Let me tell you about the time I almost ignored a tiny scratch.
I was in my garden, pruning some rose bushes, when a thorn caught my finger. It was a small cut—hardly more than a scratch. I rinsed it off, put a bandage on it, and went back to work. I didn’t think twice about it.
A few days later, the area around the cut was red and warm. It was slightly swollen and tender to the touch. I assumed it was just healing. But the next morning, the redness had spread and there was a thin red streak traveling up my finger.
I went to the doctor, and she told me I had cellulitis—a bacterial infection that had entered through that tiny cut. She said if I’d waited another day, it could have become much more serious.
I was lucky. I caught it early enough to treat with antibiotics. But I’ve never ignored a small cut since.
