Most of the time I cringe when I hear about sports injuries, but not the case with Hanley Ramirez. He was held out of the lineup on July 21, 2012 due to … wait for it … an infection in his hand. What made this funny?
He forgot to take his antibiotic.
Seriously. A major league player. His manager, Ozzie Guillen, agrees:
It’s pretty infected. I was kind of worried about it. Hopefully the infection comes out pretty soon. I don’t think he was taking his pills then all of a sudden it (swelled) up. I don’t think it’s a big deal but we have got to prevent (it from becoming) a big deal. (It) was pretty ugly and pretty sensitive. Hopefully the doctor will find exactly what he needs and make sure baby Hanley takes (it). I will every night ‘open your mouth’ and put it in his mouth. How do you forget to take a pill that the doctors (tells) to take?
How does a hand infection affect a baseball player
Hitting is the number on thing it will affect, though depending on the hand, it will also affect throwing and fielding. The big thing is that the infection affects your ability to grip and there will be associated pain with it.
Why would you forget to take your medicine
Who knows. You would figure being a professional baseball player and all he would remember, but even then the team should make sure. Millions of dollars are given to the athletes, so the team has to make sure the player follows the prescribed regiment.
The important thing about antibiotics is to complete the cycle. This allows the body to defeat the organism and to ensure no drug resistance is built up.
Now, I am sure Ramirez will be fine, but if the infection gets out of hand he might have to switch medication or even go to the hospital for IV antibiotics.
What a funny situation.
