Seal Finger

Until about 30 years ago, amputation of the offending finger was the accepted cure for a disease called spekk-finger (blubber-finger), by Norwegian sealers. In Alaska and elsewhere, the disease is called sealer's finger or seal finger.

Seal finger occurs only among those who handle seals. According to medical doctors Elizabeth F. Elsner and James R. Crook, of the University of Alaska, the exact nature of the infectious agent is unknown. Doctors have conjectured that a bacteria is involved, but the specific organism has not been isolated.

The infection is thought to be transmitted through a small cut in the finger of those who handle seals. Within a few days an extremely painful swelling of the finger occurs. As the finger swells up it becomes taut and shiny in appearance. The flesh itself becomes soft but there is no pus. Consequently, lancing provides no relief.

Nowadays, there is good news and bad news about the treatment of seal finger. The good news is that the infection responds rapidly to such antibiotics as tetracycline. Recently a Juneau woman who handled young seals in a veterinary hospital contracted the disease, got tetracycline treatment, and was soon rid of the symptoms. (Her adult son also got the disease but did not receive the correct medical treatment. After three-thousand dollars in medical bills and much agony, he ended up with a partially disabled thumb.)

The bad news about seal finger is that once a person gets the disease, it may tend to recur every few years. Former Alaskan scientist, Dr. Kaare Rodahl, states that Alaskan Eskimos have long considered the disease malignant and of 15 cases treated on the Seward Peninsula during a two-year period only 5 were first-time cases, according to medical practitioner Roy Howard. One doctor suggests that antibiotic treatment causes the seal finger organisms to go into a dormant stage only to become active later on.

Until there is enough research on seal finger to learn of a cure, the best advice for those who handle seals anywhere in Alaska and Canada is to wear gloves and to wash the hands frequently. If possible avoid touching seals or seal meat if you have even minor cuts or scratches on your hands. Perhaps because of better habits in cleanliness, Alaskan Eskimos seem to have had less trouble with seal finger than have Norwegian sealers of some years ago.