Ouch!

I had this happen to a thumb nail about a year ago, and was so frightened the CRPS had spread... It didn't, but it felt weird for a couple of weeks and made me worry.

This is what i did: Elevate your hand as much and as often as you can, but keep your fingers gently moving so that the hurt doesn't sit still for too long. At night, rest it outside the covers. Don't use cold water or anything like that (ow) but put a tiny smear of something like Savlon on a soft plaster over it for the first day or so just to stop any germs from getting a hold - then leave it open. Keep it as dry as possible, so no washing up and try to avoid anything like hoovering that has it hanging downwards and with pressure on it. Distract yourself as much as possible - the brain and CRPS are closely linked, so try not to concentrate too much on the pain from that finger. Start doing the motor imagery stuff of stroking the good finger and concentrating on what it feels like, then stroke the hurt finger and think of how it felt in the other one. Do it as often as you can over the whole hand.

It will probably be fine in a week or two, but I know what you mean, you just think OH NO what have I done, it's going to spread now and the pain and hotness just sort of confirms it...

Your brain is over-reacting to the pain because of the CRPS, it is a common side-effect of the condition (fun, thanks ), but it doesn't mean it will spread to that area. Just keep it gently moving and don't guard it, even if it is damn painful for now. It does subside...

I have my fingers crossed for you (no pun intended), let me know how you get on.

Bram