Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] I was trimming the ground cover down and off from some rose bushes yesterday and naturally even with good sturdy gloves, I managed to get jabbed in my right hand from an old rose limb that was buried.  It hurt but it didnt bother me until last night after bathing my dogs and then it was swollen and extremely tender and painful. This morning when I woke up my knuckle was very swollen.  I dont see anything like a sliver, but I mentioned it to my dogs vet and he thought I should have it looked at because knuckles are serious places for infection to get started.
[|AI|]  Your vet is correct. My first thought is you have gotten an infection. These can be particularly problematic when in joints like the knuckle as damage to the joint from the infection may lead to disability using the hand. The injury you had from the buried rose limb is like getting an injection of dirt directly into the knuckle, so this can cause a nasty infection. It's important to get this looked at and treated immediately. You might even need surgery to clear the infection and prevent damage to the joint. Hope this helps.