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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to go A and E ? Photo warning

226 replies

Brighton5555 · 03/08/2022 21:13

Hi I had surgery on my stomach 3 weeks ago tomorrow all was going well until about 5 days ago when I had a red rash go across my stomach quickly following my yellow/orange/pink sometimes with red leaking

took hours to even speak to a gp and then they gave me two different types of antibiotics which I started on Monday .

i don’t know if it’s infection only or a infected pool of fluid under the skin. The leaking has increased.

no fever, some deep stomach pain on and off , no smell, Shouldn’t it stop leaking now the antibiotics are in my system ?

OP posts:
Boiledbeetle · 03/08/2022 22:42

I'm going to be honest the only time I've seen a wound with gunk like that was on myself after an operation.

I had MRSA.

I hope it goes well at the hospital.

TickyBooo · 03/08/2022 22:44

I had a post op infection last year, same as what is happening to you now. I was admitted and given IV antibiotics. I too left it and it took hold and took a good while to clear. Please go x

Ponderingwindow · 03/08/2022 22:45

Im guessing DH = not dragging the kids with you. Definitely go though. Don’t wait until morning. You need to be seen.

post-surgical infections can be trivial, but I’ve known people who ended up on 6 week continuous antibiotics, another who spent weeks in the icu, and several, including those first two, who had to have follow-up surgeries to clear the infections. (When you get to my age, you know a lot of people who have had surgery )

Threadkill · 03/08/2022 22:50

Hi! Yes doctor here. You are fully justified in going ro A&E for that - that’s what A&E is for - things like infected wounds, not colds and hay-fever! Needs swab and sensitivities as already had two lots of antibiotics, although i’ve not read whole thread so don’t know how long u’ve been on them for). Your GP should have done a turn-aroumd time of 24 hrs max for e-consult (72 hrs if submitted on Friday after 08:00) and probably reviewed that face to face. Sorry if that didn’t happen.

Cr22345678990 · 03/08/2022 22:53

Omg definitely go, you will get sepsis if you don’t that is so infected x

BeatieBourke · 03/08/2022 22:54

I don't want to scare you. I'm sure you'll be fine. But going with your instincts is important and you know this isn't right.

I had a wound like that after a c section. Everyone ignored me. I ended up in A&E, much later than I should have been, one examination and an emergency hysterectomy + over a week in ICU. I nearly died because I didn't get seen soon enough. Go. Now.

Howtoworkandplay · 03/08/2022 22:57

Are you on your way?

Mum233 · 03/08/2022 22:59

A and e!!

angel1977 · 03/08/2022 23:00

Who has seen the wound in the last 3 weeks OP?
You should be attending treatment room for dressing changes anyway so not sure why you are changing it yourself atall. The right dressing also should not need changed so often. The wound looks infected and even a correct primary dressing would be more helpful than the wrong antibiotic. Stop exposing it, cleaning it, touching it, cover it up ( a nappy or continence pad will soak up the exudate while you wait) and go to A and E for IV antibiotics.

BuddhaAtSea · 03/08/2022 23:00

Please don’t wait, go to A&E, it’s more than warranted.

olympicsrock · 03/08/2022 23:04

Hello OP I am a surgeon. Please go to A and E and insist on being seen by the on call surgical team ( not just A and E) . The appearance of your wound is very concerning and this combined with the story of increased fluid discharge makes me think that your wound is at risk of dihiscence( opening up completely) .

At the very least , admission for IV antibiotics and observation. Agree with the orthopod’s wife above who said that surgeons would always rather see you themselves rather than the GP who will not have all the available information x microbiology results and access to scans.

PinotPony · 03/08/2022 23:11

Please go to A&E as soon as you can. I've seen lots of photos of infections in my job and that is clearly infected. The oral antibiotics could well be masking the extent of the infection hence the lack of temperature.

I don't want to scare you but necrotising fasciitis and the like are time critical. It'll travel up a leg in a matter of hours. In an abdomen you don't see the erythema as much but it's there.

If you end up needing a wash out or debridement, every hour that you wait will make it worse. Go now. Don't wait.

Lineeyes1986 · 03/08/2022 23:12

I had very similar and out of hours sent me straight to a and e. Infection Can spread so quickly.

Lineeyes1986 · 03/08/2022 23:13

And as above - I was Seen by surgical team in a and e

ThelmaDinkley · 03/08/2022 23:27

Can someone come and sit with your kids if that’s why you’re waiting for hubby or can you tell him it’s an emergency and to get back now? Please listen to the medical people on here and go urgently. Hope you recover quickly x

autumncrisp · 03/08/2022 23:45

Hope they see to that quickly for you x

tazzy73 · 03/08/2022 23:59

Surgical nurse here,
You have a very angry wound there.
Definitely A&E. Needs a surgeon review, needs swabbing. Looks like it's opening. May need a wick dressing or a small vac dressing as the exudate is high.
You also needs bloods done to check your inflammatory markers.
Taz.

Howmanysleepsnow · 04/08/2022 00:05

Ignore those saying OOH. This needs A&E, and IV antibiotics as a minimum. Can DH finish early?

Pieceofpurplesky · 04/08/2022 00:12

I hope your DP came home to take you

MrsClatterbuck · 04/08/2022 00:28

I had similar years ago after surgery on my abdomen about a week after the surgery. It was just after Christmas and the locum came out to see me it was the good old days when your GP called out of hours he gave me antibiotics and dressed it. The next day my own GP came to see me and upped the strength of the antibiotics and arranged for the district nurse to call. She cleaned out the wound with what looked like a crochet hook and then packed it with strips soaked in a sterile solution. They came for the next 4/5 weeks daily until I could go to the treatment room. I was actually referred back to the surgeon who prescribed an iodine cream. It did eventually heal.

SirVixofVixHall · 04/08/2022 00:32

I hope you are being seen now OP.

MrsClatterbuck · 04/08/2022 00:34

Forgot to say the nurse told me that I had a lot of stuff that need to come out hence the "crochet hook"" Please go to A&E this not to be ignored or messed around with. A friend had called who was a doctor and I was advised to call the doctor in the morning but mine didn't look as bad as your wound.

InquiringMinds · 04/08/2022 01:01

Brighton5555 · 03/08/2022 21:58

Im going to go when my husband is home . It won’t be until 1am but I figure less busy than tomorrow morning

@Brighton5555 so glad you are going to A & E. I know it’s a wait there, but you could have sepsis and trust me, you don’t want that to spread! I had sepsis which spread at the beginning of the pandemic due to an open wound which wasn’t healing. Don’t be fobbed off and sent home with hospital strength antibiotics if it is sepsis. They need to keep you in hospital on a drip! Thinking of you snd hoping you will be okay.

WiddlinDiddlin · 04/08/2022 01:41

I really hope you went OP - unless you want a lap full of your own guts, that needs seeing ASAP!

Mimi1980 · 04/08/2022 01:52

Definitely A&E