Well, we thought he might be having the flu for the past two days because he had ALL the symptoms and it's going around my neighborhood and he did not get a flu shot. So I've been treating the symptoms. Chicken soup, tylenol (his fever two days ago shot up to 102.5 and thankfully it went down).

He rebounded like nobody's business yesterday saying 'I feel great, no more fever and sure enough, his temp was normal and he had a good appetite.

But he's been sleeping quite a bit. I figured 'he has the flu, he's going to sleep it off" No other symptoms by the way, no cough, no sore throat, no diarrhea, no nothing. Just the temp and the feeling of malaise.

Well!!!!! this morning I come back from my errands, he is still asleep (from 1 am.) and it's 11 a.m.

He stirs and I say "how do you feel" He says "I have pain in my foot' I took his temperature and it was 100. I said "how the heck can you have a fever, you were fine yesterday and last night, and eating and you felt fine"

I then said 'your foot??? you haven't been on your feet, how can you have pain in your foot".??

He brings up his foot and he goes "uh oh, look at this'

and there (not on the ulcer, but about an inch to the side), was this HUGE big blood filled blister thing and I said 'oh my god, you didn't know you had this"?

He said "but I thought I had the flu"

So I called the podiatrist and they can only see him tomorrow at 1 p.m. He is taking my appointment.

So (and we did this a long time ago, so this is not his first blood filled blister) but it was years ago that he had anything resembling this, and he did get a new pair of shoes but he had not been going out so he was wearing the OLD orthotic in a pair of orthopedic slips ons (that people wear when they wear a cast). Maybe it caused friction on that part of his foot and caused this blister?????

So I got out my glovers, my first aid kit, I lanced the whole thing and the FLUID that came out was beyond belief, and some pus and blood. the whole thing went down and he immediately said "oh my god, I feel so much better". I had given him two fever reducers a few minutes before and I don't think they work THAT fast. As soon as all the blood and pus and FLUID fell into the bowl I had put under his foot, he said "oh my god, I feel much better".

so I cleaned it all up, no more fluid, or blood (I know what I'm doing, and I've done this before), I bandaged him up, and we'll go to the podiatrist tomorrow.

So here is my question. Do you think he had the flu? or.....do you think he has an infection, that didn't present outwardly but gave him a temperature, he had to sleep, and this morning, the whole thing blister blood pus thing showed up?

I just want to know if he had the flu or not? Same symptoms but then we had this THING show up on his foot.

Thanks to anyone who has a clue. I'll be giving him fluids (as I have for the past two days, and getting this man to drink water is like pulling teeth)

But he's drinking.

Oh, and this is important. When we first thought he had the flu, I checked the color of his urine. Dark dark yellow. I said "aha, you are dehydrated, you have to drink water and pee until it's pale yellow"

so that's how I got him to drink water.

It is now pale yellow.

so any comments are welcome because I'm exhausted.

Thanks much

Melody

Jeepers Melody! I have no idea, but I sure hope somebody does and that he gets better! Sorry.

Sounds pretty terrible to me!

Needs a doctor evaluation ASAP.

Well, as soon as I finished wrapping his foot, he got up, went on the computer and said he felt fine. He has had NO fever since that happened and it's now 6 p.m. and he's hungry and because today is binge diet day, we are having pizza.

Tomorrow, when we come home from his podiatrist, I'll tell you all what he said.

He looked at me and said "thank god I'm married to you"

I said "I've been saying that for 31 years"

lol

Melody

Symptoms of the flu:
http://www.flufacts.com/know/symptom...uFACTS%20Broad

The flu often has sore throat and or/ stomach ache.

The aching muscles are typically felt severely in the back and legs.

An infection in the foot/ or blood/ typically does not have the runny nose/ sore throat/coughing the flu brings. A high fever however, may make a person weak, and sore all over.

Check for Alan's foot: redness spreading up, swelling, throbbing, or red streaks on the lower legs. Redness and/or swelling suggests cellulitis. The red streaks suggest infection getting into the blood stream.

Most blisters have only clear fluid in them. Blood and pus? That is more serious IMO. A blood test for CBC differential would show if this is a serious infection.

People with psoriasis, often show slightly different skin responses to injury. My husband tends to make blisters easily...but they never have blood in them or pus. (only clear fluid).

Alan's foot had NO red streaks, tenderness, hotness, swollen this, or that. He had nothing.

He also since Friday when he began the fever, acted like he was hit with a truck. Just slept all day. And because I had checked his foot the day before and saw NOTHING, well this thing had to have developed after (or it was developing????)

No sore throat, no stomach ache .

I just asked Alan if you had any muscle spasms and he said "Well, right before you lanced my foot, I had a muscle spasm in my calf"

Since then, NO FEVER, HE'S FINE, his urine is clear, no body aches, no headache no nothing.

He just said to me 'I feel perfectly fine".

so we shall be leaving for the podiatrist soon and I'll update later.

thanks VERY much

melody
P.S. I have to add that the blister was not coming out of the foot ulcer area, it was adjacent to it. He had formed a callus around the foot ulcer (he always has this and the doctor debrides it whenever we go) But right NEXT to the ulcer is where this thing was growing. I wonder if it's connected to the foot ulcer. Will update

Mighty strange... almost as if there were an abscess that was blocked from draining, and moved over some.

See what the foot doctor says. Blood work would be useful.

White cells are typically depressed during viral infection.
Elevated from bacterial infection.

Just came home from the foot doctor. Will update.

going to get him antibiotics. He has cellulitis.

I'll tell you the whole story when I get back.

Melody

Okay, He'll be on his first antibiotic soon. He has to take them two times a day.

We go to the doctor he takes off his shoes and socks, the doctor takes one look at his foot and goes "Holy cow, Alan, what happened?" I said 'Well, we think he had the flu (and I tell him the story), he goes "how on earth did he get this, by the way, he has cellulitis" Alan goes 'what???" I go "you have an infection, he'll give you antibiotics, you'll be fine"

I then said: "I hope you are not mad at me but I lanced it yesterday, dressed it and wrapped it"

He said "thank god because you got a lot of the bacteria out, you know what you are doing". (So that part was good).

So he goes "but how did he get this". I said "well, I have a theory", He wears these shoes in the house with the old orthotics, OH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEW ORTHOTIC HE HAS BEEN USING"

Well!!!!! the doctor takes on look and says "I don't have to look at anything else, IT'S THE NEW ORTHOTIC,!!!

We both look at him. I hadn't seen his new orthotic because he keeps it in his right shoe. When he took it out, there was this extra piece put on that was supposed to oft load the ulcer but it didn't. It wasn't made right.

The doctor said "these people DID NOT DO A GOOD JOB."

He told Alan to use the old orthotic and contact the guys who made the new one and tell them what happened. I'm doing this tomorrow morning.

Also, he calls me over to watch what he's doing and he shows me "Look at Alan's ulcer, look at the pus". I said "but there was no pus yesterday" He said "It traveled".

So he cleaned everything up, put on what he had to put on, told me tomorrow around 12 p.m. to do what I always have done with Alan's foot (I have all the stuff in the house). and bring him back to the doctor on Saturday.

I asked him about red lines, hotness and there was none of that. He said "thank god you lanced it yesterday, you did a good job".

So right now, he has been fever free for 24 hours, he feels fine. and the doctor really thinks he never had the flu but the infection in his body gave him the fever.

Just wanted to update.

thanks much

Melody

That sounds truly awful.

I hope the medication helps.