Crater-like wound on my leg turning black - what the hell is this (see pic)

[Bitworriedtbh]

Just as the title suggests! I got bitten last week, have no idea by what but it was itchy and the first day my leg was swollen and quite hard. Well now it’s turned into a small crater-like wound that feels really deep. It looks like a dark brown/black scab on it but I’ve tried lifting it a little and it’s like stuck in my leg, it looks hard but I’m sure it’s not actually a scab. When I tried to lift it (unsuccessfully) the skin around the wound peeled off. I have never had a bite end up like this! Any thoughts on what this is and whether it’s something that’ll heal on its own? Don’t want to bother the GP if it’s nothing!

Excuse the hairy legs and tattoo :D

Me too. I developed a necrotic wound and ended up with IV antibiotics, dressings 3 times a week for 13 weeks and three further courses of antibiotics.
I now have a nasty scar.

The high heart rate could simply be anxiety from being in hospital! (Like BP can be high- white coat syndrome.)

The inflammation can be as simple as her body fighting the bite, or a cold or hay fever.

TBH it's good she has gone to have this bite looked at, but there is a lot of over-reaction on this thread.

I had a bite that was worse than that, (spider or horsefly) and I managed it at home with ice packs, salt water bathing and antiseptic cream.

I don't see any blackness in her photo, only dark dried blood from the inflammation around it.

But hope you are ok OP and got the right diagnosis and peace of mind.

but the A & E think the wound is ok but are concerned about blood count

If the OP listened to every poster who is certain with a diagnosis and what to do she has necrosis, been bitten by numerous different things, needs to dig around in it, but also definitely shouldn't. She definitely needs a&e but definitely doesn't.

Who needs an NHS when we have Mumsnet!!

It’s hilarious isn’t it, though also incredibly worrying. She’s had about 8 different diagnosis’s and 17 different ways to treat it. Giving advice on whether to go to A&E is one thing, telling someone they are sure they know what it is and how to complete minor surgery on oneself is a different matter

Well.... it wasn't a fecking tick.

😂😂😂 Exactly!

So I got sent home last night and told to wait for this morning to get my antibiotics. Nobody took blood tests and the doctor didn’t say anything about my previous results or the wound. To be honest I didn’t really advocate myself because I felt like a fraud being there. I went to pick up the antibiotics this morning and have taken one, but the blackness in the wound has gotten larger

I think it's fine and that you should probably stop worrying about it now that you have antibiotics.

I’d book an appointment with your GP to follow up the blood results and the practice nurse for an opinion on the leg . The new picture doesn’t look so oozy

does it smell?

my experience with necrotic flesh was that the smell was quite something.

She doesn't have necrotic flesh. She has a tattoo and an insect bite.

It looks like dark clotting blood in the wound, not blackness in the wound.

I’m not a doctor though.

An insect bite that turns into a pit is a kind of ulcer and no longer just an insect bite.

It looks fine to me, and I do examine wounds carefully as I am diabetic and have circulatory issues etc etc.

Here's mine, its an insect bite I scratched without realising, then later picked out some black trouser fluff but there is a bit more fluff in there. Because it had blistered its more a crater than a proud scab, and because it didn't ever bleed just oozed, again no big crusty scab just a thin layer below the level of the surrounding skin. It is a bit red but no streaking, nothing weird I wouldn't expect from such a wound and certainly not necrotic, nor will I be bothering a hospital about it.

@WiddlinDiddlin you might want to read OPs post of yesterday at 19.41.

I did... @Zonder I was responding to the follow up photo, and for the benefit of the 'its a tick, its necrotic, your leg will fall off from gangrene' people, shared a pic of a similar wound I have.

Ok. It's just that she already said it wasn't necrotic.

It’s granulation tissue - the forming of new skin. It should be pink to dark pink if it’s healthy.

It's healing over. Let it do its thing. Don't whatever you do pick at it. And do continue the antibiotics as prescribed.

Wouldn't you say the blackness is the scab? Dried blood goes very dark and black in time as the wound heals.

As you have been in A&E for some time, I doubt that they have missed anything.

That is not an ulcer. It's a hole in the skin where it's been bitten.

It is difficult to really be sure from a photo, but I once had a mosquito bite that became a pit, and the one in the photo seems similar.

I would take the antibiotics and hopefully you will see some improvement in a few days, it usually takes 2 or 3 days for them to kick in.

Glad you’ve been seen and have antibiotics OP.

I’m a district nurse, so see wounds daily. The GP really should have taken a swab of the wound to confirm infection and have it cultured, just in case different antibiotics end up being needed. A dressing to the wound would have been beneficial too, as topical treatment can assist in healing. You can go to a walk in centre if you can’t get seen by the practice nurse, and they can help to dress the wound if needed.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it does seem to have begun scabbing. What we need to see is tissue that’s granulating, so you know the wound is healing. Don’t pick at the scab, if the wound bed becomes sloughy (yellow), or oozes anything you may need a dressing in place. Similarly if the area remains hot to touch, is painful or has spreading redness 48 hours after beginning antibiotics, then you will need to be seen again.

A wound is classified as an ulcer when it’s non-healing, for a period of 2-3 weeks. In this case you’d need to be seen again and have the wound dressed. With wounds that have depth to them we do sometimes have to pack them to assist with healing. Depending on whether you’re diabetic or not, plus other health conditions, will have an impact on healing time. Keep any eye on it, but any concerns get yourself to your GP or walk-in. 111 if OOH and A&E in case of emergency. Hope it heals up for you quickly.