Carpal Tunnel Vision?

pol·li·ce ver·so
Pronunciation:
\ˌpȯ-li-ke-ˈwer-sō\
Function:
foreign term
Etymology:
Latin
: with thumb turned : with a gesture or expression of condemnation

For the last two days I have had numbness in my right thumb. This neuropathy or paresthesia or paresis or what-have-you mainly feels similar to having cold hands or poor circulation. Then it alternates to feeling slightly tingly as if "asleep." Luckily, it does not feel as if it is burning, subjected to pinpricks, or that it is a localized stigmata.

Repetitive Stress (or Strain) Injury (aka RSI) is a likely culprit. As the old adage in medical school goes: if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's likely a duck. Therefore, given that I use a keyboard of some shape and form everyday (that is, I use a laptop keyboard, a standard keyboard, and then during working hours, some kind of M.C. Escher-like eggo-nomic, ergo, ergonomic keyboard which confuses my ingrained propriceptive finger-knowledge of keyboards leaving me finger-tip reaching for phantom keys). Perhaps the likely diagnosis of RSI is b/c of pressing down on non-existent keys in a manner reminiscent of walking up or down a flight of stairs and stepping as if there is yet one more step (it's worse on the down-step). On my ego-centric, I mean, ergonomic keyboard, where normally V is next to B (see figure below), V and B are miles apart like an old enemies unwilling to reconcile, or if they were, unable to be.

Supposedly this keyboard is supposed to pose less risk for RSI. I'm beginning to think it has the opposite effect.

Now that the holidays have finally rolled around, I shall have some downtime from my economic, I mean, ecological, umm, ergonomic keyboard which may relieve me of some of these issues. In the meantime, I shall continue to favor my left hand for typing (the added strain is likely to create a compensatory form of RSI) which led me to think about a variation on the Zen Koan: what is the sound of one hand typing. Then I realized that this version of the koan doesn't lead to any kind of enlightenment. I actually know the sound of one hand typing. It sounds like two hands typing except for the rate of keys clicking and the occasional "agh" when the numbness in the right thumb is replaced by a sensation ergonomically described as 'ouch'.

The only remedy I see before me is to either use a erroneous--I mean ergonomic keyboard 100% of the time, or none of the time. Not using a keyboard is not an option. Having a secretary taking dictation, or having my personal Boswell, is hardly an alternative. Perhaps I don't need to use my right thumb. I could become the Christy Brown of typing: my left thumb.