Ganglion Cyst: A Bible Bump?
A couple of weeks ago I began noticing a small bump on the top of my right hand near my wrist. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but I soon began noticing that the area began to bother me, feeling somewhat tender to the touch and more noticeable whenever I’d pick up something a bit heavy. I actually began to wonder if I had somehow broken a bone in my hand, since the bump/cyst would move each time I moved or bent the middle finger on my right hand. I thought, that’s weird!
In our office we use some square, plastic containers to hold our crown/bridge supplies, as well as two other containers for our composite and amalgam supplies. Whenever either was needed, I would often take down the needed container one-handed, not giving much thought that it might be a bit too heavy for just one hand.
Well, now I know better. I went to see the doctor and was diagnosed with a Ganglion Cyst. My furled brow made it obvious that I had never heard of such a cyst, so I was given the detailed explanation of exactly what a ganglion cyst is and what its cause and treatment is. Oh fun.
I was shown pictures of these cysts in varying sizes and locations that made me cringe, and I was worried that my wrist was going to look like those pictures, but my doctor assured me that all will be fine. At the moment the doctor doesn’t feel there is a need to drain it (okay, that sounds really gross), since it’s still quite small.
The doctor wrapped my wrist with a bandage and prescribed some anti-inflammatory medications to help get rid of this thing. I’m supposed to wear the bandage for the next several weeks throughout each day, which will make working on patients with sterile gloves on quite interesting to say the least.
Once I got home from the doctor’s office I immediately searched online for further information about ganglion cysts, as if I hadn’t already learned more than I would have liked to know. It seems that ganglion cysts are also referred to as a Bible Bump, which I couldn’t help but laugh at because it sounded so odd. A “Bible Bump”? This I had to know more about.
According to Wikipedia, it seems that one method of how to treat ganglion cysts was to “strike the lump with a large, heavy book, causing the cyst to rupture and drain into the surrounding tissues. Since even the poorest households often possessed a bible, this was commonly used, which led to the nicknaming of ganglion cysts as “Bible Bumps” or “Gideon’s Disease”. This treatment may be effective, but is no longer recommended, as patients risk damaging the surrounding area. As this may make the cyst worse, other treatment options are preferable.” Umm, no thanks.
So for now, I’m going to have to deal with having this cyst and hope it goes away, and I definitely hope I won’t end up having to go back to see the doctor and having the cyst….drained. Eeeuuuwww.
