Husband leg infection being almost ignored (disgusting pics included)

[NOTSUREWHATIMDOINHERE]

Hello

So been at nurse 3 weeks in row. Had leg infection for 2 weeks antibiotics not working and it's now worse. Smells. Pain so severe he cant walk so will be off work now! Nurse just dressing it and sending him away after asking gp to prescribe 2nd set of different antibiotics after 1st set that was supposed to be the right ones for that infection did absolutely nothing to help him.

What would you do ? We are worried, he can't get about its horrible. He had a venous ulcer but this was due to that part of the leg getting bumped and all of sudden this infection gets worse , he was hiding it from me !

I'm currently off work with cellulitis, and not as bad as your husbands but it's bad enough that I was on intravenous antibiotics for 2 weeks and spent 11 days in hospital. Your husband needs to go to A&E as that looks really infected. The oral antibiotics just didn't make a difference.

I'm so glad that he went into hospital, sorry that the surgery let you down.

Secondary to getting the leg in order (priority), get him checked for type 2 diabetes. It is unusual for a leg to get to that point without an underlyng cause. Don’t be fobbed off with must have been a scratch, unlucky etc as yes, while that’s true underlying type 2 is more likely.

They need to determine what the infection is.

My hubby died because they didn't diagnose mrsa for a year by which time it was in his bone. He was tried on many antibiotics and I did challenge this, but nhs is scared of confirming mrsa when they should be finding it early ffs.

Pls go to the GP and get them to test the infection. The antibiotics haven't worked cos the infection is not what they think it is...

It's interesting isn't it and it's one of the reasons I don't really post on these threads

And I guess that the genuine HCP posters are pretty good at spotting one another whilst that's harder for non HCP posters

Also easier to weed out the clinician adjacent posters [wives/husbands/secretaries/
receptionists etc] and untrained internet experts who just don't sound 'authentic' often in subtle ways

Thanks for the update OP, fingers crossed he is getting the appropriate treatment now.

Oh I do hope he gets something asap but glad he/you are in the best place

How dramatic
Prove the medical negligence after reading the response here from a vascular consultant

Wow, disgusting generalisation.
Numerous nurses work at a consultant level; they have higher degrees, specialised training, and continuous professional development. They carty case loads, undertake research and are experts.
How would you like your parenting skills/career dismissed in this way?

This.

Is that you granny?
Ignore this daft, outdated and dangerous advice. @NOTSUREWHATIMDOINHERE

Jesus christ. You do not havexto be 'a geriatric with co- morbidities' to get eitherxa venous or arterial ulcer
Stop sprouting such nonsense

Give an example of how a nurse “works at consultant level” - obviously it’s impossible for a nurse to work at the level of a doctor qualified as a consultant. Nurses are not doctors and never will be. Some nurses like to think they know more than a doctor but their job is beneath that of a doctor.

Generally speaking it's safer for someone who is concerned and not sure to receive advice to get it checked out and allow people who can view it, make the necessary assessments & are definitely appropriately qualified than to listen to an anon on the Internet who might be a doctor, might not be say it's fine.

Literally no Nurse works at consultant level unless they've been to medical school in addition to obtaining their nursing qualifications. Just because the NHS explores options to provide healthcare on the cheap, doesn't mean its true.

https://www.rcn.org.uk/Professional-Development/Levels-of-nursing/Consultant

They are not quite comparable to a consultant doctor but they are independent practitioners trained to a standard of being able to manage a caseload, diagnose, prescribe and treat patients within a particular speciality. They hold a doctoral level academic qualification, and will be far more knowledgeable about their particular field than a junior doctor starting out.

There are some nurses that they think they know as much as doctors, then there are some doctors that dismiss their nurse colleagues when we do have extensive valuable knowledge in our own right.

Consultant doctors are not god. I discharged myself from a hospital in Ireland after I was told by one that she would do nothing for me! In the other hospital I attended I ended up having 3 units of blood, proper scans. IV fuids, vitK stoppingWarfarin and an abdominal hysterectomy! Apparently the gynae and vascular teams were fighting over what to do with me!! One of the nurses who overheard my conversation with this doctor was horrified and even wrote a letter for me to present at the other ED. I'm an ex nurse myself and know I would have bled to death in the first hospital.

Has anyone said they are God's? No. But nurses are still not doctors, they are a different yet equally as valuable profession. I hate how we are now expected to accept all sorts of nonsense just because someone states it's the case when it's not.

AAAH - that explains why the wound is deteriorating. He should not have stopped the compression …With an ulcer you switch from stockings to bandages …Infection is not an Indication to stop the compression . Also if he is doing a job on his feet all the time he needs to take a few weeks of sick leave to rest with his leg in the air in compression to get the swelling down and promote healing. Remember toes to level of nose…

Now that he has an ulcer he should be referred for a formal venous duplex scan to see if he has venous reflux but losing weight will help his vein function massively . In many areas , venous treatment is not funded if BMI raised ( over 30 in my local area) as vein problems recur after treatment if you are very overweight. The compression does the same job as superficial venous treatment .

Update.

Sent him home as no beds anyway. Blood clear, sent him away... now I have a laid up husband with a nurse who wil just keep dressing the thing.

Consultant said if it doesn't heal he might eventually need surgery and skin graft...

They are not consultant doctors at all - not even “not quite”. They are nursing consultants not medical doctor consultants. You write “doctoral level” but to be clear this is not a medical doctor. If a nurse wants to be a doctor then they need to actually train as a doctor and do the years it takes to qualify as a consultant.

I hope that he will recover well. Did he get pain relief?

Tissue viability rarely attend wounds unless limb at risk territory.

If I was going to fake being a HCP I’d say I was tissue viability because no one’s going to know otherwise.

I am well aware of what they are and aren't. I was simply answering your question of giving an example, as clearly this is what the PP you were questioning was referring to.

Funnily enough, I also know the doctoral level isn't a medical doctor however they will have done more academic years training than an actual doctor by the time they have achieved their 3 year BSc then MSc then PHD. I am well aware this does not qualify them as highly as a doctor, I am just explaining that they are highly qualified professionals in their own right.

I hope your husband makes a good recovery and takes the decision to lose weight. This case illustrates the perfect storm created when a population which is 60% overweight or obese meets a failing health system.