cart on a rough surface, the vibrations it sends into my hand are intensely painful. Also iDevice touchscreens hate my nub.