digitus primus

A new malady has been discovered, affecting the paddling community of planet earth. It affects about 90% of paddlers, is not debilitating in any way, is not painful, at least in the later stages and lasts for a long time. At this time there is no known cure.In common terms I am calling it PADDLERS THUMB, or to give it the medical term, Callous Paddlous. It appears at first as a simple blister on the inside aspect of the thumb at the joint and a bit lower down too, later on it developes into a distinct hard skinned area with a groove in the middle of 2 callouses. If you give the afflicted one a paddle to hold you will note a perfect fit of the shaft in the hollow between the 2 calloused humps.
This malady is not a cause for concern and no vaccine is expected in the near future.
It is usually seen in the dominant hand only.