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 have no medical knowledge but I'd go to A&E right now. Tonight.

That looks a very nasty infection and like others I’d be going to A&E with that. It’s absolutely none of my business but how did it happen?

Edited to add I’ve just seen it was an ulcer. Apologies for not reading properly. As above he really needs to go to A&E.

Well, it pisses me off when people are naive enough to think that the NHS is infallible and that patients shouldn’t advocate for themselves. My DH died when I was 36 and our daughter was just 2 because we didn’t advocate for him loud enough. My friend’s DH survived because I had learnt my lesson and loudly insisted on him being seen, meaning they caught his sepsis in time.

I’m not suggesting OP or her DH be rude, or belligerent, or abusive. But with a wound like that, I absolutely would be expecting either IV antibiotics or, as I said, a very good explanation as to why they weren’t indicated.

@NeedaBreakSoon

People insist as the treatment often offered is so poor or you're shunted along a line as doctors and nurses are overwhelmed. Unfortunately the culture now is insist or go without

I’m a nurse and pretty shocked more isn’t being done.

iv antibiotics are great in the short term if infected but they need to know what’s causing it to flare up, it needs swabbing to see if there’s anything like pseudomonas. It needs proper management to prevent reinfection cos you can’t just throw continuous antibiotics at wounds without correcting all that you can including appropriate dressing. He may need seeing by vascular. Has he had any Doppler tests done at his gp practice to see if compression is safe?

This is an ulcer. He needs to have it cleaned and dressed by a professional. I think he needs to make an urgent appointment with the GP and insist on proper care. Walk in centres may make an initial assessmet, but he will need ongoing treatment at your surgery.
I have an ulcer resulting from an injury and thought all I needed was to cover with a clean bandage, until I noticed it had turned into a massive deep hole - there was a lot of dead tissue that had to be swabbed away twice a week for several months, and a double dose of strong antibiotics when it became infected. I’m still receiving weekly treatment and that’s since May. If the ulcer becomes infected it will be extremely dangerous. I hope you can get it sorted soon.

Holy fuck
Please take him to A&E

He needs IV abx and possible surgical washout I would say.
Do NOT leave it until Monday.
Report to a&e
And write a very strong letter of complaint to whoever had been dealing with your husbands care - that's borderline on neglect.

I'd go to A& E, it's not getting better, and he's not getting much luck with the wound nurse, it's more than reasonable to take him and get it looked at

I’d say he needs seen promptly. How is he generally feeling eg tired, fever or feeling off? Hope he gets the treatment he needs; he must be worried to show it to you now. Be prepared to make it clear he needs better care and treatment

A&E. it's an ulcer and out of control. I'd complain to the surgery as the nurse needs retraining.

Please go with him to A&E. Don’t wait until Monday.

Yep AnE ASAP

Hope he is okay!

Is he diabetic?

He needs to go back to GP first thing Monday morning ask for swabs and alternative antibiotics. Looks like
Cellulitis. If he's diabetic he should be referred to leg ulcer clinic. Tbh even if he's not diabetic this referal should be considered if it's slow healing.

Alternatively go to A&E this weekend, if oral an

Bloody Hell that looks sore, it definitely needs attention sooner rather than later, how is your partner in general? Does he feel fine apart from that, temperature? I would be going to hospital asap if it was me ( or anyone I knew)
Hope he gets the help he needs

Sorry I pressed post too soon

If oral any

This wound needs urgent medical attention, particularly because of the infection and smell. Delayed treatment could lead to severe complications, including systemic infection or gangrene. A healthcare provider will likely recommend antibiotics, wound cleaning, and possible surgical intervention.

Please go to A&E now. Honestly.

I had an open wound for 6 months and was warned at the first sign of infection to be seen (if need be at A&E). That definitely isn’t the first sign of infection. Go now. Better they send you home than you risk sepsis.

I am shocked that a nurse has tried to manage this with a change of antibiotics. AE now !!

Im an A&E nurse with previous community experience. A&E wouldnt be able to do alot immediately, however if it is currently infected and needs IV antibiotics, this is something they can do and then refer/admit him to vascular for further assessments. Through vascular, or through A&E if not admitted, he can get a tissue viability referral and then when ready, outpatients wound care. He needs an ABPI to assess he is appropriate for compression dressings, then compression applied twice a week. Venous leg ulcers take A LONG time to heal, compression is uncomfortable, theres no fast treatment, or fast recovery, its a long process, compression is the best option though. But he needs to get that process started asap.

Bloody men, trying to hide that. Why would he do that?

I say that as a long term married old hereosexusl. Men are silly when it comes to health, he should have shown that to a doctor days ago. It’s going to be a whole drama now, the silly fool.

A&E NOW

He needs iv antibiotics and it needs swabbing to make sure he is on the correct antibiotics
He needs to see a Vascular consultant and have a doppler and blood tests
He needs it cleaned and the correct dressings used

That looks nasty - I can't tell from looking at the pictures if it's infected or not (I suspect it probably is), but at the very least, it needs cleaning and dressing and maybe surgical debridement. I'd also want blood tests to see what his inflammatory markers look like. Venous ulcers can look absolutely horrific, but aren't necessarily infected.

Is he unwell in himself?

Is he diabetic?

If he's unwell, I would go to ED tonight. If he's well in himself, with no temperatures and eating/drinking with no vomiting, it can probably wait until Monday (The caveat being that if he does become unwell before Monday - Straight to ED)

After the main infection is under control
Ask if they can do a blood test to check his blood clotting markers

I had necrotising fascitis due to an infected femoral arterial line - so quickly spread to sepsis & multi organ faliure.
I am not saying this is what your husband has however I am just saying skin infections can turn deadly pretty quickly.
I am very fucking lucky I got off with a 13cm scar and "only" in stage 3 kidney disease. How I went from complete kidney renal failure back to some sort of function I'll never know but, PLEASE get him seen.