RSD & badly scraped knee
 

Hi, everybody:

I am back after a long time of absence. My two-year-old baby boy was in the ICU for a few weeks because of a bad lungs infection. I was so, so afraid that his lungs infection would cause a failure of his heart, lungs, and kidneys transplants. I was also very afraid because his taking immuno-suppressants would prevent his taking antibiotics and because he has no immune system to fight the infection. To this day, I and his doctors still wonder how he got his lungs infection. His doctors and I can only guess that one of the children he was playing with had an infection of some kind or another and infected him involuntarily. From now on, no more playing with other children for my treasure until his doctors and I find a solution for his life not to be in danger every time he plays with another child.

Now, I have a question for myself. On Friday, February 10, 2012, at my workplace (a garage), I walked away to go back to my office after washing my dirty hands at a water faucet, which is right in the garage, where the mechanics work. I must have slipped on some water or on some oil. I fell on my four members (my knees, my feet, and my hands). "Only" my left knee (the one where my RSD started before spreading to my whole body) got badly scraped. My scraped left knee was burning like hell, as if it was on fire. I can assure you that this scraped knee was burning so much more than an "ordinary scrape". I went to the Emergency Room, where a doctor disinfected my scraped knee. Oww! She had to rub hard with a gauze pad and some Dakin (a disinfectant) so that all the dirt in the wound would come out. Then she put some cream (Flammazine), some gauze pads (six), and a bandage. The doctor told me the burning was normal because scraped knees always burn. I understand this, but what I do NOT understand is why my scraped knee burns much, much more than the other scrapes I had on other areas of my body after previous falls.

Do you think RSD could play a role in my scraped knee's burning being so much worse and thus, so much more painful? My RSD pain had not made me cry in a long time (it was under control) but since this "black" Friday, not a day has gone by without my crying my eyes out because the burning and the pain are so horrible. To make matters worse, the scraped wound has been leaking pus (a very large amount of it) since Friday. The pus, which smells worse than bad, crosses almost all the layers of the six gauze pads of my dressing. I change my dressing every day since Friday. When I get up (even slowly) from a sitting or lying position, I feel my scraped wound beating painfully, as if it had a heart of its own, but a painful one.

What is going on? Now, four days after my fall, my scraped knee shows no signs of healing. Besides that, the wound is still leaking a lot of pus, it is still smelling very bad, it is still very painful (whether I walk on it or not), it is still burning, it is still beating painfully... I have been taking strong oral antibiotics since Friday, but no change for the better has occurred.

What do you think? Any opinions, ideas, or suggestions are welcome. I am starting to get angry at my wound, telling myself that scraped knees usually take a day or two, or three at the most, to heal. I am still waiting for my scraped knee to heal. I am getting sick and tired of waiting. Please help! Thanks a lot for everything.

I'm so sorry to hear about your son but am glad that he is doing better. What a scare!

As for the knee...I think it has flared up the RSD. The other day I was putting something in my purse and my hand (where I have RSD) brushed the velcro and oh my god did it BURN! My whole hand got red and swelled up and felt like it was on fire. This wasn't even a bad scrape...no blood (though there were a couple of small scabs I noticed the next day once the swellind went down so it obviously broke the skin)...but holy crap I felt like my hand was sitting in a ball of flames for days afterwards. So I think the extra burning pain is most likely stemming from the RSD as opposed to just the scrape itself.

If it is not healing up yet then I think you should make an appointment with the doctor. It could be infected despite everything they did to clean it out...which could just be making things worse. You may need stronger antibiotics or different ones. If it was deep then it may take a little longer than normal to heal but it should at least show SOME signs of getting better by now.

I have heard that RSD can weaken the immune system and make it more likely for us to get infections...so maybe that is also part of the problem? But I would definitely make an appointment with a doctor to get it checked out. If it happened at work (did you file an accident report?) make sure you know the laws and if there are any special doctors you need to see or if you can see your own, etc. They should pay for all your medical care but you have to follow their procedures in terms of what docs you can see. These laws vary by state so I'm not sure what they are in your area.

Welcome back Kitty,

Sorry to hear about your baby and the recent fall. I have to agree with Catra if it is not improving and the odor is strong definitley go see your dr. You may have something else going on. (infection) RSD can keep our inflammation levels high as most of us stay swollen unless we have long periods of elevation. :hug:

Hi, catra121 and alt1268:

I just got a call from my son's baby-sitter, who told me my son has been crying on and off since I left for work this morning. Just before I left for work, my son was in my arms, hugging me tight, wiping off my tears, patting my head, putting his head on my shoulder, and telling me he loved me. I feel so guilty for not feeling better and for being in that much pain... It is my fault if my baby is crying like that... I just hate this knee so much I wish I could have it amputated! No knee, no pain there! The rest of my body which has RSD does not hurt as much as this knee. I guess it is because my RSD started there.

I agree with you when you say the knee has flared up my RSD. I was expecting it to happen because I know my body, but I was hoping nevertheless that it would not happen. Stupid me! People, at home and at work, do not understand me or, more precisely, they do not believe "just a scraped knee" (these are the words they used) can cause me that much pain. Lucky them! They do not know what it is like to live with RSD!

Quote: "I think the extra burning pain is most likely stemming from the RSD as opposed to just the scrape itself."

This is what I told the Emergency Room doctor, but she refused to believe me. All she had to say is: "Scrapes always burn!" I was thinking that if the Emergency Room doctor did not believe me, there is no reason for my primary care physician to believe me. No medical professional on the island where I live now knows RSD well enough. They just heard "a little bit about it", in their own words, in medical school. How much time do you think medical students spend spend studying RSD in medical school? I do not think they even spend an hour doing this.

I do not want my primary care physician to touch my RSD scraped knee, for fear he will cause me more pain than I already have. I am afraid the pain will climb from the 7 it is at now to a 10+ just because the doctor touched the scraped knee wound and hurt me, even involuntarily.

The Emergency Room doctor told me she only covered my scraped RSD knee because I asked for it. She claimed a scraped knee wound should not be covered with a dressing. What about the dirt, dust, and other dirty things that will penetrate into the uncovered scraped knee wound? What about the rubbing the uncovered scraped knee wound might get from my clothes, or bed (while I sleep)? She forgot about this, obviously! Or, maybe, she just does not have enough knowledge about RSD! I found this Emergency Room doctor to be kind, but kindness does not do all the job. Knowledge is important also.

I will see my primary care physician on Wednesday. I might mention to him the problem with the scraped knee wound causing an RSD flare-up and infection, but there is just no way I can allow him to touch my knee, even if he truly wants to help me. Even I do not dare touching my knee, so it is out of the question to let someone else do it! If I involuntarily hurt his feelings by doing this, too bad for me! I will just get lost once more!

The antibiotic I was prescribed is amoxicilline / acide clavulanique (name in French; name in English unknown). The dosage is two 500 mg tablets three times daily for eight days. I started Friday night.

Quote: "If it was deep then it may take a little longer than normal to heal but it should at least show SOME signs of getting better by now."

I see the surface of the scraped knee wound, but I cannot tell how deep it is under. As for the healing, some people who lack understanding tell me to be patient but, obviously, they do not know what RSD and severe pain are like! Besides that, what you said is totally true, so my instinct tells me: "It should at least show SOME signs of getting better by now."

Quote: "I have heard that RSD can weaken the immune system and make it more likely for us to get infections..."

Do you know the links to Internet documents that mention this fact? These documents would be very useful for me; I could show them to my doctors so they do not say I am making things up.

Quote: "If it happened at work (did you file an accident report?)"

I did file an accident report: one part went to the public health insurance company, one part went to the pharmacist (for the medications), one part went to the Emergency Room doctor, and one part went to the employer. Since I already saw an Emergency Room doctor for this work-related injury, I do not know if I can see another doctor (my primary care physician) and get all the expenses covered 100% for the work-related injury.

Alt1268, the odor from my scraped knee wound is so strong I have the feeling the room I am in is filled with baby diapers full of baby poop. Never before have I heard of pus smelling this bad. I even thought my mother had forgotten the used diapers of my brother's baby in my bedroom because it was smelling like poop in the bedroom (the room in which I spent my weekend).

I do not understand why the antibiotic is not yet doing at least a little something to help with the infection of my scraped knee wound.

Thank you both for sharing your answers and giving some comfort and kindness. :grouphug:

Here are a couple links to RSD puzzles about the immune system:

Puzzle 77

Puzzle 108

I'm sure I've seen more on different sites too but if all else fails I always check the RSD puzzles. I know that I looked into this because since I got RSD I have had several issues with MRSA infections which are resistant to antibiotics.

As far as seeing your primary care doctor...he shouldn't have to TOUCH it to determine if it is infected. As Alt said...if it smells that strongly then it likely IS infected. It might help if you let it get some air for a little bit each day when you are able to sit still for a little while. Sometimes that can help. It might just be a matter of switching to a different antibiotic if the one you are on isn't cutting it...and that doesn't necessarily mean a bigger dose. Some infections are just resistent to different ones.

Hope it starts to get better soon. But if it is infected then that could be why it's so bad. And you don't want to mess around with infections because if they get into the blood stream they can be VERY dangerous...even life threatening. I don't mean to scare you...but infections should always be watched closely and not ignored.

Kitty,

There is a good chance you are not on the right antibiotic. So when you see the pcp ask about being switched to clindamycin or Penicillian based drug. It is far from normal to have a wound smell like a dirty baby diaper. I am assuming the pus is not clear but has some sort of color to it?

Please help! Everything is going wrong! I am desperate!
 

Hi, catra121 and alt1268:

Today, on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, I went to consult my primary care physician. I told him everything about how the work injury on my left knee occurred, what treatment I received in the Emergency Room, what treatment I applied at home according to the Emergency Room doctor's instructions, the reactions of my scraped knee wound (burning pain, throbbing pain, pus discharge, foul odor, redness around the wound...) The doctor removed my last dressing, touched my knee, wound included, with his gloved hands, and made another light dressing.

My primary care physician's response about the pus on my dressing was: "It is not pus, it is the cream you are using." The cream I am using, Flammazine, is a white hydrophilic cream, containing silver sulphadiazine. It is as white as snow and not yellowish, like pus. So it is not the cream I am using. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand this. Flammazine is the cream the Emergency Room doctor used for my first dressing, the cream she asked me to use for the dressings I have to make at home, and the cream my primary care physician used for the light dressing he made today.

Of course, I have no way of proving to my primary care physician I have burning pain and throbbing pain in my scraped knee wound, so he does not believe me. Just because there are no tests for pain does not mean it is not there. There is an American proverb that says: "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

Besides that, what kind of nose does my primary care physician have, not to be able to smell the foul odor coming from my scraped knee wound? Everyone else is able to smell it but, of course, not him and he does not believe the people who are able to smell it.

Same thing, what kind of eyes does my primary care physician have, not to be able to see the redness around my scraped knee wound? Everyone else is able to see it but, of course, not him.

So what do I do? The public health insurance company would not appreciate my going doctor shopping. I am so angry at my doctor and at my pain in the scraped knee wound that I want to take the phone book (Yellow Pages) and slam it hard, really hard, on my scraped knee wound, again and again and again.

Catra121, my primary care physician does not even want to hear about the information i might get from the Internet. I realized this today. I did not know he was like this, but now I do. My primary care physician refuses to prescribe any better or stronger antibiotics for me, in creal or oral form.

Thanks for listening to me. Now I am going to send this message and cry my eyes out. Thanks again.

Get a new doctor...NOW. Last year I went in to see the doctor for my yearly physical and I had what I thought was a MRSA infection in my arm pit. It was quite painful. He looked at it and said it was just an ingrown hair. I told him it was far too painful and since I had had a MRSA infection once before that I thought this was another one because it felt the same. He was all, "I GUESS I could take a culture and send it out." He almost forgot and I had to insist again at the end of my appointment. He used a razor blade to knick it just a little bit and then SQUEEZED...thank god that was before I had RSD in that are...and took the culture. I asked about being put on antibiotics and he said he really just thought it was an ingrown hair and that I shouldn't worry but they would call something in for me if it turned out it was infected. I had a lumbar sympathetic block scheduled the following Monday (this was on a Thursday) and I told the nurses and doctors there that I thought I had an infection and they both said it was fine since if I really had one then my doctor would have put me on antibiotics. When I was finished with the block and on my way out of the office I had a voicemail on my phone...guess what? It WAS a MRSA infection...and now I had this invasive procedure with an active infection. And then my RSD spread after the block...can't be sure the two things are related but I have my suspicions.

Anyway...my point being that a poor primary care physician can actually do you a lot of harm if you let them. It appears yours is not willing to listen to the patient at all and take their concerns seriously. You need to find a new doctor...one who is compassionate and caring. After I changed I was amazed at how incredible I felt after every appointment with my new doctor...I always left hopeful no matter how dire the situation or how much pain I was in.

If the knee is not better in the next few days then I would again consider going to the ER if you haven't found a new primary care physician. I know no one wants to spend all this time finding doctors and all that...but the longer you put it off the more damage this guy will do to you in the long term. When you call up a different practice, explain that you believe you have an infection. I know that going through everything with a new doctor, explaining your medical history and problems, is a daunting task but it is worth it when you find the right doctor. It changed my life...seriously. Stand up for yourself and take control...letting the doctors treat you like this is unacceptable. The first time it happens, it's completely on them, but every time after that it the responsibility lies partly on you for continuing to see someone like this who is not providing good medical care. I know...I've been there...and I feel like everything I went through last year is partially my fault because I stayed with this jerk doctor for too long and have him too many "chances" to do what should be his job in the first place. He and the other bad doctors I have seen are all in the wrong of course...but I have learned a hard lesson about standing up for my rights and demanding proper treatment...and how important it is to move on if you will not get it with THIS doctor...there are always others.

Hi, catra121:

I called around for hours yesterday, but I could not find a doctor willing to take me as a patient, even if it is only for the scraped knee wound. What did I expect!? That doctors would just scramble to help me with this wound!? In my dreams!!! I think right now that I have lost trust in doctors, any doctors, forever. It is not that big a deal for them to help me, I am not asking them to go get the moon for me, but none of them would help me with my wound. Ha! Ha! How kind and compassionate they are! (I am being sarcastic here.) If I could read their mind, I am sure they must be thinking I can go to hell with my wound. After all, to them, it is "just" a scraped knee wound which will heal. If this wound was going to heal, it would have started doing so a long time ago. Tomorrow, I will have had this wound for a week exactly. It should have healed by then, but is not showing a single sign of healing. All the scrapes I had in the past, including knee scrapes, healed in a few days. This scraped knee wound should never have gotten infected in the first place. The Emergency Room doctor who first saw me after the work injury occurred :thud: and I took the best care we could of this wound, but nothing, absolutely nothing, positive is happening with this wound. Worse, the throbbing, which stopped a few days ago, came back yesterday with a vengeance. It was so painful I literally saw stars. Then the tears came. Afterwards, you could hear my baby and I crying together. :Sob::Sob: I guess my seeing the stars is caused by the intense pain in my knee, which made me contract my body very hard, including my eyes. I also have to tell you (I forgot to do so yesterday) that when my primary care physician changed my dressing, it was stuck really hard to the scraped knee wound. What genius thing did he find to do!? Pull my dressing off really hard and really quick! I am sure you can imagine what happened to my wound after such a thing is done. I am desperate. I just do not know what to do anymore, since no primary care physician will help me.

Catra, I was wondering if you knew of the kind of specialists who take care of infected wounds, since absolutely no primary care physicians want to help me.

Quote: "He was all, "I GUESS I could take a culture and send it out.""

I kept the last dressing with the pus on it (the one my primary care physician made). I wish I could send this dressing out to a lab without a doctor's prescription (because none will give me any) so I could find out what is in this pus (MRSA or something else). Then I could go to my primary care physician with the results and tell him something like: "See! I was right! My scraped knee wound IS infected!" But, unfortunately, I cannot get a prescription. No prescriotion = no pus test, which means the infection will never go away. Gangrene will come and my knee will be amputated! Then, besides RSD, I will have phantom limb pain.

Quote: "He almost forgot and I had to insist again at the end of my appointment."

I wonder if he forgot on purpose, because he did not want to have these culture and test done. Maybe he was afraid you would find out you were right and he would find out he was wrong, because that would be a shame for him! A doctor is supposed to find out what is going on with his/her patient. Finding a diagnosis is "usually" not the patient's job. Doctors are not paid for doing nothing.

Quote: "I asked about being put on antibiotics and he said he really just thought it was an ingrown hair and that I shouldn't worry but they would call something in for me if it turned out it was infected."

He refused to prescribe antibiotics for your infected wound, the same way my primary care physician refuses to prescribe antibiotics for my infected wound. It is obvious pus is not caused by viruses, against which antibiotics are known to be ineffective. Pus is caused by some kind of microbes or another, against which antibiotics are very effective. So why refuse to prescribe them for wounds full of pus? I noticed many, many doctors do not like their patients to ask them for a particular prescription (antibiotics, for example); they like to take the initiative. Of course, if they do not take any initiative, the patient pays the price in terms of aggravation of the wound, pain, and suffering. It smells suing here (I mean me suing a doctor if I EVER find out there was a medical malpractice from his part.

I did not know a person could not have an invasive procedure with an active infection going on somewhere inside his/her body.

Quote: "And then my RSD spread after the block...can't be sure the two things are related but I have my suspicions."

All these doctors who destroy the lives of their patients this way should be punished by the AMA, which should take away their license to practice, so they do not destroy the life of another patient. Unfortunately, it is the fight of the iron pot (doctors and their good lawyers, whom they can afford) against the wooden pot (patients, often without lawyers, whom they cannot afford).

Quote: "Anyway...my point being that a poor primary care physician can actually do you a lot of harm if you let them."

I agree with you one zillion %.

Quote: "It appears yours is not willing to listen to the patient at all and take their concerns seriously."

True again.

Quote: "I always left hopeful no matter how dire the situation or how much pain I was in."

This kind of doctors are angels and since there are so few angels on this earth, I wonder if I will ever find one.

Quote: "If the knee is not better in the next few days then I would again consider going to the ER if you haven't found a new primary care physician."

I will do that. However, I hope I will not hear a comment from an Emergency Room doctor, such as: "Emergency Rooms are for life threatening emergencies, not for just infected knee scrapes. Go back to your primary care physician!" If an Emergency Room doctor tells me something like this, I am stuck because I cannot go back to my primary care physician, who will refuse to help me, just like he refused to do on February 15, yesterday. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this message, I have had no success finding a new primary care physician.

If the microbes from my infected knee wound can kill me, I should rapidly write a testament, so my two-year-old baby boy does not go in an orphanage, in which he will be just a number. I want my treasure to live with my police officer boyfriend, if I should die. My boyfriend loves my baby as if he were his own. I know my baby will have a happy life with him and this is all that matters to me, his mother.

Thank you so much for your compassion, understanding, and information. I will try again to find another doctor, but on a small island, there is not much chance of success. I failed already, like I mentioned in the beginning of this message. I hope this time will be different. :hug:

I just wanted to tell you that their are doctors who specialize in infections and related stuff...they are infectious disease specialsts (or ID doctors). They should be able to spot an infection easily and get you on the meds you need. If the first ones they put you on don't work then they can get you on another. This is their specialty so perhaps you would have better luck.

As far as the ER...infections can be life threatening so although I would not expect you to be seen immediately over trauma patients or something like that...it IS serious enough to be treated at the ER. Anyone who tells you differently is speaking out of their rear end. If that infection goes untreated and ends up entering your blood stream it could KILL you. Seriously...look up "sepsis"...this is not something that should be ignored.

I am so frigging amazed at how incredibly ridiculous the medical profession is getting. Seriously...I cannot imagine why a primary care physician would refuse to schedule an appointment with ANY patient that calls unless they do not accept your insurance (which still is not a good excuse because you should still have the OPTION to pay OOP if you choose). It is just insane...and I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. Is there anyone you know who could refer you to their own primary care doctor? I found mine because my boyfriend referred me to the practice (he's been going there his whole life) and when I called to make the appointment they asked me a little bit about what was going on and then they told me who they thought would be the best fit for my sitation...and that's where I met my current doctor. When you called up the different doctors did you try just saying that you were looking for a new primary care physician? Maybe that would at least get you in the door. I don't know...it's all so ridiculous to me.

Anyway...hope that you get the relief you need soon. After a week of the wound not getting any better it should be obvious to anyone that this is more than just a simple scrape. If you luck into a kind doctor at the ER then perhaps you could ask him/her for a referral to a different primary care doctor or infectious disease specialist. The good ones will do that...especially if they are caring and compassionate like you would expect. I'll keep you in my thought.

Hi, catra121:

I was so shocked at the way my primary care physician treated me yesterday, on February 15, that my mind sort of "erased" some of the things that happened during this consultation, things I am remembering little by little.

Besides what I mentioned in my other messages in this thread, I remember that my primary care physician dared claim my scraped knee wound had HEALED. If this is true, then where is the normal, healthy skin that should cover the wound? The wound is not even starting to form a scab, thin or thick.

Catra121, I am not sure if you know this, but I am an American Legal Permanent Resident, who has been living in Tahiti, French Polynesia, for a few years, hoping the French Polynesian public health system (CPS or Caisse de Prévoyance Sociale) would send me to France to cure my RSD. This was in 2005, when I still had hope my RSD would go away, so I could have a life worth being called a "life". Unfortunately, not only did my RSD not go away from my left knee / leg, but my RSD also spread to my whole body. I now have to fear wounds that might happen to any part of my body. I am also a French citizen.

I will do everything in my power (which is not much :( ) to try and find an infectious disease specialist. If I am unable to find one because Tahiti is much too small to have such a doctor there, I wonder if there are labs in the U.S., where I could send, in a small plastic box, one of the gauze pads of my dressings, with the pus on it, so the labs can do some analyses and discover the name of the microbe(s) that is(are) infecting my scraped knee wound. Then I would have a proof of infection for my primary care physician, if this is what he wants (and this does seem to be what he wants, since he does not believe anything of what I tell him.) Of course, I will pay whatever the labs require. Hopefully, such labs do exist in the U.S. and will not require a doctor's prescription, because there is just no way I will be able to get one.

As far as Emergency Room doctors, I am afraid they will treat (mistreat) me the same way my primary care physician did. But I will go there if I cannot find, in Tahiti, a doctor specialized in infectious diseases.

Quote: "If that infection goes untreated and ends up entering your blood stream it could KILL you."

I imagine easily my family on the day of my death, especially my parents and brother, thinking, as I am being buried: "Good riddance!"

Any doctor in French Polynesia accepts the public health insurance CPS. I just have to pay a co-pay of 30% for the consultations and medications.

Quote: "Is there anyone you know who could refer you to their own primary care doctor?"

Unfortunately, no. I called almost every doctor in Tahiti, even those that live far away from my home. The other doctors must have gone away on vacations.

Quote: "When I called to make the appointment they asked me a little bit about what was going on and then they told me who they thought would be the best fit for my situation...and that's where I met my current doctor."

The same thing happened with me. They asked me a lot of questions and I gave them some information on my situation.

Quote: "When you called up the different doctors did you try just saying that you were looking for a new primary care physician?"

After I said this, the questions from their part came. No one would take me.

Even if my primary care physician (and possibly other doctors) see the scraped knee wound has not healed weeks after the injury occurred, they will just say it has healed to get rid of me.

Thank you for your information and kind words. Right now, my scraped knee wound is so, so painful it feels like someone is pounding on it, as if pounding on a drum. :hug:

I'm so sorry...what an awful situation all around. I will keep praying for you and hoping you can get some relief.

I just talked to my boyfriend who has had many many bad scrapes in his day and he suggested the following.

Clean it out using alcohol (rubbing alcohol that you can get in the pharmacy). Do this several times a day...as often as the guaze is full. He said he uses the regular liquid kind but there are also aerosol sprays.

Use gauze over the wound. I know this part sounds painful and I don't know if you can do it or not because of the pain...but he said to try to pack the wound if it's deep to draw out more of the pus.

Tape the gauze down firmly so that it can really draw out the pus and infection.

He said if it is a really deep scrape that it could take a couple of weeks to heal fully...but cleaning it out several times a day is a must. He said you can use neosporin on it...but the alcohol should be sufficient in most cases and may make it easier to gauge how much pus there is vs cream.

That's about all you can do on your own I guess...all of which you may be doing on your own anyway...but I figured it might be worth asking him since he doesn't go to the doctor for anything really and I know he's had his fair share of first aid. Has two brothers and I take it they got into a lot of mischief growing up...not to mention sports injuries.

I am so sorry you are facing this. I don't allow any doctor to touch any part of my legs. Even if it is not by the RSD areas. All the ones who have dealt with rsd a lot understand. Some others that are less informed will push it but I have paid too many times for no reason that I don't allow it. Everyone is different though so I am not saying what you should or should not do.
I am so sorry for the limited options in care. Would there be a skin doctor if not an infectious specialist?
I am sorry about your son too and also how that is making you feel. You are a good mom who has a medical problem which is not in your control. I know your son is young but you can see how much he loves you.
Hope things get better

Hi, catra121:

Quote: "Clean it out using alcohol (rubbing alcohol that you can get in the pharmacy)."

The pharmacies in French Polynesia sell different kinds of rubbing alcohol. How many degrees should the rubbing alcohol mentioned by your boyfriend have? 40°? 50°? 60°? 70°? More? Or does it not matter how many degrees this rubbing alcohol has? The pharmacies in French Polynesia also sell non-stinging rubbing alcohol, which smells a lot like mentholatum. I do not know if this is a good idea to use non-stinging rubbing alcohol or if it is better to use stinging rubbing alcohol. I understand it will be painful to use stinging rubbing alcohol on my scraped knee wound, but the most important thing to me is that my wound heals, no matter how much pain I have to endure with the stinging rubbing alcohol.

Quote: "Do this several times a day...as often as the gauze is full."

First, I disinfect my scraped knee wound: I will, from now on, use the rubbing alcohol your boyfriend talked about. By the way, I do not know if this is a good idea to wash my wound with some soap and rinse it well, before I start disinfecting it.

Second, I apply on my wound the Flammazine cream (a white hydrophilic cream, containing silver sulphadiazine) the Emergency Room doctor prescribed for me. I use a thick layer of cream, just like this doctor did.

Third, I apply six 10 centimeters X 10 centimeters non-woven gauze pads on my wound, just like the Emergency Room doctor did. I guess she decided to use that many gauze pads to try preventing or avoiding the pus crossing all the layers of gauze pads (if there are too few of them) and staining my clothes or bed sheets.

Fourth, I use two small pieces of tape to keep the first two gauze pads in place. Then I can put the four other gauze pads on top of the first two.

Fifth, I use a gauze bandage, to wrap around my knee and over the six gauze pads, including the first two that are taped to my skin.

Sixth, I use another type of bandage (not an ACE bandage; I do not know the name of this bandage in English).

Seventh, I use a kind of "net", whose exact name I do not know, to hold the dressing in place.

Last, I put on my functional knee brace, whose bending is locked at 40°. It hurts my unhealed and infected scraped knee wound, when I bend my knee more then 40°.

These are the problems with my scraped knee wound at the present time:
-Redness around my scraped knee wound
-Large amount of pus, thick and yellowish, coming out of my wound (this amount of pus is so large it sometimes crosses most, if not all, the six gauze pads of my dressing; this amount of pus also happens to cross the gauze bandage and the other bandage from time to time)
-Foul odor, like that of a dirty baby diaper, coming out of my wound
-Burning and throbbing pain in my wound
-Small amount of liquid, with the consistency and color of cooking oil, leaking from my wound after its disinfection, after my wound is left uncovered at night for an hour or two, before I make a new dressing for my wound
-No new skin or scab growing or even starting to grow over my wound
-The time that has gone by since my knee got scraped on February 10, 2012

All these problems make me fear it is not an "ordinary infection". It might very well be (and I believe it is) a MRSA infection. Of course, I have yet to find a doctor who will believe me. Hard, very hard task! These doctors would believe me first if I told them the sky is green, before even thinking of believing I have an infection in my scraped knee wound. No wonder I have lost trust in all doctors!

Quote: "He said to try to pack the wound if it's deep to draw out more of the pus."

Under my scraped knee wound, there might be a large "pocket" of pus, for all I know. There is no way for me to tell for sure. I think it is quite likely, however, because one of the last times I had a bad wound on this knee (post-operative wound from my November 2004 Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction), this wound leaked pus for months, even though this wound seemed to be closed and even though the amount of pus that leaked from this surgical wound was less than the amount of pus that is leaking from my scraped knee wound.

Quote: "He said you can use neosporin on it...but the alcohol should be sufficient in most cases and may make it easier to gauge how much pus there is vs cream."

Can I not use rubbing alcohol first, to disinfect my wound, and then neosporin, once the rubbing alcohol had dried?

Thank you for your information and thank your boyfriend also for me for the information he provided. It gives me back hope and I do not have to spend my time crying a lot anymore. :grouphug:

Hi, daniella:

If I forbid any of my doctors to touch any part of my legs or any part of the rest of my body (since I have generalized or full body RSD), I am afraid they will kick me out of their office for lack or refusal of cooperation (despite their knowing I have RSD) and I am afraid they will write something bad about me in my medical records for any potential new doctor to see (then this new doctor would not want to have me as a patient, because he/she would think I am a difficult patient). I need at least one doctor to prescribe the medications for my generalized RSD, for my epilepsy, for my Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, etc.

Quote: "Everyone is different though so I am not saying what you should or should not do."

My dream would be to have the legal right to tell any of my doctors not to touch me because of my generalized RSD without them having the legal right to kick me out or abandon me as a patient. I wish these doctors would understand it is not personal against them but because of my geberalized RSD that I prefer not to be touched anywhere.

Quote: "Would there be a skin doctor if not an infectious specialist?"

There are skin specialists in French Polynesia (I think they are called dermatologists). If I cannot find an infectious disease specialist, I will try the dermatologist.

As for my two-year-old baby boy, I feel like I am a terrible mother to him. I love him from the bottom of my heart; he is the treasure of my life. I feel like I should be able to do more for him instead of crying because of my RSD pain and making him cry because he saw me cry. I can tell my son loves me but I live in fear he will stop loving me as he grows up, especially when he realizes I am a sick and disabled mother. Will this not make him feel ashamed in front of his friends to have such a mother? I have to mention he had a transplant of one heart, two lungs, and two kidneys. I would do anything for him to have a better and happy life because it is not easy and fun being sick and disabled.

I thank you for your information and kind words. :hug:

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner...my boyfriend worked the closing shift last night so didn't get home until around midnight and I wanted to check with him before responding. He uses the 70% rubbing alcohol...and neither one of us is sure about whether the non stinging stuff would be as good (though we don't necessarily have any reason to think it wouldn't be). The idea here is just to get it really cleaned out and disinfected.

As for the neosporin cream...you could use some after the rubbing alcohol has dried if you want to...using a cream might even feel soothing after cleaning it out with the rubbing alcohol. That's really just up to you.

From the sounds of it...we both think maybe you should try cleaning it out more times during the day. You didn't mention how many times you go through the process of cleaning it out and bandaging it but it should probably be every 6-8 hours...more if it's seeping through the gauze even at those intervals. Cleaning it out more often may mean you can use "less" gauze.

He also wanted to add that if you are able to soak your knee in warm water (like a warm bath) then that could help to draw out more of the pus too.

A way that they sometimes track whether the infection is getting better here is to draw a cirlce around the red area surrounding the wound with a pen or marker and then track whether that redness is getting bigger than the circle or if it starts getting smaller. I don't know if you can do this given how sensitive the area is...but if you can it might give you a sense of whether it is getting better or worse.

Hope these things help. A bad infection can take a few weeks to heal and it's actually better for you if the wound hasn't healed because it will be easier to drain the infection than if the scrape had scabbed over. Then you would have to lance it to get it drained and I cannot imagine how painful that would be in an area where you have RSD.

Hi, catra121:

One last thing I forgot to mention (aah! my bad memory again!) is that when I change my dressings, I throw away the old one in a small trash can. Guess what I noticed about 24 hours later!? (I had not payed attention to this potentially happening before; I had not even thought this could happen.) I noticed this part of my old dressing, the gauze pads whose centers were soaked in pus and had just a little bit of Flammazine cream left on them, had been eaten, YES, eaten by some little ants. Can you believe this!? Only the parts of my gauze pads with no pus and cream on them had not been eaten by these ants. How disgusting these ants are! Really!

I also noticed that these small ants were walking up along my left injured leg, biting it painfully here and there. Because of my RSD, these bites feel like burning bee stings. :mad: After what happened with the pus-soaked gauze pads in the trash can, my guess is that these ants are trying really hard to find a way to my pus-filled scraped knee wound to bite it (owww! owww! :mad: ) and eat all the pus they can (gross! :eek: ) This is one of the reasons why I use two bandages: the gauze bandage and the other one, whose name I do not know in English. I am trying my best to keep these ants off my wound, but I have the bad (and angry) feeling they are trying to find (and will succeed in finding) a way under my dressing to get to my wound, bite it, and eat the pus. I really, really do not understand how ants could be interested in eating pus. It most certainly does not taste good! If these ants absolutely want to get to my wound, which has not shown any sign of growing new skin, closing up, and healing, these ants just have to eat a very small part of the bandages and gauze pads; if they wanted to, nothing would prevent them from doing so.

Catra, you do not have to apologize; I know you and your boyfriend have a life of your own that keeps you busy. It is normal. You are both already being soo kind and compassionate :grouphug: when you respond to my messages, to give me information and comfort. I can assure you that I appreciate this. What would I do without you!? I know without the shadow of a doubt that you are doing the best you can. I will forever be grateful for what you are doing for me. You are both helping me soo, soo much more than my primary care physician and other doctors. I will never, ever forget this. Thank you very, very much.

Quote: "He uses the 70% rubbing alcohol...and neither one of us is sure about whether the non stinging stuff would be as good (though we don't necessarily have any reason to think it wouldn't be). The idea here is just to get it really cleaned out and disinfected."

I will buy the 70% stinging rubbing alcohol, because this is the one your boyfriend uses. Since it really worked on him, it should work on me also. When I think about the non-stinging rubbing alcohol, I am not so sure it will work at all, so I will not take any chances with using it. I will use the stinging rubbing alcohol, so I am at least sure it will work.

I will do just as you suggested, using the neosporin cream after the rubbing alcohol has dried.

Quote: "Using a cream might even feel soothing after cleaning it out with the rubbing alcohol."

This gives me even more reason to use this cream.

Quote: "You didn't mention how many times you go through the process of cleaning it out and bandaging it but it should probably be every 6-8 hours...more if it's seeping through the gauze even at those intervals. Cleaning it out more often may mean you can use "less" gauze."

From Mondays to Fridays, I work as a secretary-archivist in the garage where I had my work injury. I leave home for work at about 5:30 AM and I get home after work at about 5 PM. This gives me enough time to do, at home, in the evening, only one dressing daily, from Mondays to Fridays. This does not apply if one of these days is a vacation day. I could make more dressings at my workplace, but I would then have to take an extra large first aid kit, will all the necessary stuff inside. However, there is no bathroom in the garage for female employees, but there is a bathroom for male employees (especially for the mechanics who get dirty after taking care of cars in the garage). Female employees cannot use the male bathroom because it has no door to protect thr privacy of the female employees. Besides that, I am not sure at all my boss would appreciate my taking some time off work to do my dressings, even if the scraped knee wound was a work injury.

On Saturdays and Sundays, I can do more dressings, with my two-year-old baby boy looking on with lots of interest. He points at my old dressing, still on my injured knee, and asks me: "Do you hurt?" Since I hate lying to my son, I tell him the truth and I reply: "Yes, it hurts, but I will take medication to make the pain stop." He asks me a lot of questions, such as: "What is this? What are you doing? Why are you doing this?" Even if he may not understand all my answers, I do my best to help him understand, so he does not get scared or is less scared when he sees me crying. My child unfortunately knows, at his very young age, a lot about the medical world: he has spent more of his two years of life in the hospital than out of the hospital, because of his cystic fibrosis, the complications of this disease, all the transplants (one heart, two lungs, two kidneys), the recovery from surgery, the physical therapy, the hospitalizations for exams or for illnesses that could kill him, although harmless for another child (such as the flu).

Quote: "He also wanted to add that if you are able to soak your knee in warm water (like a warm bath) then that could help to draw out more of the pus too."

I will go to a store to look for a large enough plastic basin, which could be filled with warm water. Then I could sit in this basin and let my injured knee soak in this warm water. I guess I would have to do this until the water gets cold. After throwing the dirty, cold water away, I could wash the basin with some soap, fill it with some warm water again, and soak my knee by sitting in the basin again. No house in French Polynesia has bathtubs in them, which I find strange.

Quote: "A way that they sometimes track whether the infection is getting better here is to draw a circle around the red area surrounding the wound with a pen or marker and then track whether that redness is getting bigger than the circle or if it starts getting smaller. I don't know if you can do this given how sensitive the area is...but if you can it might give you a sense of whether it is getting better or worse."

This is a very good idea. I will use a permanent marker, like orthopedic surgeons when they mark the different areas of the knee, as well as the area(s) they are going to operate on. As for the pain and the sensitivity of the area of the scraped knee wound, I will stand the pain if it helps me tell if the infection (redness) is getting better or worse.

Quote: "It's actually better for you if the wound hasn't healed because it will be easier to drain the infection than if the scrape had scabbed over. Then you would have to lance it to get it drained and I cannot imagine how painful that would be in an area where you have RSD."

If my scraped knee wound has started to scab over or has completely scabbed over, I might think the infection has healed when, in fact, it has not. If a scab is present over the wound, apart eventually from the redness around it and the throbbing pain, how could I tell the wound is still infected? I guess the pus could not leak anymore if there is a scab over the wound.

Removing the scab would be nearly impossible, unless a local anesthesia was done (how very painful in an RSD area). I do not see my primary care physician accepting to do this, considering he does not believe in the infection, like I mentioned it in my previous messages.

As for draining the infection with a lance (do you mean a syringe with a needle?), I believe I would pass out from very strong fear before the doctor (dermatologist or orthopedic surgeon) even had the time to start draining the pus with his syringe and needle. I would think the doctor would have to drain the infection several times, especially if the pus keeps on "coming" again and again, after each drainage was done.

I thank you and your boyfriend very, very much. I got from you both much, much more information and help than from my doctors and Internet web sites. You are the best! :) :grouphug:

Kitty,

Is it not time to leave your wound open. This is the only way it is going to scab over. You do not want to go to a dermatoligist. They are for skin disorders (not unhealing wounds) Sometimes silver compounds can turn a wound a yellowish white with a mild oder. (not a dirty diaper oder)Yes you have every right to tell a dr. that he should not touch you because of a disease process such as ours. That is your right as a patient. It is also unneccessary for them to rip your bandage off like you stated earlier. Tell them to use water, soak the bandage and the bandage will come off without adhering to the skin. I do suggest you follow up with either an infectious disease Dr. or a wound care facility.

How does your employer not have a bathroom for its employees to use (ALL employees)? That doesn't seem right at all...what do you do if you have to use the restroom? Very odd. Well...is there an office you could use or do you drive a car to work? Or a store next door or something with a restroom where you could go on your break? I definitely think you need to be cleaning it out more regularly that you are or it won't heal. At a minumum...I would change it first thing when you get up, at lunch break, when you get home from work, and before you go to bed. Those might not all be equally spaced exactly...but it will be close. Especially if you cannot leave it open for long stretches of time...the dressing needs to be removed and the wound cleaned multiple times a day.

Once the wound scabs over...you would likely still be able to tell if it was infected because it would either leak pus around the edges or you would get a boil or some visual sign of the pus building up under the skin. I think this would be bad...which is why it is all the more important that you clean the wound several times a day. Lancing it doesn't HAVE to be done by a doctor but that's what I would suggest (just safer and more sterile). It can be done with a needle, scalpel, or a razor blade. I shudder to even think of it.

Definitely do what you can to keep it cleaned out. If you ABSOLUTELY cannot change the dressing at work in any way then definitely before work, immediately after work, and before bed...soaking it in the evening if you can and leaving it open to the air as much as possible in the evening.

Alt's advice about removing the bandage is good advice...not having had too much experience with something like this recently (it's been a good long while since I had a nasty knee scrape) I would not have even thought about that. Anything that can save you additional pain is a good thing.

Take care.

Hi, alt1268:

Quote: "Is it not time to leave your wound open. This is the only way it is going to scab over."

Do you mean I should not leave my scraped knee wound uncovered, so it is able to grow some skin or scab? By the way, does skin or does scab grow first? Can skin grow without the formation of a scab over the wound?

Quote: "Sometimes silver compounds can turn a wound a yellowish white with a mild odor. (not a dirty diaper odor)"

Then is there a way for me to tell whether it is pus from an infection that is leaking from my wound or whether it is the yellowish white from the Flammazine cream containing silver?

Quote: "Yes you have every right to tell a dr. that he should not touch you because of a disease process such as ours. That is your right as a patient."

This is so, so true. Unfortunately, a patient who says this to his/her doctor, even politely and respectfully, has a big chance of hearing this doctor to tell him/her to get lost and leave the doctor's office. So many doctors today claim to know RSD but, in reality, they do not understand a thing about this syndrome. They just lie to us, patients, for fear of feeling ridiculed in front of us.

Quote: "It is also unneccessary for them to rip your bandage off like you stated earlier."

It is true again. I have the feeling many doctors purposefully want to hurt us, so we are in great pain.

Quote: "Tell them to use water, soak the bandage and the bandage will come off without adhering to the skin."

This is what I do when I change my dressings at home. I have the feeling I am bothering my primary care physician when I ask him to do what you mentioned. It is probably because there are many, many patients waiting to be seen by him in his waiting room. As a result, my primary care physician does not want to "lose his time" with me. After all, the more patients he sees in less time, the more money he earns.

Quote: "I do suggest you follow up with either an infectious disease Dr. or a wound care facility."

I think I told Catra that there are no infectious disease specialists or wound care facilities in French Polynesia. I miss my country, the wonderful United States of America, the best country in the whole wide world.

Thanks so much for giving me the information you did and thanks for your kinds words. I like the Bible verse at the end of your message.

Hi, catra121:

I had my work injury on February 10. I took my oral antibiotics (amoxicilline with acide clavulanique): two 500 mg tablets three times daily for eight days, that is, until February 18. Now, I do not have any antibiotics anymore. In French Polynesia and in France, pharmacies do not sell antibiotic creams. In the U.S., when I had an infection, even one that was not as bad as the present one, I would get a prescription for oral antibiotics to take for at least three months. My U.S. primary care physician is really different from my French primary care physician, here, in French Polynesia.

Guess what happened after I took all my antibiotics and I had none left?! The very severe pain in my RSD knee, with its infected scraped knee wound, came back with a vengeance, a big vengeance. I feel so desperate and angry so often that I want to hit my wound, as if telling it: "You want a good reason to hurt?! I will give you a good reason to hurt!!"

Quote: "How does your employer not have a bathroom for its employees to use (ALL employees)?"

I guess he had a bathroom built only for his male employees because they are the ones that get dirty most often, especially when cleaning and repairing cars and motorcycles. All mechanics in this garage are male. My employer must think female employees, who are mostly receptionists, secretaries, archivists..., do not get very dirty like the mechanics, so these female employees do not, to the employer, need a bathroom. No female employee dares complaining, for fear of losing her job.

Quote: "What do you do if you have to use the restroom?"

Female employees have a restroom, only one restroom, which is almost always occupied, including by male employees. These male employees should use their own restrooms. I guess male employees do not like their restrooms not having doors (the female employees' restroom has a door that can be locked). The female employees' restroom is so small and tight that there is not enough space to move around inside without bumping into anything (toilet seat, water faucet...). Owww! A body part with RSD or the infected scraped knee wound bumping into something, especially something that hard! I can easily imagine the intense pain caused by this, as this type of "accident" already happened to me so many times I lost count. I also lost count of how many times I cried after such "accidents" (because of the intense pain these "accidents" caused.)

Quote: "Is there an office you could use?"

I have an office, which I share with a coworker. The garage's rules do not allow employees to do dressings in their office, especially when there is a coworker that could be bothered or disgusted by my doing a dressing or when another employee (or the employer) could walk into the office to ask me for a car's records. They would most certainly not appreciate my doing my "disgusting" (to them) dressings in their plain sight.

Quote: "Do you drive a car to work?"

I am not legally allowed to drive because I have a seizure disorder. Someone usually drops me off at my workplace or I take the public transportation (bus).

Quote: "Or a store next door or something with a restroom where you could go on your break?"

There are stores next door to the garage, but they would not allow me to use their restroom, even if it happened to be large enough, despite my special circumstances.

My lunch break is from 12 to 12:30 in the afternoon. There are no other breaks. We take our breaks in our office (no dressings allowed to be done here) or in the lunch room (no dressings allowed to be done here either).

Quote: "I definitely think you need to be cleaning it out more regularly that you are or it won't heal."

Even if it is very difficult for me, I am starting to accept the fact that my infected scraped knee wound will never heal. If it kills me one way or another, I made a testament so my American police officer boyfriend will get the custody of my two-year-old baby boy. At least, even if he does not have me anymore, he will live with someone he loves and who loves him dearly.

Quote: "At a minumum... I would change it first thing when you get up, at lunch break, when you get home from work, and before you go to bed. Those might not all be equally spaced exactly...but it will be close. Especially if you cannot leave it open for long stretches of time... the dressing needs to be removed and the wound cleaned multiple times a day."

I get up at 5 AM so I can be ready to leave for work at 5:30 AM. If I wake up at 4 AM or at 4:30 AM, maybe I will have enough time to do this early morning dressing. As for lunch break between 12 and 12:30 in the afternoon, I still have to find a place to be able to do a dressing at my workplace. I will try doing a dressing between my bath time at 5 PM and my dinner time at 7 PM. There is no problem for me doing a dressing before I go to sleep at midnight. When I do not work on Saturdays and Sundays, it is easier for me to find the time and place to do all my dressings.

Quote: "Once the wound scabs over...you would likely still be able to tell if it was infected because it would either leak pus around the edges or you would get a boil or some visual sign of the pus building up under the skin. I think this would be bad...which is why it is all the more important that you clean the wound several times a day."

If I see a scab over my wound without my wound having healed, I will watch out for what you mentioned, so I can go to the Emergency Room if this happens. I just have to hope that the Emergency Room doctors do not kick me out, saying: "This is not a medical emergency. Go to your primary care physician! It is not our problem if he refuses to treat you. It is betwwen you and him!" I am sure there are Emergency Room doctors who would be capable of saying such mean, horrible things, even if I threaten to sue them. Maybe I should buy a cell phone and call the cops if the doctors refuse to treat me at the Emergency Room.

Quote: "Lancing it doesn't HAVE to be done by a doctor but that's what I would suggest (just safer and more sterile). It can be done with a needle, scalpel, or a razor blade. I shudder to even think of it."

The only problem is that if I do not find a doctor in French Polynesia to treat my infection, I certainly will not find one to do the lancing either. I wish there would be labs in the U.S., where I could send some pus for them to analyze and tell me then what kind of infection(s) I have. Of course, I would pay for the necessary material for the lancing and I would pay for the analyses and results. Maybe my nurse neighbor would be willing to do the lancing. Otherwise, if I have to do the lancing myself, people around me at the time of the lancing would hear a bloodcurdling scream.

Soaking my wound in the evening, before I do the dressing before bed, would not be a problem.

Quote: "...leaving it open to the air as much as possible in the evening."

Do you mean I would have to sleep without a dressing? In this case, would the pus not leak on my pajamas and bed and, worse, would the pain not be soo intense if my wound happened to rub against the bed sheets, without a dressing to protect it?

Quote: "Anything that can save you additional pain is a good thing."

You are so very right. If doctors could just think like you, we would be living in a dream world. Unfortunately, we know how doctors think when it comes to pain. "It is just pain." "The pain is not as bad as you say." "The pain is in your mind." Etc... This is a sample of the sentences I already heard from doctors.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer. I am so afraid to bother and annoy you with my questions and fears. Thank you for your kind words.

kitty

You should start leaving your wound open at night. a scab will usually form first before the skin. It is a mechanism of defense our body has. You can also tell if after you clean the wound looks beefy or nice a pink. This tells you you are on your way to healing and should stop using the silver.I would recommend that when you go to the dr. you take your own bandage off. I know that my husbands burn started to heal several weeks after treatment with silvadene cream and he had to stop using it for it to dry out.

Kitty...I agree with Alt. At this point you do need to try leaving it open as much as possible. You probably need the protection of the dressing at night when you sleep and during the day at work. But between the time you get home from work and the time you go to sleep you should try to rest and leave it open. Clean it out when you get home, but leave the dressing off. Before bed clean it out again and then put the dressing back on. Does that make sense? I really wish you had a compassionate and competent doctor who could advise you in this as there's only so much we can suggest without actually seeing what is going on. Take care.

Hi, alt1268:

Quote: "You should start leaving your wound open at night."

I think I could do this between the time I get home from work and the time I go to bed (from Mondays to Fridays). On Saturdays and Sundays, I could leave my scraped knee wound uncovered longer because, since I do not usually go out on these days, there is less chance for dirt and dust to get in my wound at home.

Quote: "A scab will usually form first before the skin. It is a mechanism of defense our body has."

I guess the scab would then be there to protect the wound while skin is growing over the wound.

Quote: "You can also tell if after you clean the wound looks beefy or nice a pink. This tells you you are on your way to healing and should stop using the silver."

After I wash my wound with soap and water and I rinse my wound well and after I disinfect my wound, my wound looks like the way it did on the day of the accident, just after I fell and scraped the skin on a large area of my knee. A few minutes afterwards, a yellow liquid, with the consistency and color of oil, starts leaking all the way down from my scraped knee wound to my foot. Then later on, the pus starts leaking.

Quote: "I would recommend that when you go to the dr. you take your own bandage off."

The last time I went to my primary care physician, he let me remove the bandage. Afterwards, I was getting ready to slowly, very slowly pull off the six gauze pads soaked with pus so as not to rip the wound off and injure it more than it already is. Unfortunately, this doctor was quicker than I was: he grabbed all the gauze pads and ripped them off so suddenly and rapidly that he caused not only my RSD pain to flare up intensely but he also caused my wound to get reinjured. Like I mentioned in my previous message, he was certainly in a hurry to get me out of his office so he could see another patient, then another one, and earn more money as he sees more patients. He could not care less about taking his time with me. He was not concerned with the pain or injuries he would cause me by acting the way he did. He did not even seem to listen to what I was telling him about my wound and the way to remove the dressing so as to avoid injuring and hurting me. He had the attitude: "I am the doctor; you are the patient."

Thanks for all the information you gave me.

Hi, catra121:

I will do as you and alt said about leaving my scraped knee wound uncovered as much as possible; I will do a dressing for my wound only for sleeping time and for work time.

Quote: "I really wish you had a compassionate and competent doctor who could advise you in this as there's only so much we can suggest without actually seeing what is going on."

So do I.

One last question: When, in the bathroom at home, I wash my wound with soap and water, then rinse it with water, what is a good way to do all this without risking ripping off any new skin that might be growing over my wound and without risking injuring my wound more?

Thanks for all your information.

Kitty

The best way to clean the wound is exactly what your doing. So often people fail to wash injuries with soap and water. Make sure not to use a bath but just a shower when bathing. It is good to let the water run over the wound because it cleans it out thourghly. As far as a better way of washing truly there isn't.

Change in my wound's situation
 

Hi, alt1268:

I have been following your advice, Catra's advice, and the advice of her boyfriend for a while now.

On Friday, February 24, the gauze pads of my dressing, including the special Urgotul textile mesh used between the Flammazine cream on my scraped knee wound and the first of the six gauze pads, felt stuck to my wound, even though the Urgotul textile mesh was supposed to prevent this from happening. For more information about Urgotul, which some of you may never have heard of, please click on (or type in the url box if the link does not work) the following:

http://www.urgoexport.com/uploaded_f...URGOTUL_GB.pdf

I pulled my dressing very carefully and slowly away from my wound, which did not get reinjured despite my doing this.

When I looked at my dressing, I noticed something strange: there was no pus on my dressing anymore. Instead, there was some reddish to brownish colored stuff, dried and stuck to the Urgotul textile mesh and to the first gauze pad. First, I thought this stuff was dried blood. A few minutes later, while examining this stuff, my thought was that this stuff looked like dried, very thin scab.

Afterwards, I looked at my scraped knee wound. There was no pus or other liquid on my wound. The red color all around my wound had disappeared and had changed to a very dark pink to purple color. My wound itself was dark pink also, but not as dark colored as the very dark pink to purple color surrounding my wound.

The only problem is that the pain in my wound has not changed much. I guess my RSD is to blame for this.

It seems to me (but maybe I am dreaming) that my scraped knee wound is starting to heal. If this is really the case, I sincerely hope nothing will come in the way and stop this healing.

Now, for my dressing, I only use some Urgotul textile mesh with one 10 centimeters X 10 centimeters gauze pad folded in two. The dressing is kept into place with some surgical tape, which I hope will not cause any electrical discharges to my RSD skin, the skin on which the surgical tape is taped.

Thanks for your information.

P.S. I checked the link by clicking on it after I posted my message; it is working. I forgot to mention the information is in English.

I am happy to hear that it sounds like it is finally starting to heal. Until it is completely healed it will probably hurt for a good while...and we all know wounds like this can flare up our RSD as well. Take care.

Hi, catra121:

I wanted to explain myself about the "sad" icon connected to the messages in this thread. I guess you put a "cynical" icon in your last response in this thread because you must have been shocked and surprised about my "sad" icon even though I had mentioned that my scraped knee wound seems to be healing. The two reasons to my "sad" icon are the following:

1) From the day of my work injury on February 10 to today, February 27, I assumed the fall that caused my scraped knee wound had been caused by my slipping on a puddle of water or oil in the garage. What if I was completely wrong?! My left knee has a long history of ligament problems, especially with the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). To try to correct these problems with my ACL, I did soo many years of physical therapy, I had two ACL thermal shrinkages, I had one ACL reconstruction, and I had one ACL revision reconstruction. Despite all the physical therapy and surgeries, my left knee's ACL keeps having problems again and again and again. Did the physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons do a bad job or is there just no cure for my ACL problems? Result: I have a very poor balance. For example, when I walk, I have the impression I am going to lose my balance and fall any minute. This thought is quite depressing to me. Why can I not walk normally, without losing my balance?! Am I going to spend the rest of my life falling?! My American doctors ruled out the narcotic painkillers I use and my other medications as being the cause of my loss of balance.

2) Even if I wanted to change the "sad" icon, I do not remember how to do it.

Quote: "Until it is completely healed it will probably hurt for a good while...and we all know wounds like this can flare up our RSD as well."

I wonder if my fall could have caused another injury to my left knee, but this time inside my knee, for example to a bone (fracture, bone bruise, etc.), to a ligament (ligament tear or stretch), to a meniscus (meniscus tear), to the articular cartilage, or to any other structure of my knee. Of course, I will never know it because, like I mentioned it in various messages in various threads, my French doctors absolutely refuse to prescribe any X-rays exams, bone scans, or MRI tests for me because they want to save the public health insurance's money. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: If I was related to a well known person, it would be different; I would get the needed prescription easily. Rich and well-known people are lucky; others, especially the poor ones, can just get lost. This is just so unfair, but there is nothing I can do about it.

Thanks for your information and kind words.

I am sorry to hear again about all that you have been through.

I have been having serious balance problems for the past year...ever since my RSD spread. I was stuck in a wheelchair for many months as we tried to figure out what was going on with me. Turns out it was just the RSD itself that was causing my balance problems. I still have them...which is the primary reason I still need to use my walker all the time. Physical therapy helped some and I have a lot of strength back now in my legs and arms and stuff...but my balance still is wonky all the time. But with the walker I feel much more stable and haven't fallen in a good long while.

My cynical icon doesn't have anything to do with your post though...just about my general perspective on things with what has happened with my employer. Completely seperate thing and was not meant as anything towards you. I know things seem unfair...they are...but all we can do is try to do the best for ourselves with what we have to work with. I know I don't like the idea of having to walk with a walker for the rest of my life (and I hope that I won't) but even if I do at least I will still be able to get out of the house and do things. A year of being trapped in the house and not able to stand or walk at all for many months of that was a real eye opener for me on how bad things could be and I will do just about anything to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Hi, catra121:

I wonder if RSD patients have balance problems directly because of their RSD or if RSD attacked their ligaments, causing balance problems. I also wonder if RSD has to be generalized (full body RSD) to cause balance problems.

Balance problems are annoying. More than that, they are dangerous. Imagine an RSD patient getting struck by a car because he lost his balance and fell in front of the car, too late for the car to have enough time to stop and avoid hitting him. Imagine an RSD patient walking up or down some stairs losing her balance, falling, and hitting any body part on a step. Some RSD patients do not live with this fear, maybe because they accepted their RSD. Unfortunately for me, I am not like them. Every time I fall, the physical and psychological trauma keep piling up, traumatizing me. I do not know how much of this fear and trauma I will be able to stand. I hope your situation is better than mine, physically and psychologically.

Quote: "I have been having serious balance problems for the past year...ever since my RSD spread."

This is what I thought: at least for you and for me, our RSD spreading caused us to have balance problems.

The worst for me is when my two-year-old baby boy asks me to carry him and hold him. Am I supposed to accept so he is happy, but risks getting injured with me if I fall, or am I supposed to refuse and risk breaking his heart? One way, he gets injured physically; the other way, he is hurt psychologically. Physical and psychological injuries to my child always, always make me fear that I will receive a visit from the police, the paramedics, and Child Protective Services (CPS), if someone sees me fall with my son and calls them. My next task is to search for a very good RSD lawyer, with some knowledge in family law. I will never, ever let anyone (police, paramedics, CPS) steal my treasured baby from me. With my boyfriend, my child is all I have in this world. I am always afraid to be abandoned by my boyfriend because of my multiple disabilities and health problems, but I know my son will never abandon me. My boyfriend, a police officer, tells me never, ever to open my door to anyone. He says I have to call him in case of accident and wait for him. I love him so much, but like I said, I am afraid of losing such a wonderful man.

I hope your balance problems will get better with time. Besides using a walker, do you wear a functional knee brace at one or both of your knees?

As for my employer, he never says anything, so I never know what he thinks of me (being disabled and unhealthy) and my work. If employers would just open their eyes and see the reality of disabled people like RSD patients, they would notice many of them are able and willing to work.

I sincerely hope a person as loving as you will get better. You most certainly deserve it.

I don't use any kind of brace. My balance problems aren't like my knees give out on me...I just have a tendency to fall to the side (usually to my right) and I am really unsteady when I don't have anything to hold on to. My legs don't shake and get the tremors as much as they used to since I've gotten the strength back (they still do sometimes but just not as often)...so that's something. But the balance problems continue and just seem to come out of no where sometimes.

I don't think that I personally would risk holding a child with my balance problems. My boyfriend's nephew is such a great kid and he loves me...but we settle for him sitting next to me on the couch or me sitting down on the floor with him. I just wouldn't want to risk either one of use getting hurt and he understands. He's only 3 now and was just a baby when I first started having problems...but he is so gentle with me. I can't imagine being a mother and being afraid to pick up my child. That has got to be so tough. But it sounds like you have a great boy who loves you and you clearly love him. That is really all that matter.

Hi, catra121:

Just like you, I have a tendency to fall to the side, whether it is the left or the right side. My functional knee brace gives me much stability, but since one of last year's falls broke it and saved my left knee (my left knee did not break; my brace did: it sort of paid the price for this fall), I have another brace that does not fit well and keeps slipping down my leg. Annoying! The company that made my (broken) brace does not make it anymore. :( :confused: I loved this brace! I miss it!

Something really, really strange happened with my last dirty dressing, which I had thrown away in the trash can. There was a huge cockroach stuck to my dirty dressing, dead. Did the pus or the Flammazine cream kill or poison it? I wonder!

Thanks for your kind words about me as a mother and my child. It really warms my heart. :hug:

Catra,
Your balance problems just may improve with your tDCS treatments! I certainly hope so.

Thanks...I am hoping they do too. I've gotten a lot of strength back and I feel like the balance thing is one of my biggest obstacles with getting rid of the walker. But of course the walker helps slow the rise of my pain levels when I am on my feet for a long time too...but that may also improve with tDCS. My fingers are crossed. :)

Kitty...I wouldn't worry too much about the dead bugs. Provided they don't end up on YOU I think you are okay. Does it still seem like you knee is healing up well? I hope so. Sometimes these things just take time.