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 !

Oh that's bad. I'm the last person who says to go to A&E, but I do think it's the right thing in this case. That needs to be escalated to vascular and tissue viability, and he could do with a thorough examination (bloods and obs) to make sure it hasn't gotten into his blood. Did the nurse take swabs? It would be helpful to know what is eating away at him.

Good luck op, I hope the hospital helps your dh. You’ve done the right thing.

Good grief. Very glad to hear he's on his way to hospital. He must be in agony.

He needs to have a xray to see if the infection has gone down to the bone

It needs to be kept a good eye on and to take the antibiotics as described. He should check in with his doctor regularly too. I'm not a doctor but I wonder could a round of steroids help it, might be worth mentioning it to the doctor. Other than that, just follow the doctor and nurses orders. Its worth knowing the signs of wound infection and sepsis too, so you know to mention it to the doctor if needed. Hope he feels better soon

Really? I took my husband to A&E, as I was sure he'd fractured some bones, I'd had to beg him to let me take him as he didn't want to go. I told him not to leave without having had an X-ray (I couldn't go in because of covid restrictions). He went to triage, nurse was about to send him home without being seen by anyone. And because of what I'd said, he told her "I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but my wife says I need an x-ray". She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, and got him an x-ray. He didn't even get to leave the x-ray room when several doctors urgently came in. He had completely shattered a number of bones and none of them could believe it, all because he wasn't dramatically screaming in pain.

He had surgery within hours.

Had my husband not insisted on an x-ray, as I had insisted he had, then he'd have permanently lost the use of one of his limbs, at the time the doctors even said that they weren't sure if he'd regain full use. And yet that triage nurse wanted to send him home without being seen.

Ouch, that looks really painful. I'm not one to go to a and e lightly and almost always try the gp first but even I think that needs a and e.

I had a ‘senior consultant’ tell me afew months ago in A&E there was nothing wrong with me

‘You are fine and go home’
I said that i had seen my blood tests on the hospital app and i was far from fine’

She had an attitude and said ‘Iv looked, the results are normal, there is nothing wrong with you’ and opened the curtain, gestured for me to leave

I told her what the results were and she actually argued with me, saying
‘well they arent, back and forth and finally said, well ‘i will check’
I said ‘go ahead’

With afew minutes she was back and saying i had to have meds / drips straight away and i have to be admitted, and do i want a coffee, i will get you a comfy chair, full change of tune

This is not the first time.
Front of A&E nurses tell me all the time, see your doctor in the morning / on Monday / You can wait for GP
You look so well….Erm NO!

I dont trust doctors or nurses at all

I hope he gets seen quickly , that definitely needs looking at by a properly qualified tissue viability nurse at the very least . What sort of dressings has the practice nurse been using ?

Oh my goodness. That looks so painful. I hope he is seen soon!

God that looks hideously painful your poor dh. Glad he is off to A&E I'm sure that's the right thing to do.

Dh had a open absess and they do smell. His wasn't infected, just open with packing in. Very very painful

Definitely needs to go to A&E. I am not a doctor a not sure what the diagnosis will
be but if they're not sure ask them to consider if it may be pyoderma gangrenosum and to rule that out -it's a rare condition a family member of mine had last year which at one stage looked similar to your picture.

I don't either.
I took my son into a local hospital saying I think he's fractured his wrist (it was really swollen and black and blue).
Nurse said it just looked like a sprain but I insisted on an X Ray.
Yes it was broken.

Scary isnt it

Your DH indeed needs more specialist treatment. He needs to advocate for himself as this will not go away easily.

Next to properly antibiotica and cleaning of the wound, once it is getting a bit cleaner, I suggest to use proper honey, not the stuff from the supermarket but from a beekeeper if you have one near you. I live in the tropics and this together with aloe and antibiotics is often used here for deep wounds, as well as wet dressings for a few days. Due to climate here it has a tendency to get infected very soon and I have been able to heal both big wounds on ourselves, but also our animals (one had severe allergic reaction resulting in dead tissue, showing eventually the bones on her toes and leg and it healed due to this properly in a few weeks.)aloe is helpful but not necessary. The honey helps granulation of a wound while keeping it moist for faster healing.

I how all goes well for your Dh and he gets treatment he needs. What an awful experience.

I'm no HCP but I'd be worried about the nurse treating this is she actually qualified? Hope your DH gets this sorted out.

My god OP glad he’s gone to A and E. That wound is terrible and without proper treatment could lead to number of serious turn of events which I don’t need to spit out.

He should be in good hands at the hospital and advocate for himself to not be turned away with oral antibiotics!

Shocking! My grandad was ill for months, no one could find out what was wrong with him. My grandmother took him to hospital because he was in such pain. A nurse said "what have you brought him here for?! There's nothing wrong with him!" She did apologise later when we found out he had stage 4 lung cancer but it's something that has stayed with us nearly 25 years later that he got treated like that. Trying to make out he was complaining about nothing (he was such a dignified man who never complained) I always say there are so many in the NHS that shouldn't be there. I know they are stressed but it's terrifying thinking you could be in agony and not believed (and that family have to constantly advocate and push for treatment) it's not right.

And does anyone remember the case of that elderly man who had a HUGE tumour growing out of his head and the hospital just said take paracetamol for it. I think he died and the hospital got sued for leaving him like that.

That’s awful. I would say he may need skin grafting once the infection’s cleared. He certainly needs some intensive treatment. I’m surprised that the nurse(s) doing his dressings haven’t referred him on.

Are you at a+e yet? Please go

UNLESS YOUR DH WANTS THAT LEG AMPUTATED, he needs to get himself to a hospital STAT. Not tomorrow, not in 5 hours, STAT. NOW.

Pisses me of that my dad died of sepsis despite me begging for help multiple times in the weeks leading up to his last hospital admission. I used to be meek but had to advocate hard each time he had infections. It was tiring and unnecessary. Oh and before Covid so no excuses there.

In fact he'd had sepsis before on christmas eve, he was going to go to bed but I rang 111 instead, thank god as he wouldn't have died that time.

Hopefully th op dh will get some prompt treatment.

Also this. Targeted antibiotics.