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).
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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?
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?
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.
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!
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’
…. 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
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.
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.
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!