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 !

As op said, overweight, physical job on his feet all day

Don't talk shite
This is so factually incorrect
Please educate yourself on the role of the tvn, read the research they have undertaken
You are a blind roebuck

Nah I’ve just had too many referrals declined over the years.

Well I’m going to put my hand up and eat humble pie.
The initial pictures were indeed shocking and I think many of us on here were looking at them from the point of view of an infected wound, tracking etc, rather than a circulatory issue.
To those who have been patient enough to explain how ulcer care works, thank you- I’ve learned a lot from this thread . I’m sorry for being a bit ranty in my posting.
I think we were all just concerned for the OP’s DH.

It's nice that people , including ourselves, have learned some things here. It is infected but it will likely take a while to heal I now understand.

This is what happens to human beings, usually much older than ops dh, and there’s so much disinformation out there. I’ve had patients do the silliest things and they can’t explain why just that someone they know said put hydrogen peroxide on it/let the dog lick it/soak it in the hottest water you can stand and they just do it no questions asked.

All time personal favourite is why can’t you just dip it in hot tar like the olden days. I mean where do you start with that? I suppose if you die from a full thickness burn & necrosis you don’t need a redressing appointment next week but won’t your family miss you?

@NOTSUREWHATIMDOINHERE you can buy limbo wound protectors to keep it dry in the shower. Places like Amazon sell them.

This is really nice to read and shows how the Internet really isn't the place for anybody to be asking for medical advice, you can see from the range of replies- gangrene to coving with castor oil or honey(!)
It's good for people to learn that things aren't always black and white and a little knowledge certainly can be a dangerous thing..

It is excellent that there is no infection in his blood stream. This is going to be a slow job healing I am afraid and will disrupt his work for some weeks to come.

My granny was a nurse before, during and after the war. She said antibiotics made the most enormous difference to things like this. They had salt, boiling water for cleaning wounds and poultice type dressings, there was little else they could do.

@NOTSUREWHATIMDOINHERE Just keep reminding him to keep those legs properly elevated

@NOTSUREWHATIMDOINHERE - hope things start to improve soon. I have had a number of ulcers at a relatively young age, smelly ones, big ones, ones that needed antibiotics, ones that didn’t. I have never needed IV antibiotics for them. They just take an age to heal. And yes they hurt!

The first time I had one, I didn’t know what it was and went to A&E when it wouldn’t heal. I was sent away. This was years ago and nothing to do with the NHS being broken. I was given the same advice as being given here about raising the leg and getting it properly dressed. I learnt how to dress them myself so have dealt with smaller ones without any medical care since.

in my case, mine are linked to circulation issues and a clotting disorder. Now my underlying condition is being managed much better.

I am sorry for some of the frightening posts you have to endure and sorry to see that the HCPS giving sensible advice have been ridiculed.

I hope he starts to feel better soon.

The wound needs cleaning, packing and possibly medi honey. It needs changing every few days.
Contact tissue viability nursing team/community team and ask how you can get referred into their team.

Some have clinics that you go to and have this done and can self refer but other counties need a GP referral. If he's diabetic, contact the diabetic team and they can let you know how to get referred and/or NHS 111 should have discussed how to get referred.

If he's on antibiotics then you need to Google sepsis protocol and it will list symptoms. Monitor regularly and whizz up to A&E after any deterioration. He does need a nutritionalist to advise him long term too. This all needs to be sorted via GP.

My favorite was a patient who tried to do larvae therapy on themselves with the maggots of houseflies. It didn't work because apparently the maggots wouldn't stay on...😱😱😱

A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Ye olde maggots had more grit obviously. They didn’t just fall off wounds.

Always feel sorry for maggots after they’ve done their job 🥺

They did have sulphonamides though - developed in the 1930s they were the forerunners to antibiotics.

In our area you can’t self refer to district nurses as the service is over subscribed. Referral has to be on discharge from hospital or via GP. Even then if you’re not housebound you’re expected to attend the nearest dressing station for treatment as they won’t do home visits.

If his bloods are normal won't need IVs (the first Dr won't have had the knowledge of the bloods). If someone needs ivs they'll get them, just may mean sat in a chair in a&e hooked up, it's not a bed issue

Op ask them to diabetic screen him if not had recently

@FormerlyPathologicallyHappy

Same lol. I've only ever seen them used once and a big part of me wanted to rescue that little teabag from the bin after then set them free.

But that might have been weird and probably would have started a zombie apocalypse or something.

@Destiny123 ok, thank you. I guess it's not so bad then. I took it that the doctor said he did need IV.
The nurse that was treating my DHs last ulcer recommended manuka honey patches? His was a lot smaller though and on the heel. We didn't end up needing them in the end but I guess you could try that @NOTSUREWHATIMDOINHERE ?
Make sure he's getting plenty of vitamins too. A strong multivitamin from somewhere like Holland and Barratt. The supermarket ones aren't usually that strong.
Once again, wishing him well! Hope you're OK too and able to get some rest.

Thank you this is helpful I'll look into that. Yeah I'm pretty exhausted too.

The bloods being clear is good news. How is he feeling in himself?

BobbyBiscuits, Manuka honey is often mentioned as it is more regulated and regarded as more purer honey giving you the healing benefits. Lots of honey is sold while it contains only part honey and otherwise sugar or syrup added. As such Manuka honey is more concentrated.

Unfortunately where I live it is not easily available nor is honey cream. My husband is a bee keeper himself so hence we use matured and concentrated honey for wound dressing. I know that in Europe and Uk it is not used as commonly as where I live, seen reactions on my experience. However it worked always like a charm for us and we always discussed it with the doctor prior to applying it. As said, it healed some very deep wounds and ulcers on me, my family and my dogs, in 1 instance dog lost tissue over 60 percent of her leg and paw. It healed with very minor scarring due to our treatment, while the vet was ready to amputate the leg or PTS as she is a very big dog. For me as well, as I have had some very deep wounds on leg and hand that were not healing well initially. I am only offering my experience with it as here lots of herbs and alternative solutions are being used for medical matters, most people have medicinal plants here in their garden as well. Also due to having limited healthcare (fe dialysis patients always needed to go to south America etc) which is slowly improving here but still not comparable to healthcare in Europe or fe Colombia. But, always discuss indeed with your doctor.

I can’t remember if you said that your DH is diabetic or not - if he is manuka honey dressings should only be used for a maximum of 3 days with close supervision.

FIL had maggots applied to a wound that wouldn't heal last year... (done by the hospital!). I wouldn't feel sorry for them, they got a decent free meal out of it...

But then they got incinerated alive & is a free meal worth that?