Abcess - surgical treatment, giant hole?

[Akerman]

Hi!

I recently posted about having an abscess. I went to my GP and got some antibiotics, but after finishing the full course, the bump went down, but did not disappear entirely, and continued to get hotter and redder.

I went back to my doc, as one would. She sent me packing off to hospital, where they checked me in fully. They said they were going to 'drain' the abscesses (they identified one on the other arm, as well) and I was picturing a pin prick, or a little slice. However, after 3 days in-patient treatment and general anesthetic, I was shocked (and a little nauseous) to find that each arm has a hole about the size of a £2 coin in diameter, and about an inch deep, again, on each arm, and that I will need to see a community nurse daily at home for re-packing for an indeterminate amount of time. I asked the nurse, 'weeks or months?' and he basically said that he didn't know.

Now, I'm not complaining. They did what they had to do, and I am grateful. But these are HUGE wounds. Has anyone else experienced this? What kind of healing time and process can I look forward to?

 

[bunge]

Sometimes surgeons will decide to excise the entire abcess and a little healthy tissue if the infection looks like its spreading dangerously or if the pathology results show the presence of a particulary nasty bug.
If you look after the wounds and your general health is good then i would think about 8 weeks should be long enough to fully heal but if your you dont look after yourself then the wounds could get re-infected, then you could lose eeven more tissue and put you at risk of even worse complications.

 

[.:Holy::Toast:.]

I think you should probably be out in a few weeks if your wound heals at a normal rate, although I've never had to deal with this

 

[Akerman]

Thanks for the replies

I am home, but have to have a district nurse visit daily to re-pack and dress the wounds. I asked the nurse how long she thought I would need daily care for, but she said there is no way to tell. Tricky business, since I live with people who aren't aware of the situation.

Can't really do much at all that involves moving my arms, but I can go to the bathroom by myself and drink with a straw, so can't whinge. Things like housework and bathing are proving troublesome though.

I am trying to take decent care of myself. Minimum booze, no drugs besides the odd puff for pain relief, eat real food, occasionally breathe outside air. Anyone know of any specific tips for healing this kind of wound? I've never experienced any kind of 'packed' wound before. Elevate? Stretch? I've no idea

 

[bunge]

Theres not alot you can do really, other then keep it clean and change dressings everyday.
Dont stretch your arm etc because you will open the wound again and then it WILL get re-infected.
Elevation isnt needed either, thats generally only for acute swelling and copious bleeding. Infact, you want plenty of good blood flow to your arms because it will aid healing.

 

[Akerman]

Had a terrible 24 hours because the nurse that came yesterday gave me a new kind of dressing, and I was allergic to it. At one point I was literally shaking with itchiness. I also overstretched myself by going out to buy a bottle of wine whilst my partner was at work, because I was bored out of my mind. Turns out my arms can in no way handle putting on clothes and carrying a bottle of wine *sigh*

Plus side, a different nurse came today and said that I may be looking at being nearly healed within a few weeks, and advised me not to do pretty much anything. She also said that she had never seen two big abcess holes on both arms before, which is something all the nurses seem to be saying. I guess this means I've reached some newer, rarer kind of junkie low. Not really sure what to make of that.

 

[dsd]

had same thing in my leg from digging gear. you need the district nurse to come pack the hole otherwise skin just covers a " hole" you need the hole to " fill up". im sure nurse only comes for a little while then sends you to gp nurse. anyways all the best

 

[Akerman]

Thanks for your reply, dsd So glad to know I'm not alone! I am now going to various local clinics to get the wounds packed daily, and although I won't look at them when the nurse removes the dressings, she is definitely using less packing each time she does, so I have to assume they're closing, albeit not closed!

One of them does smell weird when the packing is removed, though. I would worry about infection, but none of the nurses seem to. Is it possible for healing wounds to just smell funky without anything being off?

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Pus is going to smell bad because of the bacteria...

They will let you know how severe it is. and if it warrant's they will refuse you and tell you to go to the hospital.

 

[Akerman]

It's weird. Only one seems to smell, and (warning: gross) it smells like garden peas. To me, at least.

The nurse today said she couldn't smell anything, but that I am bleeding abnormally heavily. I said that I think its just because yesterday I did all the housework for the first time since the ops, as the house was becoming unlivable and housemates were complaining, but she still seemed concerned. She said that if they're still bleeding as much on Monday, she will start me on silver dressings.

I also learned that bleeding through your dressings is called 'Strike-through', which is an unbelievably cool word for such a lame thing. That's my fact of the day.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Silver dressings means she suspects you have an infection which is why they won't stop bleeding.

Your body is trying to rid itself of the bacteria by introducing fresh blood (this entails t-cells or white blood cells) to fight the infection before it can close.

 

[Akerman]

Anything I can do at the home end to help?

I have now started breaking out in pimples, whiteheads, around where the non-adhesive dressings have been. Tough month to be my skin!

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Anything I can do at the home end to help?

I have now started breaking out in pimples, whiteheads, around where the non-adhesive dressings have been. Tough month to be my skin!

The best thing you can do is to buy some dressings and buy some irrigation water and gauze along with the tape from cvs, wally world, or walgreens. So you can dress them more often.

You might not be getting them switched out enough.


Or, this isn't going to surprise you... Go to the hospital...

 

[Akerman]

That actually did surprise me, I'd assumed it was just a rash. You think it could be serious?

 

[neversickanymore]

Buy packed wounds I assume they packed them with something to keep them open and draining correct.. when you change the bandages is there like a cloth strip packed into the wounds? Pimples are a way that our bodies use to get rid of unwanted things, like infections, from the body, so I personally wouldnt be that concerned with that.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

What goes up must go down ... Hope the pain doesn't hurt too bad.

 

[Tommyboy]

It's weird. Only one seems to smell, and (warning: gross) it smells like garden peas. To me, at least.

The nurse today said she couldn't smell anything, but that I am bleeding abnormally heavily. I said that I think its just because yesterday I did all the housework for the first time since the ops, as the house was becoming unlivable and housemates were complaining, but she still seemed concerned. She said that if they're still bleeding as much on Monday, she will start me on silver dressings.

I also learned that bleeding through your dressings is called 'Strike-through', which is an unbelievably cool word for such a lame thing. That's my fact of the day.

Anything I can do at the home end to help?

I have now started breaking out in pimples, whiteheads, around where the non-adhesive dressings have been. Tough month to be my skin!

You need to stop drinking alcohol. It thins the blood and may be responsible for the excess bleeding. That and in general it won't allow you to heal as quickly as normal.

 

[Akerman]

Buy packed wounds I assume they packed them with something to keep them open and draining correct.. when you change the bandages is there like a cloth strip packed into the wounds? Pimples are a way that our bodies use to get rid of unwanted things, like infections, from the body, so I personally wouldnt be that concerned with that.

Yeah, they're stuffed with cloth strips, with a bit poking out. Kind of like a pimento stuffed olive.

What goes up must go down ... Hope the pain doesn't hurt too bad.

I'm not in pain any more, really just in itch. All of the inside of my elbows has gone numb, which I guess is working in my favor pain-wise.

You need to stop drinking alcohol. It thins the blood and may be responsible for the excess bleeding. That and in general it won't allow you to heal as quickly as normal.

Oh man am I trying I have been keeping it to a drink or two a day, but most days I end up desperate for some kind of escapism by bed-time. I think I'm going to invest in a big-ass bag of grass to vape/eat since I actually prefer it to alcohol anyway.

I also finally went and sought advice from the elder of my tribe about a rash with white spots, my mum. Overnight even more popped up and they all became itchy. She said it sounds like skin thrush, and a Google seems to suggest that is likely. Looks about right, and happens a lot in places that are covered over for a while and get hot.

Edited to add: My GP prescribed the wrong saline for the weekend nurses. Instead of standard NaCl amps, I have been given a box of saline Steri-Nebs for nebulisers. The ingredients (sodium chloride, sterile water) are the same for both, but this neb box has 'FOR INHALATION USE ONLY' written all over it, and seems to say that if you accidentally swallow any you should go to the ER. I'm a bit confused, can we go ahead and use these or am I missing something as dramatic as the box makes it seem?