08/29/2026
Sometimes, as a naturopath, I send people to an allopathic doctor, because that's where they need to go.
Several years ago, before I limited my practice to women, a young man came in with a very swollen, inflamed, grayish looking end of one finger, originating in what had been a hang nail. He wanted me to treat it naturally. I looked at it for a few seconds, realized it was bubbling under the skin and told him no, he needed to go to an Urgent Care of the ER with it. He tried to manipulate me into treating it there in my office, and I held my ground. He wanted to know how I would treat it myself I had it (that's rather manipulative, and I've been way too old to miss that for a long time). I told him I would go the ER with it. He went away grumbling because he didn't have insurance and I was going to cost him a huge ER bill. I never saw him again.
Just in case anybody wonders, an infection that bubbles under the skin is really serious. It could be gas gangrene, flesh-eating bacteria, Klebsiella, E. coli, Proteus, some kinds of Enterobacter, Strep or Staph... there are a few other nasties that can turn skin gray and cause bubbling under it. These are all infections that can become life threatening and REQUIRE antibiotic therapy. It is NOT within my scope of practice to treat acute infections surrounding a recent injury that bubble under the skin and turn the skin gray.
I hope he went to the ER. I hope he came out OK. I tried to call him once a couple of days after that to check on him, but my call went to v.m. and was never returned.
Had he been to the ER or Urgent Care or his own doc, was taking a prescribed antibiotic, and asked "what else" he could do to speed up recovery from it, there are some things I can recommend. But as primary treatments? No. Just no.
