According to Wikipedia ‘clubbed thumb’ used to be a sign of descent from European royal blood lines. Could there be any truth to this? According to the science – as a way of judging blood lines the clubbed (or stub) thumbs trait might be ideal because of its expression (i.e. it shows up relatively often in the few families who have it).
I have found out that the technical name is brachydactyly type D (BDD). The clubbed thumb is defined as a shortening and broadening of the the end bone or phalanx of the thumb. They are also trying to determine if there is a gene for the trait.
It is a common trait, aproximately 1 million Americans will have clubbed thumbs (occurring in 0.4% of whites and 0.1% of blacks in the US). In Israel it occurs in 1.6% of Jews and 3% of Arabs. It is also found a lot in Japan (this info from the book Abnormal Skeletal Phenotypes, which you can find on google books (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oG5Fn4Ucus4C).
World of Clubbed Thumbs 
January 13, 2008 at 5:28 am |
Both of my thumbs are clubbed, and it wasnt until fifteen minutes ago that i realized it actually had a name. It was about eighth grade that i realized my thumbs were different from other people, i just assumed everyones thumbs looked like mine. I have one cousin that has the same thumbs but thats it for my whole family. I always called them my toe thumbs, since theyre basically identical to my toes.
My right thumb is more flexible and bends back alittle further. Also I’m a North America broad but have a french canadian and german background. It has definitely proven to be an ice breaker, and i have convinced people i really have a disease where toes grow on your hands, and they even smelled them when i said they smelled like toes too. thats a fun trick everyone with clubbed thumbs should try.
I’ll post pictures of my thumbs soon, and i also was once told how they were called ‘murderer’s thumbs’, and i like that term better, because it makes me sound scary. And the royal blood theory makes sense especially as an inbred mutation. I also tell people i used to bang my thumbs on the ground when i was little. Which is another good one.
August 9, 2011 at 8:16 pm |
“hey”,
I was always afraid to go to school. i would always hide them when i talked to a boy. my friends would say why are your thumbs like that and i would say idk i was just born that way. the next day i went to school every one found out and i was so scaried, they would tease me and make fun of me. ive been wondering if there is any way if they would change like the other peoples thumbs?
February 5, 2014 at 7:11 pm
I was always embarrassed as a kid. I didnt notice i was different until a boy i liked asked me why my thumb “looks smashed.” He even asked if I smashed it between a sliding door. I still get made fun of as an adult and it is still embarrassing.
February 1, 2008 at 4:48 am |
Hey there cool blog you have here. I also have “clubbed thumbs” I’m pretty sure it’s hereditary since my mother and all of my brothers have them, although I don’t know where my mother got them from.
February 9, 2008 at 7:37 pm |
Woah, i wasn’t until about 5 minutes ago that I realized there was actually a name for them. Both of my thumbs are “clubbed thumbs” and I never noticed they were different from other people’s thumbs until maybe grade 4? I’m guessing it might be hereditary since my grandmother also has them.
April 14, 2008 at 4:15 am |
Hi!
My husband has two clubbed thumbs, and it always freaked me out a little. Also, he has one, yes just one, clubbed toe. I havent noticed anyone else in his family with them, but I will be sure to oogle them extensively at the next get together.
As for royalty, my husband is Welsh, German and Indian. The interesting thing is that he has a lot of strong European features, and his last name is NOBLE. That’s kinda strange.
February 10, 2010 at 4:02 am |
Hi melissa,
Both my thumbs are clubbed so are my big toes but abit bigger.I get funny comments all the time. There are only 2 of us out of the 18 granchildren on my maternal grandmothers side that were born with these traits. On my paternal side of my dads family, there are none as I know of( mind you there were no first cousins on this side of the family anyway, as my only aunt here, never had children). I was born in Sweden, and married a Canadian. Our 3 sons do not have thumbs like these. There is German, Jewish and possibly italian blood in my family. And I’ve only met 5 people who share this interesting hereditary trait.
November 4, 2010 at 10:12 pm |
Hi My grandfathers surname is noble and I have clubbed thumbs I am also welsh.
July 7, 2008 at 4:24 pm |
Hyy, like 4 or 5 years ago, i realized my thumbs where not identical. Actually they are very different from each other. My right hand’s thumb is normal, but my left hand’s thumb is a “clubbed thumb”. Like one hour ago, i started googleing to find out why is that. I was i little surprised that its actually a form of brachydactyly, but i was happy to know that it was the only thing i had, i didn’t have a bad disease or something. About the royal heritage, i do believe in it, as royal families had this tradition of just marrying between the family members, not with outsiders. Plus, i have got Italian heritage, so, maybe i have royal blood.
June 14, 2014 at 7:30 pm |
I’m part Italian also. Check out my posts on this page relating to genealogy and genes.
July 19, 2008 at 12:09 pm |
Hi – all my life I had been embarrased by my club thumbs and used to hide them behind my fingers! but in the past 5 years it really doesn’t bother me anymore – Noboby else in my family have these thumbs and I have only ever met one other person with just 1 club thumb. I grew up thinking I had club thumbs because I had probably sucked them as a baby and stunted their growth!!
April 16, 2010 at 10:06 am |
Re Jean Holmes post, I went through the exact same thing-I have both clubbed thumbs and clubbed (big) toes, and wasn’t really aware of them being different until I was in grade school, where the kids put me through absolute hell! They ridiculed me horrible; it started getting really bad in 4th grade, where I wore my very favorite pair of sandals to school, my Dad bought them for me and I just LOVED them (like a little girl does-wearing them all the time!), and this boy classmate (his name was Damien & he had 666 on his forehead!) started making fun of my toes of course in front of the other kids, and that’s when I realized everyone noticed them as different (needless to say, I never wore those sandals again…) The worst though, was in 8th grade, when a couple girls got together after school & drew a huge picture of me in the play-yard, putting my name on it & making my thumbs & toes as big as my body; I noticed it later that evening, but couldn’t remove it-I was so mortified I didn’t know what to do! As luck would have it, it rained over-night & was gone the next morning. All of that was so humiliating and embarrassing – it had a great affect on my self-esteem, and set the tone for my adulthood.
I would always hide my thumbs under my fingers, or put my hands in my pockets. As a teenager, when a boy would go to hold my hand I would quick position it so my thumb was on the ‘outside’ (so they wouldn’t be able to feel how big it was!); in church I would automatically fold my hands with my thumbs tucked inside; these ‘moves’ all became second nature to me, I’d do them without thought.
I’d never polish my nails, or wear open-toe sandals (which is really torture with my shoe addiction!) The ‘abuse’ continued though high-school, so there was never any light at the end of the tunnel. In my early 20’s I started dating this really cute, popular guy named Rick, who unfortunately worked at the same place as my childhood buddy Damien! (No, that’s not his real name-it’s actually Satan…) Well the asshole found out about Rick & I, and went & told Rick to look at my thumbs & toes the next time he took me out. When Rick mentioned it to me, I thought I was going to DIE! As usual I panicked & got very nervous, trying to change the subject and get through the date – I obviously couldn’t enjoy myself then, and the entire night was ruined. I also never saw Rick again after that.
Even the one time I got very ill and had to go to the Emergency Room, I was on the table and the ER doctor comes over & starts examining me, and all of a sudden just stops in his tracks & says with this shock & disgust in his voice “WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOUR THUMBS??!!” (you know, the same reaction as if an alien ripped out of my stomach! Actually no – an alien would have been less shocking…) I’m like, are you kidding me?! So here I am sick as a dog, barfing all over the place while trying to hide my damn thumbs from the ER doctor – there was just no peace! In those situations, where I really didn’t expect it, I’d nervously just say “it’s a birth defect!” hoping they’d shut-up & move on.
Short of just chopping my thumbs & toes off, I always wanted so desperately to have them surgically fixed; I mentioned it to my family doctor around that time, but without giving it much thought he said it wasn’t possible. My family knew how bad I felt about it, but they just shrugged it off as trivial (ignore her & she’ll go away…the family motto!) I don’t understand why I was given this terrible disfigurement. No one in my family has it, not even distant relatives. I was married for 10 years and even hid them from my (ex)husband (I’m sure he noticed, but to his credit he never mentioned it once.)
When I saw the recent sites & posts on Megan Fox, I couldn’t believe it – I was beside myself reading the comments on ‘what a freak’ she is and even though she’s beautiful she has hideous thumbs – how dare those idiots! THEY should LOSE their thumbs, then I’d like to see how hideous they think HER thumbs are!! I envy Megan Fox, not because she’s beautiful (which she certainly is-DUH) but because of her strength – she’s not inferior to those comments, the websites, the posts, etc., she’s not ashamed to show her hands in public or on photos, she even blatantly displays them – perhaps that’s her way of giving those assholes ‘the finger’! You go girl! 🙂
But no one should have to endure such pain & cruelty because there’s something different about them. I’m in my mid-40’s now, and it’s still very painful & difficult for me. I must say though – I was quite surprised finding this site, that there are others out there with this ‘ailment’ – that there’s a term for it as well, which gave me some comfort because I know of NO ONE else who has it! It’s nice to hear those of you who are ok with it and/or have accepted it, I wish I could get to that place, but I guess I’m past that point. Perhaps it’s because of the the evil little gossiping patch-town where I’m originally from, where everyone has a forked tongue (but normal thumbs & toes, mind you!) 😕
*I apologize for the length of this post, but please understand that I was never really able to ‘vent’ out loud about it! So thank you for allowing me to! 🙂
April 16, 2010 at 10:11 am
Oh ya – and I could never go bowling either! (My thumbs wouldn’t fit in the girl’s bowling-balls, and the guys’ were too heavy for me!) Am I the only one who had that dilema?? GEEZ!
June 14, 2014 at 8:10 am
Very well written and relatable. My first memory of finding out I was different was when my sister told me that my aunt had said my thumbs were ugly. Ever since then, my sister, who’s 2 years older, would tease me constantly. She’d call me fat thumbs, stubby little one, etc. my big toes are the same way. Short and wide. I’ve been so ashamed of them my entire life and there isn’t a day that goes by that I look down at my thumbs and wish they were normal. I got my nails done once for senior prom and it was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. She had to create a nail just do it would fit my thumbs. It scarred me. To add insult to injury, when I went home with my boyfriend, my sister and mom started to tease me right in front of him! I mean they kept going and going. I got so angry and left the room. I remember that boyfriend being embarrassed for me and there was even a time I noticed him trying to distract his best guy friend from glancing at my toes when I was wearing sandals. I had to live him secretly thinking they were hideous. I also remember a time when this guy friend of mine noticed my thumbs and straight out acted exactly how your ER doctor acted! Me was not even smiling or poking fun, just straight out asking me wtf happened to my thumbs?!! And if they had been smashed and so on. I was speechless and felt beyond insulted. Another time, this guy I worked with was passing by me with another co-worker and said, “nice thumbs” and they both just stared at me waiting to see how I would react. He totally caught me off guard and I was shocked that someone I didn’t really know would be so daring to insult me like that. I kept on walking. I’ve always his my thumbs just like you. I can go on for days. another ex boyfriend of mine never said anything about my thumbs because it just so happened that he had 2 brothers with broad thumbs and a sister with 1. I was shocked because normally its girls that have them. It’s like a routine when I’m in public. Anytime I have to sign a form in front of someone, I always feel like they’re staring and judging. I even tuck in my thumb when I use my cell phone and just type with my index finger. I hate when I have to do thumb prints. I know they did one in the hospital when I had my baby. I don’t ever paint my finger nails because I feel that it’s only going to draw more attention to my thumbs. My boyfriend now of over 7 years didn’t notice them for months, but like you said of your husband has never said anything remotely close of even a joke about my thumbs. I brought them up a couple of times over the years and the most he said was that I should paint them and they aren’t a big deal. It felt so good knowing he didn’t care about my deformity. I feel like most guys would. My boyfriend’s mother is a manicurist (can it get any worse?) There were so many times that she offered to do my nails, I mean she was persistent and every time, I said no thanks. Years later, she finally noticed my thumbs, pointed them out, but said nothing about them. Maybe she realized that that is why I never wanted for her to do my nails. I absolutely hate when people notice and when they do, I try to avoid any conversation about it at all costs. There’s a lot of people that seem confident and careless about their thumbs, but I’m not one of them and never will accept them. I actually emailed a hand surgeon once and asked if it was possible to correct them and he said yes, but it was a risky procedure. He told me to email him pictures of my thumbs, but sometime after that, I deleted the email so my boyfriend wouldn’t run into it. I never got back to him. But I do still wonder if perhaps they shave the bone to make it appear thinner or what. I guess I would have to reach out to another hand surgeon. I also want to mention that I went to school with so many girls with broad thumbs! I noticed everyone’s thumbs and could easily go through my yearbook and point out who had them. Over 20 easily within my class, the class above me and also below me. I’m so obsessed with them that I notice everywhere I go. I hate living this way and wish I could interact with people freely without worrying about my insecurities. I once had a dream that I had beautiful, elegant fingers and hands. It was an amazing feeling. Some people might think that I have some serious issues and I’m blowing this out of proportion, but it’s that painful for me. My 2 boys didn’t inherit my broad thumbs and I’m so glad. Their father has nice hands and feet, as do they. My youngest sister has similar feet like mine and people have pointed out her short thumbs, but mine look way worse. Her nails look somewhat normal. I know I’m rambling, but I’ve never expressed my feelings towards this. It feels good to let it out on here, because doing it in person is too much more me. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
August 16, 2008 at 1:14 am |
Hi! I have two clubbed thumbs myself and I never noticed it myself until it was pointed out to me in the 4th grade. I was shocked when I compared them to all my friends’ thumbs. After that I was always embarrassed by them, until now that is. I’ve been researching them a lot lately and I’ve grown to be fascinated by my thumbs. I’m embracing the fact that they make me unique and I love them. I only know a few other people besides myself that share this unique quality and it really amazed me when I found some sites with so many people that share they same condition.
I’m especially interested in the royalty link to these thumbs because I am English and have a distant relation to some king from way back many years ago. I think it could be very plausible, like someone else said, because of the inbreeding to keep the blood pure within the royal blood lines. Along the way there must have been some mutation right?
November 13, 2011 at 8:57 am |
I also have veeeery distant links to royalty and have 1 club thumb
August 30, 2008 at 3:55 pm |
“It is also found a lot in Japan”
indeed it is, I have met a *unusually high number of Japanese women – it’s always women, who have clubbed thumbs. I have never seen it before so was curious and began researching this phenomena.
I have seen about 7 women
September 6, 2008 at 5:47 pm |
It doesn’t bother me much. I always thought they were normal and everyone else’s were odd. But, I don’t care. It’s part of what makes me, me.
September 15, 2008 at 12:27 am |
I am most curious about the origins. One of my cousins and i both have clubbed thumbs . We were told they are artists thumbs and we are both artistic. Any way I am curious about the history.
October 5, 2008 at 6:36 am |
Thanks for posting this on your blog. I have one “club/stub” thumb and one “normal” thumb. I always knew it was different, but never bothered to investigate it until today. I tell people that I have 1 of my mum’s thumbs and 1 of my dad’s. Mum has two club thumbs. (It was always a reason why I couldn’t be adopted, no matter how much I wanted it to be true growing up!). I actually think it’s pretty cool now because it’s a bit of a conversation starter when someone thinks I’ve smashed my thumb with a hammer, or had it cut of or something.
I was wondering if anyone else has two different thumbs? How common/uncommon is this?
The European royalty was interesting. My heritage is Swiss, Austrian/Prussian, Scottish, English and a bit of Canadian Indian (a distant Scottish relative married and had 5 children with a Cree Indian from Alaska). So I’m assuming the genetics show up every know and then.
Any tips for further research?
June 8, 2010 at 9:19 am |
My left thumb is normal and my right thumb is clubbed. My dad also has one normal and one clubbed. We are both right handed and they are both clubbed on our right hands! I have never met anyone else with it, but my dads family history book says that we are Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and a few others… So maybe the royalty thing could be true! I never knew about this until today and I always told ppl that I guessed it had been broken when I was a baby or I just was deformed bc my dads deformed thumb too! Haha
June 8, 2010 at 9:30 am
Oh and I guess I found all this out bc of the crazy stuff being said on the net about Megan Fox’s thumbs lol but I’m glad I know now and I don’t feel like such a freak anymore! Haha
July 18, 2015 at 7:32 pm
HI just want to add I have one clubbed thumb … on my right hand. I am also right handed and have a great deal of Scottish and Irish heritage! I have blonde hair and green eyes. But no one in my family has these thumbs… never met my grandparents tho so that may be where they came from!
December 3, 2010 at 1:54 am |
one tiny squat stunted thumb, one normal, aint no thang.
October 25, 2008 at 4:38 pm |
I am like you Mark with one club and one “normal” thumb. The differences between the two are very distinct, and I also told people that I have one of my mother’s and one of my father’s thumbs. I am also Swiss and there is a story on my mother’s side about some minor nobility in our Swiss ancestory. Other then Swiss, my family comes from Alsace-Lorraine and Germany.
October 28, 2008 at 11:52 pm |
Wow! It has a name! I only realised I had ‘weird thumbs’ when I was 9, and a girl at school pointed it out. Since then I’ve usually been the one to show people, and they’re amazed by my thumbs, lol. I saw someone on a bus with clubbed thumbs once and I just wanted to go over and say, “Hey, me too!”
I’m as English as they come, but I’ve often wondered if I had any German origins, since whenever we go abroad as a family people automatically speak to us in German.
February 21, 2010 at 2:40 am |
Lucy,
I laughed out loud reading your comment because the first time I met someone with clubbed thumbs was ON A BUS (5th grade)! She actually came up to me and said “You have my thumbs” and to this day she’s the only person I’ve ever known to have thumbs like mine!
April 8, 2010 at 3:44 am
Whoa, antoher Lucy with
November 4, 2008 at 4:40 am |
I’ve got two different thumbs as well, one clubbed and one normal. I enjoy telling people I accidentally got distracted while chopping carrots. My ancestors are from scotland and mexico.
November 8, 2008 at 7:47 am |
I’ve always known my thumbs were different as it has always been a bit of a joke in our family. I’ve always refered to them as my ‘toe thumbs’ which normally results in hysterical laughter from people when they first see them although some people get weirded out or others think they are cute (?). It wasn’t until last night when a surgeon friend told me the name that I realised there was one!! The pics I’ve seen are crazy as they look just like mine! My ancestory is english, german with a little scots though I currently live in New Zealand. I’ve never met anyone with thumbs like mine so nice to know I’m not alone!!!
November 22, 2008 at 4:48 pm |
I found about about my clubbed thumbs when I was maybe 8? Hah. It never really bothered me until I got alittle older and people started to notice them. I was always embaressed and would somehow try to cover them. My best friend thinks they’re cute. Hah. and some are amazed at them when they notice it. Im from panamain, German, fin, and english desent. So maybe this could be a sign from the desence of royalty?
November 23, 2008 at 10:20 pm |
I’m an American living in Europe and have never in my life seen so many BDD thumbs as I have since I’ve been here. I have normal thumbs and have always looked at the club thumbs as being a genetic flaw due to inbreeding, which would support the theory that there is royalty in club thumbers lineage. My personal idea is that there may as well be a higher prevalence of down’s syndrome and other genetically anomolous conditions in the BDD gene pools just as hemophaelia was a common condition in inbred families hundreds of years ago due to the intense inbreeding. And what about the inbreeding in places such as the Ozarks in USA? They’re not too different than the royals, are they?
December 4, 2008 at 7:36 am |
I’m a 16 years old boy with parents from Chile. Il live in Sweden and my mom is a little bit italian, and where do i find my royalty? both my thumbs are clubbed! I always said to my friends that i suck them, but a friend in my school had one same and he said that they was called ” clubbed thumbs ” Is incredible that so many people had this thumbs, i thought that i was the only one and know am i very proud of them!
No one in my family had a thumb like my one, its very rare .. i think that my mom said that his father had one, but he is dead. Its very strange because he was born 100 yearsd before me, 1892 10 of october and i 1992 of october, i feel scary for this sometime, its exactly the same day!
December 25, 2008 at 2:41 am |
Hello fellow “club thumbers”! I first noticed my crazy thumbs in Junior High, and getting teased a little. I used to always hide them in my fist and whenever crossing my hands, the thumb ALWAYS goes inside. Now that I’m a little older I don’t care as much…it makes me a little more special. My dad used to tell me I had toes implanted when I was a baby and my mom would always try blaming them on my dad’s side of the family until one day…uh oh mom. I found out my cousin(on moms side) has them too. I too had no idea there was a name for them until today! So thats pretty cool!
December 26, 2008 at 8:33 pm |
What went unmentioned in the description abovie is that the wikipedia article associates clubbed thumbs with in-breeding, hence the relationship to royalty. Clubbed thumbs were desireable as they represented a greater likelihood of incest.
January 13, 2009 at 8:44 am |
i have always noticed my thumbs were different from everyone else but my mom always told me that its because i bite my nails so i stomped them down. But then in 9th grade i noticed another girl w the same thumbs as me and she didnt bite her nails so i knew it wasnt because i bit my nails. I was always really self consious about them so a few months ago when a guy in my class shouted out to everyone “Whow ur thumbs r soo weird!” and everyone wanted to see them i was so embarassed so i googled them that night to see if i can get a surgery for them and came across so much information about it and how there r names for it i felt a lot better. And the other day i met a guy in my communications class w the same thumbs and its totally awesome. im really starting to feel more comfortable w these lil felas hah
oh and so true about them running in european blood.. im russian and my mom actually has one clubbed thumb but she insists its because she cut her finger real bad when she was litle so thats why its like that. my mom just really needs to admit that there r other ppl w thumbs like this! lol
February 13, 2009 at 3:54 pm |
Oh my god, you wont believe how relieved i am, i’m not the only one with this ‘clubbed thumb’ thing 🙂
My twin brother (identical) doesn’t have it though (weird`?!?!)
i’m 17 years old, and i guess i discovered my different thumbs a few years back.
hell yea, clubbed thumbs for president!
January 26, 2012 at 11:58 am |
ur twin will have the same gene, it’s just that it’s not always expressed in men. so he got lucky-no offence lol
March 1, 2009 at 4:57 pm |
Oh wow.
I’ve been having a really bad day at work today and then out of nowhere looked down at my own embarrasingly fat and short thumbs decided to google for it. Now I feel really happy for some reason! I had no idea it had a name, like Angela above, I was always told it was because I bite my nails.
I can’t believe I got to 24 without ever checking it out. In future I shall bear them with pride and explain to people that it’s a result of my aristocratic breeding!
March 7, 2009 at 2:00 pm |
How awesome to read other’s stories of their funky ‘brachydactys’ :-D…. I have this on both thumbs, and even with this relatively small oddness, for so long struggled with self acceptance and not immediately hiding them whenever meeting someone new! It takes courage to look different in this world if the difference is not generally seen as attractive.
I can believe the inbred theory and in some cases, the link to royalty (due to inbreeding-related defects… the top of the thumb refers to the top of the head and brain in reflexology).
As a big fan of deep trance channel and psychic readings (by carefully choosen and gifted readers,) I’ve been told I had chosen to have these traits (different looking thumbs) in part to serve as a daily reminder that I did not come into this life to conform and be like everyone else, and they were not “birth defects” or the result of medication or anything my mother took or did while pregnant.
I’m glad to see Megan Fox, being as she risks public ridicule as a celebrity for not being Hollywood perfect, not hiding her beautiful and unique hands. It’d be great for all of us to not to see ourselves as ‘flawed’ according to a sick society’s version of what is normal and attractive and to feel glad to be unique in this way. Plus, whenever I meet someone who is comfortable as they are, it helps me feel at ease to just be myself as well.
Somewhat still on-topic, one thing that probably isn’t well known is that, in Europe anyway, there are 2 types of royal blood, the royal family bloodlines currently ruling now and the ‘Elven’ bloodline (the ‘Albi-gens’ that still exist today). This gets weird but is fascinating. (To read more if interested, google “Realm of the Ring Lords” by Sir Lawrence Gardner, or “Elven bloodline”.) The latter is said to have been the ‘true’ royal blood, and the knowledge of this was greatly suppressed during the Dark Ages. Many followers as such, the Cathars and those thought to carry this blood, were diminished in importance in historical records, or killed. (Mary Magdalene was of this bloodline, according to the research.) And they also strived to keep their royal bloodline “pure”.
March 21, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
I never knew my right stubby thumb was hereditary until my youngest child, a girl, was born with the exact same difference in her right thumb! Now she’s eleven and we get a kick out of our common plight! My mother did not have different thumbs; her nail beds were long and her hands were lovely…
I am so glad to find a name for this, too! and to see that we are not alone!
April 6, 2009 at 10:19 am |
heyy, i cnt believe this. I have 2 clubbed thumbs and i always thought i was a weird one, and was too embarressed about my thumbs because they luked abnormal. Untill i caame to this website, i am starting to like my thumbs because i am not alone. Oh and i am 1/4 italian so that kinda contributes to this theory.
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!
May 2, 2009 at 1:38 pm |
Good to hear!
iam 40 years old and have one stubbed thumb, my dad has two.
I have meet 4 other people with the same thumb. All in sweden. but recently i was in thailand and there i saw alot stubbed thumbs.
Thumbs up!
May 4, 2009 at 1:52 pm |
only just thought about looking up the name of what my ‘gimp’ thumbs like i called them actually was, n its pretty cool how i can now actually say what it is. I always just used my thumbs as a funny excuse if ppl said my writing was bad or anything, and want to see if i can get a disabled sticker for my car, by making an excuse that i struggle to pop the button when i go into reverse or drive hehehe. The whole royalty thing seems pretty cool, im from noble scottish heritage so could be plausible
May 5, 2009 at 9:17 am |
My mum and I have one clubbed thumb and one normal thumb. Her grandmother also had this. This side of my family are mostly from Scotland (and a bit from England). I’m interested that there are a lot of people on this site with Scottish heritage with these thumbs. I’ve always known mine was different as my mum pointed it out when I was very young (and she always knew about hers). I have always been a little proud of mine I think because it gives me a sense of connection with the previous generations. I’ve loved telling people stories about shark attacks and slips with knives etc and I’ve also liked having some weird genetic thing to show at parties etc. I knew a Egyptian woman who had both her thumbs and a few of her fingers stubbed and the other day I noticed my friends’ daughter has 2 stubbed thumbs – prompting me to find this site. I also met a stranger once with it. Not many people have it.
I like the idea of royalty as it makes me feel important (hee hee) but maybe just a very busy young man?
May 17, 2009 at 3:03 am |
Please post your heritage…anyone have Romany heritage?
May 20, 2009 at 9:45 pm |
Like Jessica, I too always tried to hide my clubbed thumbs under my fingers for fear of riducule. I am not so sensitive about them now that I am older and I have discovered that I am not the only one with short thumbs. I was also surprised to know that not many of my high school classmates or co-workers had even noticed them, so I guess I had hidden them well.
My bloodlines are Indian, Irish, French, and Dutch and clubbed thumbs seems to be inherited from my father’s side. One of his uncles had clubbed thumbs as well as his sister, then me, and one of my nephews, so that is 4 generations so far with some signs of difference in my great nephews thumbs. I haven’t traced our ancestry very far back, but my dad was mostly Indian and French. And like Melissa who said one of her ancestors’ last name was NOBLE, so was mine. I am interested to know more about this.
June 11, 2009 at 7:41 am |
I’m 22 years old and this year I met one other person who also has a set of stubby/gimp thumbs. No one else in my family has them. I just discovered this whole online community and discovered that it actually has a name. I’m not very excited to see that it could be caused from inbreeding-hah.
My heritage is 100% Cajun- Cajuns that have been researched to have traveled from France to Canada to Louisiana. I have small hands, am artistic, and have a fiery temper–traits that seem to be supposedly common with this trait. I have also read that people with negative blood types also tend to have this more but I’m not sure what my blood type is. But I also have underdeveloped ears(the top part is sealed instead of open-not noticeable) and have double jointed fingers. I knew that my mother had to take a drug that could of had side effects so that I was not born pre-maturely so that is where I thought I got this “birth defect.” Does anyone else also have any other anomalies like me?
June 11, 2009 at 6:42 pm |
Both of my thumbs are clubbed, and I became aware of them at a very young age, like 6 or 7, when a friend pointed them out to me. And my dad and uncle said they were clubbed because I used to suck my thumb, but I only ever sucked my right thumb so it didn’t really make sense that both would become clubbed. But anyways, I’ve always been proud of them, and how they stood out and made me unique. But I’ve always hated how people suddenly discover them and start to make fun of them. I didn’t know until today that there was a name for my thumbs condition, and I’m 21 now.
As far as my family goes, I’m the only one with clubbed thumbs. I don’t know if any of my great great’s had clubbed thumbs, but there’s a possibility that someone along the line had them as well. And I’m Polish, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh.
To reply to the person before me, I was born breech, so my mom had a c-section when I was born, and there’s possibility there was some sort of medication given to her for something when she was pregnant with me. I also have really large earlobes, but the rest of my ears are relatively small and non of my siblings have that issue either.
June 12, 2009 at 6:00 am |
Wow. And I thought it was just ME! Turns out there are alot of us with “clubbed thumbs”, a term that is new to me today. I have 2 clubbed thumbs.
My family heritage is Irish, German, French.
June 12, 2009 at 7:29 am |
Funny, but I never realized that other short thumbed people were out there. My sister and I are the only ones in our family to have the trait (both thumbs are clubbed) although I assume that it come’s from my biological father family since my half-brother has perfectly normal thumbs.
My biological father is German, although his parents orginally immigrated from the area around Alsace-Lorraine and Germany. Trait-wise, the only other thing that has passed down is our short temper and tendecy for (unfortunatly) schizophrenia.
I’m 19, but have a renewed hope in finding other clubbed thumbs! Although I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the “inbred” idea, even though it makes perfect sense. Does this mean that is some small way we are all related to one another because of our thumbs?
June 12, 2009 at 4:23 pm |
WOW!!! at 41 years old I am amazed to find that there is a name for my thumbs. I have hidden my thumbs most all of my life, every since elementary school. I remember my father having the same thumbs, but not my mother. I am not sure of there being a royal connection in my family, but my mothers mother was a Native American Indian. I am a mom and am glad that non of my children have these thumbs.
I’ve never thought to research this, but now my interest is peaked. I also have “clubbed toes” and now I know what to call them. My family has given them the name Flinstone thumbs and toes. I was teased a lot as a kid about my hands and feet so I don’t wear sandals, and I still hide my thumbs. Reading this blog and finding a community makes me smile. It is good to know that I am not alone.
To see this female actress proudly show off her digit, makes me feel empowered!!!…but not enough to make me stop hiding my thumbs just yet. Although I have bought a couple pair of sandals but have not worn them yet….
June 13, 2009 at 3:13 am |
Break out the sandals and polish those nails gals (even if you do it a tad inside the true size :-)!!!) or at least unleash them from the grip of your fingers.
My husband thinks they are adorable!!! And after all these years…I do too!!! 🙂
Love & Light ,
Tee
June 13, 2009 at 2:21 pm |
I’ve had acrylic nails for years and my manicurist teases me endlessly for my stubby thumb. They have to get a special tip, and it takes extra time to make it match the other non-stubby thumb! I’m to the point where I don’t even want it to match the other thumb anymore. Shoot, the whole digit is different! It’s shorter and wider.
At a business meeting the other day, the co-worker next to me was staring at my thumb!! I actually hid it in my palm! Haven’t done that in years. Oh well…I guess I’ve still got that sensitive little girl deep inside.
June 17, 2009 at 8:41 pm |
All of the white people I have met who have club thumbs have some Bavarian Jewish ancestry. None of my family have the clubbed thumb but looking back at old family photos I found out where the clubbed thumb came from, my German Jewish side.
June 18, 2009 at 12:54 am |
hmmm, nope, no German or Jewish ancestry here. I’ve one club thumb, and my daughter has the same.
June 19, 2009 at 3:39 am |
omgg i am amazed at all the people with thumbs like me!!
my left thumb is worse than my right but they are both clubbed.. i usually call them my little chubs! hehe well i’m 100% dutch so i guess the royal thing does sound correct :p that is pretty cool..
June 19, 2009 at 9:27 pm |
i saw something on my email about megan fox’s thumbs, watched the clip, and then decided to google pics of her thumbs and this was the first site to pop up. wow after all this time i know what to finally call my thumbs! thanks meg! ive met two other people with club thumbs both girls, one was embarrassed, the other girl , like me didnt care. and im 100% hispanic to answer the ancestry question
July 28, 2009 at 4:08 am |
hey,
i have two clubbed thumbs and I’m half Lebanese and half aussie…can anybody help me out in regards to where these thumbs have come from.
ps: i didnt know how much people have stubbed thumbs, its pretty cool.. we are a unique group!!! woohooo!!!
July 30, 2009 at 5:21 am |
I am a 42 yr. old woman, and I have 2 clubbed thumbs. My father has them too, but they don’t look as small. His side is Polish. My kids do not have thumbs like this. I have been embarassed of my thumbs my whole life too. I don’t seem to want to think they are a big deal, but I hate when people notice them as they always have to say something. My fingers are all kind of short, and my toes are too, but those look fairly normal. It is good to know I’m not the only one. I always hid my thumbs in my hands too, and hated bringing attention to my hands. To this day, I still try not to bring attention to them–not even to my own family members. I have never had a manicure as I am insecure about that. When I was in school, I paid close attention to stuff like this to see if anyone else was like me, and I did notice one boy with thumbs like this–it certainly didn’t seem to bother him, and I really don’t even think anyone really noticed w/him. Maybe I will try the acrylic nail trick on my thumbs as some of you have–at least the nail will appear a bit more like a normal nail. I have the problem of not being able to let the nails grow out much because they bend. I don’t think I would be so self-conscious about this had it not been for people saying things like “What happened to your thumbs?”, “What’s wrong w/your thumbs?”, “Your thumbs are weird.” “You were a thumb-sucker.”, etc. when I was younger. As an adult, I have noticed other people w/thumbs like mine–nobody I know, but just people I have observed. ANYHOW, at least we all know that we’re not the only ones. I am happy for all of you that are ok w/this and don’t let it get to you. I hope I can be that confident someday. I really don’t think about it much at home–just when I am around people and I feel as though they are staring (or trying to stare) at my hands. I just hate being put on the spot…
August 18, 2009 at 3:47 am |
LOL this is hilarious!!! there are more like me??!!
i have ONE clubbed thumb and ONE clubbed toe.. is that weird? i find it weird.. but anyways i never really loved my toe or thumb..i figured they were weird since i was a kid coz i have a ‘normal’ one to compare it to.
hhahaha the European royalty theory is interesting XD but no one in my family has it.. i think its only me. i so envy my sister’s fingers because they’re so feminine and long. mine is not as long.. i called them stuppy once but my sis said its not.. so i dunno.. maybe i’m blinded =p
oh right. the European royalty theory is interesting i think i’m fully Chinese LOL..i don’t know much about my family history. i hear stories though, which i would be glad to share.. =]
when i was a kid my older cousin told me that my maternal Grams was a quarter French. but she died when my Mum was only 2 so she doesn’t know. i asked my Uncle about it, he’s probably the one with most knowledge of the family history, but he says its untrue.
my Paternal Great Grams was apparently part Portuguese.. but i don’t know much about this either.. hahhaha if they do bring back this theory of royalty then i belong in the palace while my sis don’t ahahhahaha …i promise never to forget the little people… XDD
August 21, 2009 at 6:31 pm |
I discovered my stub about a year ago. My friends noticed it and said I was freak! ( lovingly) I wondered why I had aa long slender thumb, and a short squat fat one. I’m glad it actually has a name and some importance. It’s not too noticable because I have long nails, but I love my little club!
It’s also cool to know that only .1% of african americans have them. I feel so unique. Im not sure on the whole english heritage, but it’s very possible in my family 🙂
January 26, 2010 at 11:59 pm |
Are you my cousin Morgan? It would be very exciting to know I’m not the only family member currently alive with funny thumbs. Hints: If your mother’s first name starts with a “G” and from Wellesley, and Lake Winepesaukee.
–Saritah
September 18, 2009 at 3:27 am |
WOOOW!! I’m so blown away by the fact that there are other people with my thumb!! I have one clubbed and one regular. I’ve always hid it and have always been extremely self concious of it. My Dad has 2 clubbed thumbs and his sister has 2. My brother didn’t get them, but I got, 1. I’ve been teased all my life about them. I have the biggest smile on my face reading thru these posts and I actually am starting to feel PROUD of my stub! Also, my Dad is Scottish and so I do think it’s very plausable about the heritage thing.
Thumbs up!
September 30, 2009 at 5:45 pm |
any surgery available???
October 20, 2009 at 9:58 am |
I have wondered too, if there have been any cases of successful cosmetic surgery for this, and if there is any surgery to correct this. Both my thumbs are clubbed, and many years ago I consulted a few plastic surgeons (hand surgeons) and they all told me there was no surgery for this, that I would just have to accept myself. I could tell that all of them were embarrassed by this defect and didn’t have much to say about it, or much to offer me in the way of consolation. I have suffered from deep depression, at times in my life from this. I imagine that others out there could be feeling the same way. With everything that modern cosmetic surgery can accomplish nowadays, you would think that someone would have perfected a surgery by now for this ‘defect’, but I don’t think they have yet.
My ancestry is english, swedish, italian, irish, german….so I have ALL the same bloodlines that a lot of you do. I’m not sure this has anything to do with royal bloodlines though, but it is very interesting to find out that it is more common in certain areas of the world.
Thank you all, for being so brave to speak about it on a message board.
February 8, 2012 at 7:42 pm |
ammar.ahmed00@gmail.com
Sudan-Khartoum
October 21, 2009 at 10:00 pm |
Beth, with all due respect, having an ugly thumb might be mildly embarassing if people stare at it, but it’s hardly a disfigurement. I’m just grateful I have functioning thumbs, and hands, and arms, and legs. It sounds like you’ve got a lot going on in life and the deep depression from which you suffer has other origins. If, after seeking professional mental health services, you still don’t like your thumbs, I would suggest a certified nail professional who can create lovely acrylic nails with deep pink nail beds and beautiful white crescents. It works for me.
October 21, 2009 at 10:17 pm |
Well, I agree it is much more important to have functioning thumbs and fingers than have cosmetic perfection. And yes, there are several factors that have contributed to depression at times over the years.. But one of the legitmate reasons that people seek out plastic surgery is because they are severally or mildly self conscious about some feature that is displeasing in some way. I think two clubbed thumbs definitely beats out a crooked nose, for a displeasing feature..and is a legitimate cause for seeking out cosmetic surgery. Thank God for plastic surgery ; it has given many people back a sense of normalcy, dignity and self esteem, enough that they can forget about their looks and their bodies so they can concentrate on their lives and their relationships with people. It is not me who is as upset by this “disfigurement” as it is *others* out there in the world… who will judge, discriminate, reject, based on “appearances”…and I, for one, don’t want or need it anymore. I deserve to feel good about my appearance. You can live your life that way you want to and you can accept your body as is if you want to.
October 21, 2009 at 10:20 pm |
the reason that there has been no surgery to correct this is that it does involve sensitive nerve systems, and they have not perfected a way to do this safely, I imagine. As I said above, it is better to have a functioning (deformed) thumb, than a non-functioning thumb.
April 16, 2010 at 10:44 am |
Beth, I agree with you, because I too went through hell most of my life with this – it’s wonderful that a lot of folks here including Andrea are ok with it, but for those like myself who have been teased & made fun of since we’re little, (where the foundation of our self-esteem is formed), we can’t help feeling bad or depressed about it, because some folks had to deal with more abuse than others, and of course there are those who don’t have an inferior complex, who feel good about themselves and have high self-esteem – which everyone should, but sadly many do not. We’re all different, and what is trivial to some can be major to others! But this is certainly not the forum to judge anyone – if anything, it’s one to make new, true, supportive friends, because we all share something in common that’s so very unique – that only we can understand having it! And for that I’m thrilled on finding this site!
Regarding the surgery – what I don’t get is that they can re-attach severed fingers, hands, feet, arms, legs… THEY CAN SEND A MAN TO THE MOON!… but can’t minimize or re-shape a thumb or toe. Go figure! (Hang in Beth!) 🙂
October 22, 2009 at 1:10 am |
Beth, you are NOT deformed! Deformed is missing knuckles, or limbs that are misshapen. Deformed is a cleft palate. Crooked arthritic agonizing ailments are one thing, but ugly stubby thumbs are another.
Crooked noses are fixed because the septum is also crooked, and breathing is difficult. Medical technology advances come from a NEED not a WANT. Just because some people go under the knife for perceived imperfections doesn’t make it a medical necessity. Look at poor Michael Jackson! He perceived himself to be ugly and ended up ruining his handsome face. Obviously, if you’ve got the money, you should enjoy whatever cosmetic corrections you want…but I really am hurt that you consider a stubby thumb to be some sort of hideous, grotesque feature that is worthy of radical medical research and surgery. It’s not.
Geez, look around and see that a stubby thumb is nothing compared to what other people suffer through. This forum has been a wonderful way for people to vent about a minor imperfection and realize that we ARE NOT FREAKS. I’ve been slightly embarassed by mine, and my daughter is a little weirded out but neither of us will let it screw up our whole lives. I’ve got plenty of dignity and self esteem for a hand full of stubby digits…and you should too! You are more than your thumbs.
I wish you the best of luck in your search for thumb surgery. I won’t be subscribing to this thread anymore…somehow it’s not as uplifting…
October 22, 2009 at 4:43 pm |
There are so many other things in life to focus on, our thumbs are our thumbs. If people want to look at me funny because my thumbs look different then they can do so. I am more than and you are more than your thumbs. I am so glad to be able to touch my child’s face, to prepare a meal, to operate a car, fiddle around on this key board, and many other things. I am able to do these things with my eight fingers, and two ‘stubbed’ thumbs, and I am happy.
Almost all people have something on their body that they would change, some are visible, and some are not. I used to wish and think about surgery, but at some point, I thought, when I start thinking about such drastic measures, it is time to move on with my day. There is a song that says..’Don’t worry BE HAPPY!’ Were you born with eight fingers and two thumbs? BE HAPPY! Are you able to text as fast as you can (with your thumbs)? BE HAPPY! Can you wear a glove with a fifth digit for your thumb? BE HAPPY!
The next time you see someone looking at your thumbs, ask them if they have a question that you can answer for them regarding your thumb, or say nothing at all and keep living….
Been there, done that…Here and doing it!
And Happy!
October 25, 2009 at 9:16 am |
Like many of you out there, I too used to have major “thumb-issues” and would hide them every chance I got. Heads up, 7-up was my least favorite game in elementary school for obvious reasons.
But then one day, when I was a lot older, I woke up and realized that I was made exactly how I was supposed to be, thumbs and all! I started thinking, “wow, I’m really good at giving massages thanks to them”… and it really didn’t matter what other people thought, because quite frankly what tends to be a little bit different or what others don’t completely understand, is always pointed out.
I’m sure if one of our friends really felt our beautifully unique thumbs were such a big deal, they wouldn’t so openly point them out to us. People don’t realize how self-conscience and cynical we can be of ourselves. In the whole scheme of things, our thumbs are very minor and I truly feel we should all embrace them. We each have something that makes us a little unique and regardless of why we have them, we do…so lets just let them be and learn love ourselves… I give each of you a big thumbs up! 🙂
December 23, 2009 at 6:15 am |
This has to be one of the most fantastic sites I’ve visited! I have one clubbed thumb and one ‘normal’ thumb. I discovered this when I was in the 4th grade. My joke with them is that I claimed I must of sat funny on the “clubbed” thumb when I was in my mother’s womb.
As well as everyone else, it’s a great conversation starter. Most people are amazed and fascinated with it & I love it. I’m proud of my toe-thumb! 🙂
It wasn’t until recently did I decided to google it. My mom is taking nursing classes and pointed out that toe-thumb actually has a technical term but couldn’t remember. Thus is how I began to research it.
Seems silly to get all excited over but I never thought twice about it actually having a name and a genetic link nor a royal link at that. I am French-Canadian on my moms side and Scottish & English on my dad’s side. Both sides with royal links. Very interesting.
January 16, 2010 at 4:07 pm |
I am 19 I have two “clubbed” thumbs, I didn’t relize them till my senior year in highschool till some girl pointed them out. But I’m half Italian half Spanish like a lot of people that have posted. Does anyone know if it’s a indicator of anything besides possible royalty?
January 26, 2010 at 11:54 pm |
Just discovered this AWETHUMB web site. You are my people! I have bilateral clubbed thumbs, and I’ve always been very sensitive about it and hide them. My 3 siblings and my parents (who have normal thumbs) always made fun of me; but I got really mad at them once on a vacation so now it is a taboo subject. Most of us, however, have clubbed pinky toes. Obviously, thumb-sucking can’t be the cause because I ONLY sucked my left thumb. I believe my maternal grandmother had clubbed thumbs. I am UK descent.
Anyhow, I really appreciate Em’s pride and perspective on her thumbs (2/27/09 post) and the fact that her partner and she hope her kids have them. And I laughed at Michelle’s observation about the empty flappy space when we wear gloves (3/6 post) — so true. … And the post about thumb wars.
I heard only that it is associated with high IQ, which I have. In addition, the only other two people I know personally who have clubbed thumbs are two physician women I once worked for, so they very likely have high IQs, too. Maybe there needs to be a survey of Mensa members!
January 27, 2010 at 12:07 am |
Whoops: that was supposed to be paternal grandmother and UK descendant. Some high IQ, eh?!?!?
February 9, 2010 at 12:37 am |
I’m finding this topic so fascinating! I have one clubbed thumb and one normal. My mom has two clubbed thumbs, my dad none. I seriously have one of my mom’s and one of my dad’s. It’s hysterical! Both my parents are from the western part of the island of Crete, Greece. I would love to figure out how this came to be! As far as I know, none of my living relatives have this kind of thumb. Royalty? I would love to believe that..although, which line?
February 9, 2010 at 10:49 am |
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT…. I have just discovered this site and am amazed at all of us fellow Brachydactyly ites!!! I have only just discovered that there is actually a name for my “short, fat, stubby thumbs” to name but a few of the comments over the years.
As you may have guessed by my name I have 2 clubbed thumbs which I have hated all my life. None of my 5 siblings or parents have them so they have always remained hidden whilst in public. I’m from Ireland and have no idea where this could have come from. Royalty?? I don’t think so. But I will go with the high IQ….
February 10, 2010 at 5:40 pm |
I am somewhat relieved to learn that I am not alone, and that they can point to a place on chromosome 12 and say “that’s it!” I have two clubbed thumbs, plus my fingers are stubbed. All my life I considered my hands embarrassing with fat, stubby fingers. I took 8 years of piano lessons in an attempt to improve my hand coordination — thinking toned finger muscles would somehow improve their appearance. No luck — but I can play a pretty good tune! The first thing I looked for in my two children was their hands. No sign of brachydachytly. But I know exactly where mine came from. My mother has the clubbed thumbs, but beautiful perfect fingers to go with them — far less noticeable. As for the connection to “royalty,” it would be nice to believe but I remain very skeptical. This abnormality is autosomal-dominant, and it is far more likely to be expressed in girls than boys. Finding this thread makes me feel that I’m part of a larger group, which helps.
February 21, 2010 at 11:09 am |
I love this website it really helps me be more confident knowing im not the only one with these “clubbed thumbs” and stuby toes! i got made fun of a lot when i was younger but the older i got the better i got at hiding them and the fact that i bit my nails just made em look so much uglier! but now i just dont care. if somebody asks me why my thumbs r so wide and short i just tell em cuz im awesome and got royal blood flowing thru me haha thanks everyone for sharing ur stories 😀
February 22, 2010 at 12:55 am |
Thank you to everyone who has posted very insightful and funny stories on their clubbed thumbs! I also didn’t notice until later in childhood that my thumbs were different, my mom never noticed either! No one that I’m aware of in my family has clubbed thumbs nor do any of my 5 kids! My heritage is Spanish, Portuguese, and Mexican. I’m also ger flexible and have been refered to as “double jointed”. I have been through the embarassed stage of hiding my thumbs and hating when people pointed it out. Once, a guy online saw a picture if me and although I’m thought of as a pretty woman, he noticed my thumbs and made such a commotion. Like another man said to him, she’s beautiful, how and why are you worried about her thumbs??!! I went through getting acrylics to hide the fact and now show my thumbs with confidence and pride. I agree with short thumbs being better at massaging lol. Kudos to Megan Fox for showing off her little thumbs, she is 100% gorgeous! I’m glad there is a site for all of us that have what I now know as clubbed thumbs (30 yr old here). As a blonde haired, green eyed Hispanic, I feel unique and having my stubby thumbs makes me even more unique. Everyone should embrace their uniqueness! I have met less than a handful of fellow clubbed thumbers and everytime I’m intrigued. Still at my age people occasionally make mention of how short and stumpy my thumbs are and my remark now is “yes, yes they are. Aren’t they adorable?” the other person always agrees lol, it’s all about frame of mind and confidence. We are special! I’d rather have short thumbs that never get smashed in the car door than long E.T. Like thumbs that need their own zip code :0) lol
March 12, 2010 at 3:35 pm |
Hi everyone!
Seriously, this forum saved my life.
All my life, I hid my thumbs and I was so cautious about them…
I know that if I had normal thumbs, I would have a higher self-esteem and I could be all flirty with boys and not have to be scared of what they’ll think of me.
I’m 14 years old and I’m Korean.
No one on this forum is yet to have said that they’re Korean. I am the only one in my school with these thumbs and it’s just a huge blessing to read all these stories and relate to them!
No one in my family has clubbed thumbs so it’s weird. And my sister has really nice thumbs so it makes me mad!!
However, my thumbs aren’t like, so flat and wide like most. They’re in between I guess but they’re clubbed enough to call them clubbed thumbs.
I wish there was some surgery to fix them because I still can’t bring myself to accept them! People make fun of me and it just piles up onto my embarrassment 😦 Plus, all my other fingers are lean and long so it looks extra weird with my fingers.
I just know that I’m fortunate to even have functioning thumbs!
Kudos to all of you guys, we are all one! One big clubbed thumb family! 🙂
God bless you alllll!
March 12, 2010 at 4:34 pm |
Once when I used to get my nails done on a regular basis, I went to a shop that was run by an Asian family. The husband started working on my hands when he noticed my thumbs he squeezed my hands and gave me a big smile and said, “We are family”, and then he showed me his thumbs. Sure enough our thumbs looked just alike, me African American and he Asian; needless to say, this is where I continued to go for many years to come.
March 12, 2010 at 5:11 pm |
I had a close Korean friend years ago, a woman, who also had two clubbed thumbs, like me.. but we never talked about it or acknowledged it.
March 16, 2010 at 1:05 pm |
This is so awesome to read everyones’ stories. I’m a two club-thumber, as well as my mom and two of her sisters. I’ve hated my thumbs all my life because everyone made so much fun of me growing up. Someone made a comment about my thumbs recently, so I decided to research again, finally finding a name for it today and all of these great stories that I can soooo relate to. The line that my thumbs come from falls into the Irish/Austrian/Prussian/German/Jewish background and I’ve heard the royalty stories all my life; however, not associated with the thumbs. This adds more fun to my genealogy researching!
May 3, 2010 at 1:47 pm |
I have clubbed thumbs, and so did my grandmother. I am Scottish, Greek, French, German, Irish, and Welsh. I love my thumbs, and always have. People that I have known have liked them. I even got nicknamed “Thumbs” in HS. I have never felt embarrassed by them because they are unique, and if it is a royal trait that it pretty cool.
May 24, 2010 at 3:09 pm |
I have one clubbed thumb
It is on my left hand.
In cases of one clubbed thumb, does it appear more frequently on the right, or left, hand?
Just curious…
July 30, 2010 at 12:10 am |
mine is on the right, have u ever considered surgery?
June 8, 2010 at 3:29 am |
NICE! I have both clubbed thumbs, and dont find them very pretty, i just get along with them and take very good care of them. I found out when I was about 6 and asked my mom: WTH is wrong with my thumbs? haha she told me that it was because I bite my nails (just so that i wouldnt do it anymore) ha! nice try mom but I’ve met a lot of people with these thumbs. Its funny that most of you are from Europe and I’m from Venezuela, and have seen a lot of people from here with them, but most of us come from Spain so… its probably a european thing, ive also met turkish people with clubbed thumbs. I’ve always hated them (c/thumbs) haha but they make me who I am. I would think twice before having surgery (if thats even possible)…But whatever I mean there’s only one life and i wont ruin it because of these silly thumbs haha some friends have laughed about them (not in a mean way) and i just laugh, because I know there are worse things happening right now, and lots of diseases and people with worse abnormalities in their bodies than just funny thumbs so I invite you all to (even if you hate them) be happy with or without clubbed thumbs we’re all different and thumbs are very usefull and important haha im just thankfull i have thumbs!
June 8, 2010 at 3:32 am |
Oh and no one else in my family has them… Im the freaky one, and though im embarrassed by them sometimes I say oh wth we’re all gonna die someday and I dont want to say : My life was ruined because of thumbs… Sounds very silly 😉
June 15, 2010 at 9:52 pm |
I have clubbed thumbs. I believe it is a genetic thing. My aunt and my great grandmother have them. They are both on my father’s side. None of the men in the family have them, however. I wonder if I were to have a daughter, if she would have them.
July 5, 2010 at 4:11 pm |
Hi, i have clubbed thumbs too. I was just wondering if anyone else with them has to click their nuckles every few minutes or they dont they find their joints stick????
August 10, 2010 at 4:57 am |
I never knew I did this until my roommate and I found this website tonight. When she read your question she told me that I bend my club thumb all the time and it cracks. I didn’t believe her but while looking around on the site I did it a few times. I had to come back and tell you.
February 6, 2011 at 7:29 pm |
I am 27 years old and ever since i was a child all my joints in my body click (sometimes hurt). I have been tested and not diagnosed with and type of arthritys. i have 2 clubbed thumbs and 1.5 clubbed tows.
September 28, 2011 at 4:32 am
26 w/ super clicky joints! Lol But somehow very flexible. My legs bend back at the knees when I stand straight, & I can kick really high. Lol When I was younger I could do splits, & touch my feet to my head & pop my shoulder joints in & out of the socket. Sometimes now I feel like my shoulder pops out & I have to slam my body into a wall to fix it. Lol
August 10, 2010 at 4:53 am |
The first time I remember being aware of having different thumbs was my first year of college. I immediately made up a lie and have stuck with it to this day. I tell people that my mom ran over my thumb with her car when I was little and drawing on the driveway with chalk.
My left thumb is clubbed and my right thumb is not. I never even thought to google it until tonight. I hide my thumb inside my hand all the time but now that I know I’m not a one of a kind freak of nature I’ll be more likely to show off my noble thumb.
Both my mother’s and father’s family are Irish. Maybe I have a leprechaun thumb.
August 31, 2010 at 10:21 am |
Hi, i’m 16 and have two clubbed thumbs. I only relised last year when I was at a family gathering and saw no other members of my family had thumbs like mine. When I show people, they all say “I never would have noticed that.” and “They suit your hands quite well.”
I grow my nails really long, and it gives the illusion that my thumbs are longer aswell. They have never really bothered me and I don’t think they ever will.
I’m English on my mother’s side, and Russian/Canadian on my father’s.
September 8, 2010 at 11:28 pm |
I knew i had a club thumb along time ago. my right thumb is the club one and my left is normal. i love to show people my thumbs i think it is so funny to see there reaction. they always ask if i sucked my thumb as a child or if i cut it off. i always say nope just born that way. and i like them. i also never grow nails on my thumbs it looks ridiculous only the 8 other fingers have nice nails. so my thumbs are the only 2 nails that i bite . nobody in my family has thumbs like me.
October 6, 2010 at 1:55 am |
im spanish and have toe thumbs
October 27, 2010 at 7:13 am |
Hey guys!
I realised a lot of you said that since you found this website, you hardly knew anything about these thumbs! Actually , when i was 12 , (i’m 14 now) i was so fascinated about my ugly thumbs that i went on google and typed in “fat thumbs”, and matter of fact-i found out what they were.
No one ever pointed them out to me, i always knew myself. I never embraced them or showed people. In primary school i don’t remember any of my peers commenting on them or anything 🙂 maybe its just cuz they were all too nice to say something..idk.
But now, in year 8 , and since year 7 last year, i’ve hid them. I hate them with a passion! No one knows about them except me, my mum and sisters, and my close friends. They’ve never told anyone (thank god!), but i’m still reeeally embarrassed about them. I’ve always hidden them under my four other fingers, or pulled my sleeves over my hands. And when i hold hands with my boyfriend and stuff i make sure my hand is covering them somehow.
The only thing that’s really bugged me about them is that i can never fit those fake nails on them 😦 Unless i overlap them, it dosnt work haha.
I can imagine what a breeze my life would be like if i didn’t have to worry about hiding my thumbs all the time. i wonder if someday i’ll be confident enough to embrace my thumbs, but i know that doesnt look close! Oh well….i am what i am , and i may as well be grateful that im living 🙂 one imperfection isn’t much.
By the way, about the european royal blood theory, I have absolutely NO european or italian or any other background in my family. I am full Australian, maybe a 1/4 dutch ( my mum’s real dad was dutch) I think these thumbs just pop up sometimes, because none of my family has ever had brachydactyly type d.
🙂
October 15, 2013 at 6:07 am |
Hello, I know you said you don’t have European ancestry, but the case is that you probably do. (dutch is European by the way), and additionally, the Aussies came from England some of them since Australia was one of the conquests of England at one time. You most probably do have royal in there somewhere. I suggest subscribing to ancestry.com and submitting your DNA sample to them. For me, I am Spanish, Italian, Jewish, and French, and some Scottish somewhere in there too I think. fyi, the Spaniards intermarried with other royal families in Europe. English married Spanish, Spanish married English, Spanish married Scottish, and other countries as well including the Dutch I’m very sure. SO you probably are of Royal heritage just like we all are. One thing I found out from my father (my father told me this when I was a little girl), that it’s a known fact that our family are decended from the Spanish Kings and Queens.
October 29, 2010 at 9:11 am |
I didnt know they were called clubbed thumbs til I just came across your website. I’ve hated them all my life. Its so weird you mention there may be a European royalty connect because my ancestors are supposedly the Dukes of Normandy in France, William the conquerer in England, and his forgotten distant descendants thereafter.
October 29, 2010 at 9:12 am |
Also, no one in my family that I know of has this
October 31, 2010 at 3:55 am |
Does anyone know of any surgical procedures to correct these thumbs? I’ve heard of finger lengthening, but not much else. I’m sure the procedure would be pretty costly, and there may be a lot of risks. I may try to speak with a orthopedic hand surgeon in the future to see what options he can come up with.
October 31, 2010 at 8:24 am |
Hi Jonathan,
I might know of a doctor who can do this… If there is a way I can contact you online (email), let me know and I’ll keep you updated to what I find out.
-Raven
October 31, 2010 at 8:51 am
Raven.
could you post any info you find here, about doctors or surgery, for the rest of us too? There are others who have also asked about surgery.. Thank you.
September 7, 2017 at 3:31 am
tashajeanadolph@gmail.com
Please contact me
October 31, 2010 at 10:02 pm |
Hello Raven, thanks for the response. I can be reached at gregjjohns@yahoo.com. Any info you have would be appreciated.
Thank you!
October 31, 2010 at 11:31 pm |
Hi to Jonathan and Beth and anyone interested,
I can be contacted at wee_thumbs[at]yahoo[dot]com. (For any spambots out there, this address is being used only for a short time.:)
(For Jonathan: I’ll send you more info to your email very shortly.)
I am being cautious about publishing online the name of a doctor until I know for sure he/she would want that publicity. Plus, there’s a bit of info to give, so it’s easier to send by email than write on the forum.
-raven
November 1, 2010 at 12:11 am |
Thank you so much Raven!! We all appreciate you taking time to help us out.
How did you find out about this doctor, and have you had the surgery yourself?
January 5, 2011 at 10:10 pm |
Someone asked about clicking the joints…yep, me too. Bilateral ugly thumbs (that’s what I’ve always called mine) and I click them quite frequently b/c they “stick” if I don’t.
I also wouldn’t mind info about surgery. Hey, if some people can have their nose or breasts done, why not my thumbs?!
January 12, 2011 at 9:41 am |
Hah, awesome to know that there are thousands upon thousands of us “freaks” out here. Both of my thumbs are clubbed proportionally to one another. I call them my spoons! Interesting to learn that this condition is a dominant genetic trait. Although, not one of my relatives shares this kick-@ss feature!?!?
People always ask about them so I am quick to give funny reasons as to why they look the way they look. One kid actually believed that I had them surgically done in order to have a better advantage in winning the 1992 World Nintendo Championship. All jokes aside, I am proud of them! I am of european descent, particularly Hungarian. In Hungarian folklore, it is said that Attila the Hun possessed these clubbed thumbs which gave him not only his fiery temper but rather his remarkable skill of launching his razor-sharp javelin hundreds of feet into enemy lines. “Beware of the beast with stubby thumbs” were the last cries of his poor and helpless victims. Long story short – put your unique thumbs to good but not deadly use. For we are the gifted ones!
January 25, 2011 at 3:23 am |
wow. i have one clubby thumb – left hand – and am really surprised at how embarrassing many of you have found the condition. I have so many other positive qualities that my thumb has never outweighed them. Even if someone may have made fun of the thumb – I don’t particularly remember it happening to me, altho it probably did – my self esteem is such that it’s not been an issue. Frankly, I feel more sorry for people with short, upturned noses, thin, lank head hair, cankles, unibrows, prominent leg veins, a really long second toe, moles with one wiry hair growing out of them, or fat knees.
See what I mean? There are so many physical traits that could be considered abnormal, ugly, or shameful. But they really aren’t a big deal to those of us with clubby thumbs. Because you are probably too busy obsessing over your own imperfection to notice theirs. I imagine whatever it is an individual has, that person tends to be quite sensitive to that issue. I bet pig-nosed people obsess over their noses and would gladly trade that nose for a short fat thumb. Maybe some of these sad souls have consoled themselves by making sport of other people who happen to have clubby thumbs, but come on! Of all the physical traits affecting overall utility and nonconformity with societal standards of beauty, a short fat thumb or two is way back on the scale toward not an issue!
I can see kids going through a period of insecurity over their thumbs not conforming to the perceived normal thumb conformational standard, but you adults who are still embarrassed? Really? Haven’t you learned anything about relative importance of issues in life? Grown a sense of self that makes shame over your thumbs irrelevant? If you are still hanging out with people who make fun of your thumbs – as an adult – it is high time to find new friends!
To the kids dealing with crappy other kids who take the opportunity to highlight any difference: it will get better, believe me!
To the adults still hiding their thumbs in shame: you need to grow up and realize that nobody cares! Find something else to hook your identity to, please!
January 29, 2011 at 12:30 am |
I have two “clubbed thumbs”. I’m German & Scottish & Irish (although, i don’t look like it..) I’m only 14 & I first noticed my thumbs when my mother pointed them out at age 6. I used to be really self-consious of my thumbs, but I’ve learned to ignore what other people think about them. They make me who i am: unique. I do hate it when people point them out & freek out like I’m some repulsive monster. I personally love my thumbs. So do my friends. They’re cute. We all kinda joke about them.
Resently, I’ve been kinda curious about where my thumbs came from. I’ve never met anyone with thumbs like mine, including family members. Once I finally looked it up (today), I learned that they’re also called “murderer’s thmbs” (?) & were coined by gipseys…. odd. Good, creapy stuff to tell people when they ask to see them.
But, it’s nice to see that there’s so many other people out there with the same thumbs! I’m very pleased to come across this blog. Now i know I’m not alone in this world!
But, honestly, no matter what anybody thinks or says; clubbed thumbs are awesome!
February 6, 2011 at 8:05 pm |
I have clubbed thumbs on both my hands (the rest of my hand looks gentle)
Personality: super sensitive + super violent. But i am very much in control of my self. I have a very artistic mind.
I have a tendacy of beeing a lonely wolf even when i am with freinds.
Ancestry of my thumbs: My older sister has clubbed thumbs. My father had 2 clubbed thumbs and we were very alike (personality). My father inhereted the thumbs from his mother.
She (my fathers mother) came from London (last name: Solomons)
Her family came from lithuania. (Last name: Soloveitchik)
The Soloveitchiks were Jews.
Thats as far i can go tracing my ancestry of thumbs.
My 3 children do not have these thumbs though most of my nefews have clubbed thumbs.
Blood type: A-
The people I have seen with these thumbs:
A Europian Jew who is a “Cohen” (Cohen – a direct descendant of Aharon the Cohen [priest], the brother of Moses the prophet)
A europian Jewess from hungary though she looked VERY Indian-Semetic (Dark skin from her hungarian side…strange)
A muslim – from India
An Arab (he was in jail for murder)
Thats all I can remember.
I am sure it is hereditary and i wonder if it is possible to trace back to the first brachydactyly ppl who had it. perhaps find something in common.
I would like to see how much we all have in common.
Hope I helped in some way.
Good luck brachydactyly freinds!
March 21, 2011 at 5:30 pm |
Hi, I’m 15 years old (from England/London) and I have 2 clubbed thumbs but there not as small and wide as some pictures I have seen but to me they are still very noticeable. I have seen pictures of when I was younger and my thumbs look slightly small but not too bad but now I am so conscious of them. I am a very shy girl as it is and have a very low self esteem which doesn’t help.
I first found out that my thumbs were “different” when I was at junior school (so arund 9/10 years old) and from then on I became more and more conscious about them. More and more people started to notice them and they would make horrible comments when they saw them and I thought I was different from everyone else. I’m now in year 10 and I am more aware of them than I have ever been. I hide them as much as possible and always tuck them under my fingers when I’m at school. I even hold my pen so that my thumbs aren’t very noticeable. My friends noticed them a few years ago but they just think there fine and we even joke about them which I don’t mind! One of my new friends noticed them the other day and thought they were cute which made me laugh! And she said her mum had noticed which made me realize they must be quite noticeable but I just laughed it off.
I was so happy when I realized that megan fox had the same thumbs as me, although when I look at hers I notice that are wider and smaller than mine. She doesn’t mind either and is so confident and I admire her for that!
However this does affect my life and I feel very down about them and have read you can have surgery. I would obviously have to wait until I was 18 as my mum would think it was silly but I would seriously consider it! I don’t have a boyfriend and have never had a serious boyfriend and I would feel nervous if I did get one, and I feel like nobody would ever want to be with me because of them. I’m not one of the “popular” kids at school but I do have a lovely group of friends but I used to get bullied because of the way I look and would get told I had a big nose and would be laughed at because I had hair above my upper lip…but I hit the girl that laughed at me and nobody ever said anymore about it and she apologized! But I am very happy there are others with the same problem as me!
Sorry about all the writing but this is the first time I have felt comfortable talking about it!
March 22, 2011 at 8:43 am |
Ellie,
I went through the same thing that you’re going through now (& I’m 48 years old!) As you know, there are many cruel people in this world, and then there are those that are just plain stupid & don’t realize they’re insulting or hurting you. But you seem very intelligent and much more confident than I ever was, plus the fact that you have great friends who stand by you through good & bad is really all that matters. They see that there is more to people than the size of their fingers, and I’m sure there’s a special guy out there who will also see what a terrific person you are and not care about the size of your thumbs. I was married for 10 years and my husband never mentioned it once – obviously he couldn’t care less, and aside from my family he was the first person I could ‘relax’ with and not be aware of ‘exposing’ or hiding my thumbs around him. Any guy who would make fun of you is certainly not worth your time, and those girls that make fun of you do so because of their own insecurities & need to put other people down to make themselves feel better. Please don’t let this get to your self-esteem, you sound like a lovely young woman, and I’m sure you’ll do fine!
March 22, 2011 at 8:52 am |
I found this definition on clubbed fingers & toes from National Institute of Health, so is it really the correct term for those of us on this forum? Because I don’t have this condition (‘thickening of flesh under the nails’) that’s described – just very wide thumbs & big toes.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003282.htm
April 2, 2011 at 9:52 pm |
i am from greece.i don’ t know good english. i have this problem, too. but i have one normal thumb and one with this problem. i am 18 years old . what i can to do?? i feel very bad.. my friends laught with me and i feel………………..
April 8, 2011 at 10:19 pm |
I have a problem! I have a clubbed thumb on my left hand and my dads thumbs are both clubbed, and my right thumb is like a normal thumb and my mum has two normal thumbs. I just really want to know if anyone elee has this, my science teacher in secondary school coudn’t explain it and i have never seen anyone else with the same as me. AHH WHAT COULD IT BE!
April 13, 2011 at 12:54 am |
(Just out of curiosity)
Hey, I’m 14 and I have this. By any chance, would my thumbs grow anymore? They’re only 5cm. I find it annoying because I really enjoy discus and I can’t even fit my hand around it.
Sorry.
Thanks.
May 4, 2011 at 11:32 pm |
I am 57 years old. I realized when I was a child that I had 2 different thumbs. My left is clubbed and my right is normal. I always said one was my mom’s and one was my dad’s. I used to hide my hands in front of people. Now I don’t even think about it. They’re a part of me. I still get my nails done and my manicurist never has said a word about it. I would rather have a short thumb than have no thumb at all.
May 7, 2011 at 5:49 am |
I have two toe thumbs and it sucks i think i discovered it in 3 grade my dad’s side of the family has it. and does anyone know were i could get them fixed
May 14, 2011 at 1:57 am |
Hello All. Below is information I received from “Raven,” a past user of this forum. I hope this helps. As for a doctor saying it’s impossible, I’ve heard otherwise. Please inform us if you’ve heard of these doctors, or any others that may help us.
Thanks!
Hi Jonathan,
This is ‘Raven’ from the clubbed thumb forum replying to your request about possible doctors who might do cosmetic surgery for brachy’ d.
What I’ve found are 3 doctors who have said they could do something for the thumbs, and each was for a different way of improvement., If you are able to travel, there is a dr in Thailand who said he could lengthen the thumbs, but making them thinner was not something he was comfortable to do because of the probability of it creating stiffness in the thumb. (However, he was open to changing his mind but needed to see the hands in person.)
This is the information I got back from that hospital:
I have consulted our specialist regarding your case and his response was as follows;
Treatment Plan: Osteotomy and Free bone graft from toe.
Osteotomy is a surgical operation whereby a bone is cut to lengthen, or change its alignment.
Estimated Cost: 500,000 THB
Estimated length of stay: 5 days
Cost Excludes:
Charges for additional stays at the hospital
Items of personal nature e.g. special nursing
Pre-operative studies such as laboratory tests, radiologic studies, etc. & underlying diseases
Treatment of underlying diseases
Take home medication
Please note that the cost will vary on the severity of the case, medicines and medical supplies used. Charges to other procedures or tests that the doctor may order will apply. Price is subject to change without further notice.
Should you wish to come to our hospital for consultation, please provide me with your birthday, nationality and preferred date of visit so I can book an appointment for you. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me for further assistance.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Heide Hamili, R.N.
International Nurse Coordinator
Vejthani Hospital
(Bangkok, Thailand)
As you can see, that one is not so ideal and is rather expensive (I think it’s about $16K USD). It’s strange that doctors feel it’s ok to chop a piece of bone off the toes and make them stiff (it would for sure) but in that doctor’s opinion, it’s not ok to just shave down part of the bone off the thumb. I have a feeling that this procedure would create a very stiff thumb joint anyway.
The 2nd doctor is one I went to in ’98 when I was looking for doctors who could do surgery for my thumbs (I’ve been at this research for a while! lol). Even though I was disappointed to hear that “no surgery could be done” for BDD, he was willing to remove the bulkiness of the soft tissue to make them appear more slender. I had this done and I’m happy with it because I feel it looks better on my right (although not “normal” looking, just slimmer), even though on my left thumb it’s questionable if it was an improvement. My left thumb is more asymmetrical and clubbed than my right (they both definitely have BDD, though –short thumb, blunted tip, wide nail) and thinning out the soft tissue made the “deformity” of the thumb tip become more apparent, but it was my decision to have so much soft tissue removed. This doctor is a very good surgeon and has a nice personality overall. When I had it done, it cost $1000 CDN for both hands, though undoubtedly it’d be a bit more now, and it required a referral by my GP doctor to see him for this. However, he’s now doing more cosmetic surgery work where anyone can book an appointment without a referral. If you do end up having a consulation with him, if he asks how you found his name, maybe just say someone on a forum highly recommended him for his work in this area (he won’t know me by the name “Raven”). The dr’s info; Dr. Nicholas Carr in Vancouver http://www.skinworks.ca/our-team/dr-nick-carr/.
To book a consultation with Dr. Carr, please call us at 604-733-9711 or request an appointment online
And the 3rd doctor, so far from the information I’ve been given sounds to be what I personally am looking for which is to have the side of the thumb tip shaved down. I know this being done for toes, cosmetically, and I know it’s literally possible that this can be done for the thumbs. However, there’s the issue about an important nerve that runs along the side of the thumb, and whenever surgery/trauma is done around a joint, stiffness is always an effect and there’s the potential of nerves not healing well which would create numbness. I’ve read that stiffness (caused by scar tissue/adhesions in the joint) can be softened up by ultrasound, although I don’t know how well it works.
I’ve not given the dr’s name just yet because it doesn’t seem that he’s 100% sure he can or will do this. I plan to see him in December if he’s available (I will book an appt this week) and find out in person whether this is for sure and can give you a follow-up about that right after. The messages from his clinic sound promising although it was initially in reply to having just one side of the thumb done (to get past the usual doctor’s reply that surgery could create numbness). When I talk to this dr, though, I am going to ask about both sides done since that is what would give an actual improvement. When toes are used to replace thumbs, they are ‘remodeled’ to make the bones thinner to fit the size of the hand. So if that is done without worry of the toe losing its function, it’s possible the thumbs can be done as well.
Overall, as far as surgery goes, it’s not a complicated procedure for a surgeon to do, other than perhaps taking care of not negatively affecting certain areas of the thumb. It’s done in the dr’s clinic (unless the person wants to be unconscious then it’s done in the surgerical room likely with twilight anesthesia and more cost), and probably would take no more than a 1/2 hr per thumb. The thumb is sterilized, numbed by a needle injection, a tourniquet is applied, an incision is made, the bone is filed down, it’s sewed up, cleaned, and bandages are put on it. And as we know, the results could be so beneficial to a person who has been self-consciousness almost all their life about their hands’ appearance.
Anyway, here’s the info I was given for the 3rd doctor a few weeks ago (minus the dr’s name and hospital for now until I talk to this dr at the consultation). I will let him know there are many other’s looking for this kind of surgery and if he could do this, he will have patients from around the world…
(1st message)
The procedure you want is an unusual procedure. Dr…. told me he will do it and he proposed to do it on both hands for a better result. I am waiting for his response about the price for that procedure. I will send you all the details as soon as I get them.
[I also asked if both hands could be done during the same visit and he said yes.]
(2nd message sent)
I got an answer from Dr… The price for your procedure is $1,600usd
This price includes:
-All hospital fees
-All surgeon fees
-All ground transportation
-Anesthesiologist fees
-Personal bilingual assistant
-Pre-op and post-op consultations with the surgeon
June 15, 2011 at 8:32 pm |
Jonny,
I specifically did not want to have certain doctor’s names published on here because I don’t have their ‘ok’ to do that, and I wrote that to you. I have posted my email (under the name “Raven”) so anyone could write me directly and get this information privately. So why did you go ahead and publish my email to you on this forum? WTF. And the reason you don’t have any more information about the surgery is because you didn’t reply to my email (that had the information you’ve posted here) and just asked for it, as well as no ‘thanks’ or anything else for the info I had given to you.
I’ve emailed the moderator to remove your posting or have the doctor’s name blocked out, but the address given on this website for “Alf” does not work.
May 14, 2011 at 6:04 am |
Thank you Jonny. I have been waiting for someone to post this information. I remember Raven discussing this in the past..
Can you at least tell me the location of the 3rd doctor? City and State? I hope this dr is in the USA.
Thank you so much,
Beth
May 15, 2011 at 3:22 am |
Beth, actually what I posted is everything she gave me. Try doing searches for thumb lengthening, limb lengthening, finger lengthening, etc… and call any doctors you see. I have a couple family members who are doctors, and I know how doctors offices work. Call an office and ask if they have ever done this type of surgery. You should be able to get a straight answer.
Personally, as a US citizen, I would never travel to another country for any kind of surgery done. Generally, other countries have lower medical standards. It’s just not worth the savings or risk of a malfunction.
The best advice I have gotten so far is to search for an orthopedic hand surgeon. Make a consultation, and if that dr can’t help you, he will probably be able to point you in the right direction.
Personally, I just want them lengthened a little, and I want normal bendability in my left thumb, so I can improve on guitar.
June 4, 2011 at 7:38 pm |
Hi guys!
Well,I thought I was the only one that had the bulkiness removed from the soft thumb tissue…till I read Jonny’s post..Thumbs look more slender,I’d say elegant and I had so much trouble to find the surgeon that wanted to make surgery.I was rejected at the best clinic in our country(I live in Serbia),by the doctor who said that hands were for functioning and nothing else.He also recomended not to go to some private clinic where they would do it..but I would have consequences…Of course I have found surgeon at private clinic and he agreed,as he said,to make my thumbs look more elegant!Well,he managed!I’m satisfied,a lot more confident,etc..But,my thumbs are not so strong as before…And as Raven mentioned the deformity…well,you never know the post operational flow as the liquid can appear in the tissue,as in my case did so after a year I had another “surgery”,straining the skin and removing the liquid.I also have sensations in them as there are many nerves around..It all happened back in the year of 2000.
I’m not saying that my thumbs are deformed,no way,they look much better,slender and smaller now and Im very satisfied but who ever wants to have any kind of surgery done on their fingers has to know that they are full of nerves and you will have sensations in them.No matter how good hand specialist surgeon is,he can never be in your skin…My point is that after this kind of surgery you will feel your fingers all the time..I can’t really explain..It’s not bad or good,it’s different.One more thing that is important is that soft tissue actually feeds the bone,providing blood for it..so removing some amount of the soft tissue… bone can not have enough food provided…Just look at benefits and less positive things if you decide to do that…I wish you luck!!!
June 4, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Btw.the doctor said to me that clubbed thumbs are thumbs that didn’t grow enough..
June 4, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Thank you very much Nina for this valuable information. It gives many of us the info we need to make a well informed decision. I’m glad you are happy with your results. I am getting too old now to care anymore.. although I still wish it were an easy thing to change. I know, in my experience consulting doctors about this, they did tell me that they couldnt do it because it would affect the nerves of the thumbs..and they said that was not good.. But, they did tell me they could remove the bulk of soft tissue at the ball of the thumb.
Thank you again…
June 4, 2011 at 9:47 pm
The structure of the thumb shows the condition and prenatal development of the lungs. It may be that there was some unnatural pressure in the womb, pushing up against the lungs during prenatal development, preventing them from developing correctly, or should I say, squeezing off/stunting their growth.. in some way. ???
May 15, 2011 at 4:33 am |
So, are you saying that she never got back to you with a report about doctor #3?
I did this research many years ago (30 yrs ago ?) when I was young. The plastic surgeons I went too said it was not a possible operation, due to the nerves in the hand and fingers. But, they could, they said, remove the *bulk* of the back (ball) of the thumb.
Well, thank you very much for what you have posted here, Jonny. It does give some hope that this surgery will someday be refined and available for people. I will try a little more to hunt around. If anyone else has any info, I hope they will post it here.
thanks…
May 17, 2011 at 10:33 pm |
No, she never got back to me with more info on the third doctor.
Thankfully, they told you it wasn’t possible 30 years ago, and not today. I know for a fact limb/ finger lengthening surgery does exist. It is used for people with more serious conditions of clubbing. I know dwarfs can have this procedure done, along with people born with limbs that aren’t long enough to function properly.
Which reminds me, she also gave me some info on finger lengthening, which was included in a separate email. Here it is:
Hi Jonathan,
I agree, there have been few doctors who were willing to consider surgery on this condition. But, on a positive side, I had only been inquiring about making the thumbs narrower at the tip. The lengthening option came from a doctor as an alternative for cosmetic improvement. You may have a much easier time finding surgery for this type of treatment and it’d probably be more straightforward getting the doctor to understand the reasons for wanting it done. In fact, I remember asking a doctor (Dr. Fournier) in San Jose, Costa Rica a few years ago (I travel a lot as part of my job) and he said he lengthen them, no problem (other than that it would require putting a device in the bone that would have be turned every few days for about 3 months… ouch), just not anything else. Most likely there are a number of hand specialists who can help you in the US.
I had found those doctors mentioned from searches online (other than the Vancouver doctor), But I have been to the places the clinics or hospital are located and felt a basic trust that they were ‘above board’ for the medical work they are offering.
I’d be very happy to know what you find out, and definitely if you do get the surgery you are looking for!
Definitely have a look at the photos in this link http://www.eatonhand.com/img/img00105.htm… it looks very painful but I guess it’s one of the ‘tried and true’ way of lengthening bones. From the response I’ve been given from doctors, it’s not a big problem to have that done (compared to the fuss they make when I’ve suggested filing down the sides of the tip), as long as you have enough bone from the bottom of the nail plate to the top of the joint, and I’m not sure but I don’t think it requires a graft. The quote by the osteopath from Thailand wanted to do just a bone graft without the device to extend the length, so I guess those are 2 different options.
Kind regards to you,
Raven
I am about to contact a doctor in LA about finger lengthening, so I will get back to anyone interested very soon. I hope this helps even more, and please keep the rest of us posted with any more information.
-Jonny
June 4, 2011 at 10:38 pm |
Nina – Can you possibly tell us who this doctor is, what the name of the clinic is, and what country is this doctor in? Is he/she in Serbia? Was this a difficult surgery? Where you put under general anesthesia, or local anesthesia? How long was the surgery? How long did it take you to heal until your thumbs were functional and felt somewhat normal again? And, has this doctor ever done this surgery on other people, other than yourself?
Thank you again…
Beth
June 5, 2011 at 9:47 am |
Hi Beth,I was actually the first one that had this small operation done at that clinic.I was not contacted the doctor any more..so I don’t know if he did some more operations but I doubt he did.:)
Anesthesia was local.The surgery lasted only an hour I think..both fingers at ones..but recovery was long..The doctor said I would be completely recovered in 2 weeks but it took me 6 months to move my thumbs properly and for that bluish color to disappear..Again,I had to go again to the clinic after a year as the liquid appeared under the skin.But this was my experience and I guess someone else can recover faster..
I really think you can get that surgery in your country.That is not an expencive surgery,that’s only straining of the skin after removing some soft tissue.
I can tell you, Beth,the name of the clinic and of the doctor(if he still works there as this happened 11 years ago) privately,to the email address.
But I’m sure you can get this surgery in US or wherever Raven (from Jonny’s post) has done it.
June 14, 2014 at 7:08 pm |
I would never subject myself to surgery. Plus, I love my thumbs. I’d never change them! Who cares what other people think!
June 5, 2011 at 10:06 am |
Beth Says:
June 4, 2011 at 9:47 pm
The structure of the thumb shows the condition and prenatal development of the lungs. It may be that there was some unnatural pressure in the womb, pushing up against the lungs during prenatal development, preventing them from developing correctly, or should I say, squeezing off/stunting their growth.. in some way. ???
Beth,my father has clubbed thumbs in his foot.
So I think its just genetically inhereted.
June 21, 2011 at 2:58 pm |
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July 27, 2011 at 10:36 pm |
It’s really interesting to discover that so many other people have clubbed thumbs. I love my thumbs. I have never met anyone else with club thumbs, and I like being so distinctive. However, nobody ever notices – to my disappointment! Anyway, as far as I am concerned – my thumbs are normal, it’s everyone else’s thumbs that look a bit wierd. It really surprises me that some people on this forum have been teased about their thumbs, or hate the way their thumbs look. It is such a tiny difference – much less dramatic than having red hair, or being unusually tall or short, or anything like that. I think the bitchy people that bully or tease others will just look for some feature to peg their bullying on – and it’s just chance what feature they pick on, or even what person they pick on. Teasing someone because their thumbs are 3 millimetres shorter than usual is really desperate. Personally, I was mortified by my freckles when I was young, and did get teased a little about them. But never the thumbs. Honestly, I’ve been alive for 45 years and nobody ever notices them unless I point it out to them. I don’t think I noticed them myself until I was about 8 or 9. I always assumed as a child that it was caused by the fact that I never sucked my thumbs when I was little. But now I know it’s because I’ve got royal blood. Fantastic! (They do make it slightly harder to text, though. But I’m good at painting and drawing).
February 26, 2013 at 6:10 pm |
I’m right there with ya. I love my thumbs and so do my boys and hubby. Your right bullys are just trying to find something. I think maybe because they are insecure. I didn’t notice until I was about 8-9 too. I’m good at Crafts and am very strong with my thumbs too. Funny you say about texting. I can’t text. 🙂
June 14, 2014 at 7:03 pm
yea I hate the no texting thing. It totally stinks! I can’t text either, at least not the way everyone else does. I have found ways around it and use my my other fingers and also I use the “swipe” feature which is really useful! where there is a will, there is a way!!
June 14, 2014 at 7:05 pm |
read my posts on this page about genealogy, you’d be interested to find out what you may have lurking in your bloodline! lol
August 11, 2011 at 3:20 pm |
Wow. I did NOT know that there were SO many people with the exact same difference as me. My left thumb is long, matching my fingers. My right thumb is clubbed and I like to call it my ‘gimpy’ thumb or my ‘gamer’ thumb – it makes it easy to button mash, especially the A button on the Wii-remote 😉 People are always fascinated if they see the difference in my thumbs, and I’m sometimes forced to show other people by my friends 😉 I’ve never been embarrassed by it, though. It makes me feel…special? Maybe. But different, more. And I don’t mind. After all, if everyone was the same, how boring would the world be?
People always ask if I was in an accident or something. I always say I was born that way, and I didn’t know there was a name for it until I googled it today…After all, I don’t know ANYONE with the same issue, not even a family member. I consider this a great moment of discovery. Success!!!
August 19, 2011 at 11:37 pm |
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September 27, 2011 at 4:35 pm |
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September 28, 2011 at 4:19 am |
Hey everyone! Well lets see…I discovered this deformity in highschool, or I should say someone else discovered it for me. Lol It was tough b/c people made fun, but its highschool, ya know? The only people I know of are another girl in highschool who is half White(not sure what exactly) & half Japanese I believe, and the actresses Sanaa Lathan & Megan Fox. My mother is Mexican-American & my father is Black (from southern USA). I know Mexicans are of European(Spain) & Native American descent, but I dont know anyone else in the family with this trait. My father who I dont know very well has a son that I suspect may have some sort of hand deformity, but thats just from looking at pics, so who knows what dude its from. Lol My toes are normal & I have no problems with the thumb (psychologically), but I do have another issue. In addition to type D which effects my right thumb, I also have what I think may be type E which effects left ring finger & right ring & pinkie. It appears that the bones at the base of my hand (metacarpals) may have fused together thus giving these fingers a “shortened” appearance & Im also lacking all three corresponding knuckles! My middle fingers also appear larger in length & those knuckles are larger than they should be. Anyways…this has caused my insecurities more than the thumb. I often see people look at my hands & then their own back & forth. Lol Its easier being older (26), so I dont care as much, but there are still people from highschool who wont let me live it down. My biggest worry is marriage because I dont wear rings & would be embarrased to show my hands. I also have really bad grip & I fear arthritis may be in my future. Couldnt play the violin in Middle School & it was cool when my Mom cursed out the teacher b/c he didnt believe me & thought I was taking it up. Lol This is really long btw…sorry about that. Anyone considering surgery…c’mon…its SO not worth it & thats coming from me who has it even worse! Glad Im not alone and Im sure ur all beautiful, unique people. Life is too short obsess over short digits. Lol LIVE LAUGH LOVE!!! Peace…<3
September 28, 2011 at 4:26 am |
I meant, not sure which “side” (paternal/maternal) its from, not “dude”. Lol And just wanted to say Im blood type O cause someone had mentioned negative blood types. Ok, now Im done. Lol
September 28, 2011 at 4:40 am |
Don’t judge me…I’m an obsessive editor. I hate auto-correct!!! Grrrr. I meant, I’m O-positive blood type…in response to the negative blood type correlation. That’s it. Goodnight!
September 29, 2011 at 2:39 am |
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October 1, 2011 at 2:49 pm |
Same goes with me. i dont realize that i had clubbed thumb by myself, but from my family. they keep insulting me about my thumb. seriously, i feel very shame with my thumb. somehow, when im in high school, lot of people said that my thumb look small and cute. then, i dont feel shame with my thumb anymore. btw, im from malaysia and very far away from europe.
June 14, 2014 at 6:58 pm |
find my replies on this page about genealogy. You probably have something in there somewhere in your dna that you are unaware of. Get your ancestry.com DNA test done and you’ll know. Perhaps you ancestors moved from another country. anyway, getting a DNA test done is very interesting and can help you find out things about yourself that you never even knew!
October 12, 2011 at 9:41 am |
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October 22, 2011 at 12:49 am |
lol in 5th grade i noticed that i was like the only one in my whole school that has clubbed thumbs.I wasnt assamed of them but my friends would always ask me why my thumbs are the way they are.Like 10 minutes ago i finally found that there are lots of people with my thumbs XD.Its strage to think though because im 3/4 mexican and only 1/4 lithunaian and im the one child of my dad that got the thumbs.It might skip a generation because my dad doesnt have them but my grandpa might have had them since he was pure lithunians.
October 22, 2011 at 10:16 am |
I noticed my thumbs were shorter in proportion to the rest of my fingers when I found it difficult to pick out change in my clutch wallet.Now I just shake it out.Also if anyone notices I say i’m not all thumbs like some people.I have Cherokee Indian Scottish-Irish German Dutch roots in my bloodline my brother and two of my sister’s have them.My grandchildrens thumbs are normal as far as I can tell.I have enjoyed reading all the comments on this site and am very comforted that I am not alone.
November 8, 2011 at 5:38 am |
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November 11, 2011 at 7:30 am |
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November 13, 2011 at 6:42 am |
If you’ve had surgery can you please post here?
What procedures have you had and do you have before/after pictures?
November 24, 2011 at 3:08 am |
I have found someone that can lengthen fingers using a ilizarov device. If anyone knows someone that can shave down the sides of the thumb or do any other type of surgery I will be willing to exchange information at this email,
anon96369 @ gmail . com
November 29, 2011 at 1:13 am |
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January 2, 2012 at 3:21 am |
It is interesting to hear that Clubbed Thumbs could be a trait of European Royal decent. My cousin has been working on our ancestral lineage for over 25 years and she discovered that we are direct decedents from several European Kings. According to research, I am the 32nd great-granddaughter of William the Conqueror although I certainly wouldn’t bet money on that. I had to chuckle upon reading the royalty/clubbed thumb connection.
January 9, 2012 at 4:36 am |
Hello!
So… I’ve got a few stories about my thumbs! (I mean clubbed thumbs, fat thumbs, weird thumbs etc.) I first notices them as a child when my brother would tease me. . . GO FIGURE! I also noticed that my cousin (maternal side) has these thumbs. No one else in the family that I know of.
EVERYONE is always commenting on them… Or asking if they can take a closer look…. Like they’re some kind of freaky disfigurement! Puh-lease!! These things never bothered me much.. As they were pretty regular. However, there is one thing that still gets me everytime. THE FREAKIN NAIL SALON!! I go every two weeks, get a full set, refills etc. They would put the tips on all the fingers and when they would get to my thumbs, those bitches would always stop.. Ask for someone else to come take a look… Laugh (literally laugh).. Try all these sizes that would never quite fit properly.. Then finally one hoebag got a tip for a big toe and brought it over! I nearly flipped out.. Said FUCK IT, and left. I finally found a place that is decent and doesn’t make me and my goofy thumbs feel out of place like I’ve got the plague or something!
I don’t really worry about the “clubbed thumbs” unless I’m at the nail salon.. That’s the only place that it bothers me.
It’s funny.. I have so much in common with the other people who have posted on here! I feel like I have been through all these stories myself
I’d like to know what the deal is with the ‘cousin’ thing… Seems pretty common. More so than siblings.
February 4, 2012 at 6:45 pm |
It is amazing to find this site as I have always been conscious of my ‘club thumbs’ since I was very small. The only person in my family who had them was a first cousin. My response as a young boy was to note that I was very good at thumb wrestling and felt that it made my hands strong.
It wasn’t until I ws an adult that discovered another person with the trait, an attractive young woman whom I met at a public pool. I happened to be reading Even Cowgirls Get the Blues a book I now look at as the idealization of big thumbs. Sissy Hankshaww
Hs indescribably large thumbs which enables her to be a hitchhiker par excellent.
So my come on line to this woman who was reading Cowgirls was to say how do you like it, and show her my thumbs to demonstrate why I related to the book. First she showed me her own similar thumbs and proceeded to tell me a story about going to the Edgar Casey Institute where she was approAched on a tour by a guide who asked if she knew knew where they came from. He then proceeded to say that Casey, who was an uneducated but world renowned Seer of a devout religious Christian orientAtion, wrote about people who had that characteristic in the settlements of the Essenes, a Jewish sect who are known best for living near the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
Upon researching them I discovered that they were an aesthetic sect who strictly followed the laws, lived in a communal society (the Kibbutz was inspired by them), and were so respected that they were used as third party Mediators in disputes because of their incorruptibility.
I have been a mediator for over thirty years. The woman I met worked for a Catholic social service agency run by an order of nuns who are consciously communal- their reputation working with teens is exemplary. The young woman was Jewish as was the head of the center she worked for a nun who converted from Judaism whose family was very Orthodox.
Since that time virtually all the people I have known with are Jewish or trace their heritage to some Jewish relatives. Sme have one or two large thumbs and most have a sensitivity to responsibility to others, often in work that has a social responsibility like education or social service.
For me it has not only allowed me to embrace my thumbs as an important part of who I am but also see them as a symbol of the life’s work I have found as a mediator and as one whose passion is to integrate collaboration and mutual respect into very aspect of my contacts with the world.
February 4, 2012 at 10:04 pm |
Wow, Mark . thank you! I almost deleted this email alert and didn’t read your comment, but I’m so glad I did. I have great respect and trust for Edgar Cayce, and take seriously all information that he brought through. This is probably the most positive explanation for clubbed thumbs that I’ve heard. I wonder if I can trace this information in Cayce’s works? This should give all of us a bit of self esteem. While I am not formally, or by profession, involved in social service etc. I would say that it is the essence of my consciousness. I have been a spiritual seeker all my life, and if I were a bit stronger , I would publicly teach what I know..I think this falls into the category you speak of. I am going to save your post forever, and read it many times. And going to now look for more information on this. Thank you again. Beth
February 17, 2012 at 2:19 am |
My name is Ashlyn and I figured out in 3rd grade that i have clubbed thumbs and my grandma and my auntie has the thumbs to
March 26, 2012 at 2:50 pm |
i always hated that damn thumb, i have 2 of them, they’re hideous. people always make fun of em even my parents asks me where do i get it from. i’m 17, my dad is austrian kurdish and my mom is malaysian, and im living in malaysia. i have never seen any of my family members that has it. COULD IT BE THAT IM ADOPTED?! OR DID MY MOM TOOK THE WRONG BABY AT THE GODDAMN HOSPITAL!?
my friends say they look cute well fuck it i know by “cute” they mean weird. and some say my thumbs look funny, darn motherfuckers… even if they have nice long thumbs what’s the use if their face are like donkeys?
well i found out that Megan Fox and loads of other people have the same thumb, it makes me feel so much better! i really respect her that she doesnt even bother about hiding her thumb.
so to all the kids that just found out that they have the same thumb, when people say things about your thumb, just tell them
“BITCH PLEASE, I’M RELATED TO MEGAN FOX.” xD
if it doesn’t work, just bitch slap that fucking cunt 🙂
October 4, 2012 at 11:22 am |
right on ! hahaa 🙂
June 14, 2014 at 7:19 pm |
check out my posts on this page relating to genealogy. your thumbs are inherited, and neither of my parents have them. It usually comes from another ancestor, like a great aunt great uncle or great grandparent. If a parent has them and the child also has them, it just means that the gene that causes BDD, (HOXD13), is stronger in the family. So since none of your family members have them in your immediate family, that means your ancestors have them and that your father probably carries the gene. Some people in this forum have reported it skipping a generation which is the reason your father doesnt have it and you do. My research that I’ve done on this shows a lot linked to European Royalty of any country. European Royalty of all countries all intermarried with each other, Especially, Spain, Austria, France and Germany. So being that your father is Austrian, there you go!! So, NO you’re probably not adopted, you can rest your mind! haha! :p
March 29, 2012 at 1:07 am |
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June 11, 2012 at 6:49 pm |
I have clubbed thumbs and to be honest, I quite like them! There funny looking and are great to start a conversation with.
I love painting my nails and that can be annoying if i want to try a cool new design because i have to change it to fit. Plus i can’t where false nails, but hey ho what you going to do.
I’ve never been bullied about them. My friends mock them a bit but i know they are only joking. Some people say “ewww what’s wrong with your thumbs” and I usually say aren’t they cool and weird then shove them in the guys face!
A funny thumb related story: I was on the tube and these two guys were standing opposite me and i saw them staring at my hands so i moved them a bit to see what they would do and they kinda awkwardly looked away. Then i asked them if they were looking at my thumbs. And one of them said “umm yes.. They’re awesome!” And then they asked for a photo. So that was quite amusing!
October 4, 2012 at 11:19 am |
Ohh boy ! Doing my nails can be annoying . But I have gotten my nails done before it was very akward though cause the lady who was doing my nails just seemed to stare at my thumbs . So I decided to tell her my thumbs are quite sexy aren’t they (; LOl. GBU !
June 14, 2014 at 6:51 pm |
You totally can get false nails with BDD thumbs, you just have to explain to the nail person how to do it. Before I played guitar, I used to get my nails done all the time. They simply will do this: find the largest nail they have, glue it right in the middle, and then put the accrylic or whatever substance they are using now, around it. It’s really not all that difficult to do. If you find a good salon, they will do it for you, because after all their whole job is to please the customer. Believe me, they’ll do it for you, just ask!
August 4, 2012 at 7:35 pm |
In am from Romania. Here is a ancestry breakdown in how they occur in my family… In my family it seems to always skip a generation or 2. My father grandmother had 2 clubbed thumbs (and apparently she inherited them from her grandfather none of her 6 siblings had them), she had 8 children and NONE of them inherited them. In the next generation 2 of her kids (including my grandfather) had children with clubbed fingers.. My father has them both and his older sister only 1, and also one of their cousin – that comes a total of 3 offspring out of 28 (because all her 8 children had kids). Me and my 2 brothers were not affected by this. But both my sons have clubbed thumbs, and the thing is my brother have children but none have them.. I mean what are the odds of that.. It’s interesting to imagine that they come form the grandfather of my great grandmother.. how cool is that ???? :))))
August 7, 2012 at 6:00 am |
Both of my thumbs are clubbed. I always knew they were different and I would even ask my mom if I could get surgery to make them normal. I’m mostly German and I’ve noticed in a lot of the comments that you all who have clubbed thumbs also have some German in y’all. I don’t know how I got them because I’m the only one in my family with them.
October 4, 2012 at 11:13 am |
Hello there 🙂 I asked my mom the same thing and recently told her that when I’m all grown up and can afford to get surgery on my thumbs that I was going to do so . Hmm is that so . . . ! ? German you say ? I’m Hispanic so how can that be . Any how I’m also the only one in my family with clubbed thumbs . God Bless You . :]
September 10, 2012 at 1:05 am |
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October 2, 2012 at 3:00 pm |
I am an indian and both of my thumbs are clubbed. my mother has only one but her sister has both.it has come to me through mothers side and since it is because of a dominant gene and it is not present in any of my kids, i believe this trait will die with me and will not pass on to the next generation by me. it seems we all having these traits are genetically related.
October 4, 2012 at 11:06 am |
Oh my ! I never would of thought that so many people had clubbed thumbs . I never noticed them until some kid pointed them out , I was in 3rd grade I was probably 8 yrs. I was so nervous and scared that he might end up telling everybody but he never did . I had mentioned it to my family , they were surprised at first but never seemed to talk about my thumbs unless I would bring them up and joke about my little clubbed thumbs 🙂 When I was in 8th grade 13-14 yrs. one of my friends noticed them I didn’t know how to react or what to say so I just changed the conversation . I always seemed to wonder why I had different thumbs . So I decided to ask one of my doctors but she had no idea and just told me that I was unique . Now I’m sixteen I’m Hispanic and I’m from Ca. I always wonder if someone eles had clubbed thumbs like me , but I never seemed to do any searching until now and I’m glad that I found out that I’m not the only one . God bless you all . <3' 🙂
November 26, 2013 at 8:32 pm |
I’m 28 and I’m still VERY embarrassed by them. I have two and I don’t know anyone else in my family that has them. No cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Parents, Grandparents or siblings. I’m Greek, Russian and Italian. I get very embarrassed, mad and hurt when someone notices them. I would really love to know more about the history of them, but I’m not finding much about them. There are like 4 actresses/models that have them which is cool, but they still aren’t very common.
November 27, 2013 at 1:07 am |
Hi Stacey, I feel that the common ground for all of us BDD thumb people is the Italian heritage. I, too have Italian ancestry, but also Spanish from Spain. Also if you read the other comments as well as read the Wikipedia article, it states that it is derived from European Royalty. When I was very little, my father made it known to me that our Spanish ancestors have ties and relatives to the Spanish crown/royals/nobility. This is a known fact in my family. Additionally, I do not know of anyone but me who has the, however, according to scientific studies, people who have a BDD thumb got it from a great aunt or uncle or great grand parent. It is a genetic trait. If you study the history of Royalty, they intermarried and Spain married within other countries. I think Spain/Italy are woven within a great number of those who have the BDD thumb genetic trait. Though not all, as I am sure Asians could have them too. I am not ashamed of my thumbs. Ive had them all my life, and my friends accept me for me, not for having “normal” thumbs.
November 27, 2013 at 1:15 am |
also, England married with Spain, France and all the royals of Europe. and England also went to India. But I personally strongly believe that it comes from Spain/Italy. If people would check their DNA through a test on http://www.ancestry.com, they would perhaps find that they could have Italian/Spanish DNA that they did not know of, or England, France, etc. Study the history and marriage tendencies of European Royalty, and then get yourself a DNA test. You might be surprised what you find! PS: I have 2 BDD thumbs, and mine are VERY wide BDD thumbs; more than any other pictures I’ve seen of them. I’m proud of my thumbs, though I do hide them at times by habit due to it being easier to hide them then to try and explain it to people.
November 27, 2013 at 1:35 am |
OH, one more thing to help you all perhaps trace the origins of your BDD thumbs. So I have DNA of the following: Spain, Italy, Jewish, French, Scandinavian, Albanian, Middle Eastern, Irish/Scottish. So if you say to yourself, “wait, I don’t have any Italian or Spanish or that stuff”. You probably do since the Spaniards and Italian Royal Families went to England for example, and also England went to Germany and so many other countries. Again I say this: You probably have it in there somewhere. Even Japanese have Jewish in some of them and who knows. It all originates from one place I believe and spread from there. check your family history and get your DNA test done!
January 4, 2014 at 4:20 pm |
2 clubbed thumbs. American of Northern European descent. Family lore has it we have French royal lineage. Never proven. My two toe thumbs make it very hard to grasp things. Anyone else with this prob? It’s embarrassing when I try to place customers’ items in bags. Once in a while a customer will assist me because of the difficulty I have in grasping things.
February 5, 2014 at 11:36 pm |
I also have difficulty grasping things. Funny thing is that I never had put 2 and 2 together as to why! I just always accepted my thumbs and mine and that they were different than other people, but I never knew that they were the cause of certain inabilities with using my thumbs and probably other things if I sat down and thought about it for a while, like having a special bowling ball made, etc. I also have pain when writing after a long time. Interestingly enough, all my fingers on both hands are longer than most women. My hands are large and long slender fingers with short, fat thumbs! haha go figure!
February 11, 2014 at 3:30 am |
I’m a 49 year old Woman with a left hand club thumb . I was always embarrassed of it . I have a 21 year old son who has 2 clubbed thumbs so I now am less embarrassed feel like it is more normal.
March 5, 2014 at 2:19 am |
I am Latina and I too have a club thumb. On my right hand only!
The left thumb is normal. I didn’t realize until the fourth grade that my thumb was considered weird. I thought everyone had 2 different size thumbs! We had a fashion party one day after school and one of the things we could do was get our nails painted. Needless to say the college volunteer painting my nails said she was going to have to paint my thumb nail sideways because it was to short to paint my nail from top to bottom basically because I had no nail. I was a huge nail biter until my middle school years.
This is when inrealized that if I let my nails grow longer, the club thumb was less noticeable. I have contemplated just chopping off my thumb because of the torment I was put through. I didn’t though. My mother always told me, having a chubby thumb was better then not having a thumb! Wise words (haha)
I have become so accustomed to just hiding my right thumb that it has become second nature. I am always positioning my thumb in ways where I try to hide it. In fifth grade, we used to play heads up 7-up and with all our heads down and our right thumb in the air…. Well I was always the one with my left thumb in the air because I was afraid someone might notice it.
It wasn’t until 6 th grade that one boy noticed my thumb, he laughed so hard and told all his friends and I then became the joke of our school. They tormented me until high school. I cried so much and that’s where finding different ways to hide my thumb came about. Tweens can be so cruel!
I rarely ever have my nails done at any salon because of this!!!
Not only do I het questioned about my thumb but there is no acrylic
Nail wide enough to fit my thumb. The last time I got my nails done, the Chinese man yelled WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FINGER!!!! my daughters and I were all getting our nails done and when he said that I looked at them and laughed! We all laughed!!! They knew this was a concern for me and dreaded the question!!!
I have taught myself how to acrylic my own nails back in 1997 because I just didn’t want to deal with the BIG question!!!
I am still not comfortable with my one club thumb! I’m am almost 40 and this is still an issue. Having 2 club thumbs would probably be just better.
My uncle had two big fat thumbs and my mother says I took after him! Lol. If there was a surgery I could do to fix my thumb, I would!
Being made fun of because of my thumb?? And at this age??! Grown adults can still be mean!!!!!!
I am open about it with my family. They are the only ones that I actually joke about my fat thumb with. The difference with them is they laugh with me not at me.
So to all the people around the world with a fat thumb or two!!!
Salute!!! You’re not alone!!!!
I’ve met a hand full of people with a club thumb! Amazingly when I talk to people, I always scope out their thumbs just to see if they have s clubby! Haha. Thankfully NONE of my 3 daughters have this chubby stubby! As soon as I was handed my baby after their birth, the first thing I checked was to see if they had normal thumbs! And they did!!!!
I would hate to see my child suffer what I went through!!!!
June 14, 2014 at 7:42 pm |
I’ve had a different experience with my thumbs than you. Most people just politely ask me and I tell them, “I was born that way”. They are never rude or obnoxious about it at all. But perhaps since you have only one, that could be the reason for the different reaction. But seriously, don’t be ashamed with them. LOVE who you are. Also, if you stay loyal to ONE nail salon, they will get to know your thumb and wont care anymore. There’s really no reason to make such a big deal about it. I love my thumbs, I don’t care about what other people think. Maybe certain cultures care more about looks, and that could be the other reason for your torment over the years. I’m part hispanic, (Spain), and no one I’ve met has given me a difficult or hurtful time about it. People are just curious. Maybe it’s your reaction to it, or your perception of what people are thinking that’s causing you the most pain. If you just accept it and know that they are curious and you’re ok about it, others will be too!! Believe me, I know… 🙂
June 14, 2014 at 6:43 pm |
Sorry, the name of the gene (which the articles I posted also name), is HOXD13. If you want to get into real research on this and are intrigued about it, that’s the gene and you can reasearch it.
July 1, 2014 at 3:52 pm |
Hi all,
I, too, have clubbed thumbs and I recently got surgery to remove my ingrown nails on my thumbs. The nail was getting really painful as it dug into my skin. I came home to Seoul, Korea this summer and got surgery to remove the ingrown nail on my thumbs about a month ago. The surgery “killed two birds with one stone” because not only do I no longer have ingrown nails, I now have a thinner thumb!!!! The doctor shaved my bone…….
To all those saying surgery is not possible, it IS possible. You just have to go to a good enough doctor. (S. Korea is #1 in plastic surgery might I add). But I went to a dermatologist, not a plastic surgeon as my ingrown nail was an actual thing that needed to be fixed.
Good luck to you all….. I honestly think accepting your clubbed thumbs is the way to go. I was JUST starting to accept them until I got the surgery and heeeeeeyyyy it all worked out.
July 1, 2014 at 4:23 pm |
Would you be willing to post before and after pics of your thumbs? I am very interested in having surgery done on mine.
October 4, 2014 at 8:44 am |
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October 11, 2014 at 4:57 am |
This site is amazing! I too have clubbed thumbs. My story is much like many of the other posts dealing with teasing while in school. A few years ago I met another gal who’s thumbs looked like mine; she had been adopted and was hoping we might be related. She was so disappointed when we decided it was not possible. When I was a. Senior in college a professor grabbed my hands and exclaimed to his wife (my nursing professor) “Look!” Naturally I was embarresed and said I usually hid them. He replied that was why he noticed them. He went on to explain that it was genetic and was documented from royalty from France. He said to never be ashamed of my thumbs. My maternal grandmother was 1/4 French. Rest of grandparents were Norweigen. No one in my family has this trait. When each of my children were born, I immediately checked their thumbs! I no longer hid my thumbs and happily tell folks with clubbed thumbs to be proud of royal heritage!
March 8, 2015 at 8:01 am |
Both my thumbs are symmetrical and clubbed! i used to be slightly embarrassed by them when I was in grade school, but I grew to love them. I think they are cute now, but I’ve seen pics of other people’s clubbed thumbs and theirs look scary and not as cute as mine 😛 I’ll post up pics soon 😉 btw there are some celebrities with clubbed thumbs, and theirs look cute as well. So I’m guessing, like any other normal thumb, if you care to keep up your nails, your thumbs will look fine lol.
April 7, 2015 at 2:56 pm |
Only one of my thumbs is clubbed. I didn’t notice it until I was 13. I would always catch people looking at it and it made me so self conscious. Then one day, I just figured it’s something I can’t change and when people stare at it I show them and explain it to them so they back off. One thing that helped me with being okay with it was when I was 16, I was in Fashion Marketing and I sat a a table with very rude girls who would not shut up about my little thumb and the teacher started listening and put her thumb up and yelled “thumb buddies!!”, and that was the first time I realized that other people had it too ;p its nothing you can change and I think it’s cute so don’t be embarrassed! 🙂
June 6, 2015 at 8:16 pm |
Having toethumbs is rough for me. I face many bullies, embarressments, and insecurities because of this disease. I always hid my hands from the world because of the harsh comments i recieve. I do like that i am basically a queen because of the myth but still. I am very curious if there is any treatments or cures for my thumbs??
December 7, 2015 at 2:08 am |
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February 2, 2016 at 4:11 am |
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April 28, 2016 at 5:25 pm |
My name is emily vermuele and I am an avid clubbed thumb fan. Although I do not have clubbed thumbs myself, a girl in my grade who I idolize (but I’m afraid doesn’t like me back very much) does. I have organized charity events for clubbed thumbs and I have even taken time to hand out flyers on the street. I plan to devote my life to raising awareness for this special condiditon. Each of you are beautiful and so are your thumbs. #staystrong #stayclubbed
May 31, 2017 at 8:30 pm |
I also have 2 “clubbed” thumbs, & found out that our heritage was traced back to King Louis XVI! So surprisingly, there may BE something to the European “royal” background, with clubbed thumbs!
August 5, 2018 at 3:10 pm |
leasing
Some science of stub | World of Clubbed Thumbs
August 19, 2018 at 2:12 pm |
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August 25, 2018 at 12:22 am |
Some science of stub | World of Clubbed Thumbs
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