Pharmacy visit

It was good timing that my wife came to visit when she did.

Somehow my right thumb had developed an infection around the fingernail. In addition to being painful, it was starting to look a bit gruesome. My course of action was to do nothing and wait for it to get better.

My wife, being a nurse, first suggested I see a doctor. I vetoed that one. I was not in a mood to sort out whatever insurance nonsense was certain to result.

She insisted that something be done. She had heard, from where I am not sure, that pharmacies in Germany sell stronger over-the-counter medicines than in the U.S. She is very smart that way.

We walked down to the local pharmacy, and I showed my thumb to one of the pharmacists. The pharmacist knew exactly what needed to be done and brought out several different ointments, gauzes, and bandages.

The problem was she only spoke German. I’ve become pretty good at getting most of the conversation in German, but here was a case where I needed to do better than get most of the conversation. I needed to get the details right. I was picturing what my thumb might look like without the fingernail.

One of the other pharmacists spoke a little English. Between our German, English, and various hand signals, we figured out what we needed to do. The first ointment was some kind of strange-smelling, green goo. But it worked amazingly. Within a day, the infection had come to the surface. A couple more days with the second ointment and my thumb was mostly normal.

Good thing too, because while bandaged I realized how useful the so-called opposable thumb is. Ever try going to the bathroom without being able to use your thumb? Try it sometime.