my boyfriend has what i think might be an abcess in the crook of his arm..but am not quite sure exactly what it is
it in the point where he was injecting, first there was a small red ball type thing under the skin and then it turned purple all around the ball and i think he squeezed it and so it went crusty, now it is less colourful but is still there.
the last time that he claims to have shot in this vein is over 3 weeks ago, and it is a lot better but is still there and doesnt seem to be going.
have been putting a distinfection creme on it a few times a day and this seemed to help, but not sure how to help it heal more or if he needs medical treatment???
he says he hasnt been injecting into this arm for the past few weeks and claims to have injected into his other arm (cocaine) 2 and half weeks ago and nothing since...
this thing on his arm is still there and isnt getting better....but isnt getting worse..so is he telling the truth? all other signs seem to me like he isnt lying (but then wot do i know!)
any ideas on how to help his arm heal...treatment or cremes etc?
thanks x
letting it heal on it's own or with creams can take months to heal,with the help of sum sort of antibotics,(spelt wrong sorry),it takes 2 weeks at the most,id get to the doctors if i was him,ive seen people lose legs n arms through this,it cud be well he's telling the truth,but how come u've only just spotted it ?.get an appointment booked.
havent only just spotted it, i have seen it for a while
thing is i only found out about his problem and his using about 2 months ago so this is all new to me and dont know a lot of stuff
i remember seeing the red ball thing ages and ages ago..probably at least 3 months ago but he fobbed me off with some story about it being a cyst or something.
now that i know and he talks to me i have been trying to help him get rid of it, one because i am worried about it and what it could turn into..ie somethign more serious, and two beacuse its summer and its a bit of a giveaway that he has been using.
dont know about the doctors as he has been giving false urines to the clinic so they dont know about the lastest relaspe and he has hidden his arm from them and his parents i am the only one who knows about it.
he has stopped using now,(well i am about 90% sure of that! )and is about to start reducing the methadone. telling the doctors might set him back on this? or is it serious and he really should see the doctor?
sorry to have rambled on
thing is i only found out about his problem and his using about 2 months ago so this is all new to me and dont know a lot of stuff
i remember seeing the red ball thing ages and ages ago..probably at least 3 months ago but he fobbed me off with some story about it being a cyst or something.
now that i know and he talks to me i have been trying to help him get rid of it, one because i am worried about it and what it could turn into..ie somethign more serious, and two beacuse its summer and its a bit of a giveaway that he has been using.
dont know about the doctors as he has been giving false urines to the clinic so they dont know about the lastest relaspe and he has hidden his arm from them and his parents i am the only one who knows about it.
he has stopped using now,(well i am about 90% sure of that! )and is about to start reducing the methadone. telling the doctors might set him back on this? or is it serious and he really should see the doctor?
sorry to have rambled on
the only thing u oughtta do is see adoctor ( him ) cos if it gets infected which easily happens , he's up s#'-# creek.it can poisen his whole blood supply.my girlfriend nearly had bad trouble because she thought to herself "yeah , it'll go away ". so rather hear " you'll be fine in a week " than "yiou shoulda come a week ago "
it's been there for so long now tho? how can i convince him to go to the doctor?
how do i even know its an abcess..could it be something else? do other people get (or used to get) marks like this where they would inject?
how do i even know its an abcess..could it be something else? do other people get (or used to get) marks like this where they would inject?
Sashab.
You are not his mother it is not your job to convince him of anything.
I know the score on this my man sees the doctor as the enemy the last thing he needs is some one telling him anything about his health which he knows in his heart his true.
Stop worrying tell him that he should go and see a doctor make a joke of it, tell him if he doesn't go and they have to cut his arm off that you won't make him cups of tea, then leave it.
He is a big boy it's his body his choice plus if anyone nags me about anything it makes me determined not to do it.
You are not his mother it is not your job to convince him of anything.
I know the score on this my man sees the doctor as the enemy the last thing he needs is some one telling him anything about his health which he knows in his heart his true.
Stop worrying tell him that he should go and see a doctor make a joke of it, tell him if he doesn't go and they have to cut his arm off that you won't make him cups of tea, then leave it.
He is a big boy it's his body his choice plus if anyone nags me about anything it makes me determined not to do it.
Go to a doctor,emergency room ,or some kind of charity care. Have them look at it. If its a abcess they will lance it,and give him antibotics and cover it up.
I wouldnt screw around and wait- - but thats me
jack
I wouldnt screw around and wait- - but thats me
jack
i know i know...he 's a big boy and should do his own worrying but then i can't help it!
will have a chat with him later and then leave it be
as like you say the more someone pesters you to do something the less inclined you are to do it!
will have a chat with him later and then leave it be
as like you say the more someone pesters you to do something the less inclined you are to do it!
many years ago, long before i ever touched the brown myself, i have a friend caroline... one day i saw her around the estate i used to live on, well she was in so much pain, she had shared a needle, missed a vein, and scored dirty gear her arm was totally f***ed.. i told her to go straight to the hospital her arm was so swollen it looked like it was going to split if it streached anymore, it was every different colour under the sun.. well it was a good job she went, she had bad poisoning had to stay in, it was a good job she never lost her arm,
I hope he see sense and went hospital, its senseless sitting there waiting for something bad to happen, when a quick trip might save alot of grief... as they say "its better to be safe than sorry" tracie x
I hope he see sense and went hospital, its senseless sitting there waiting for something bad to happen, when a quick trip might save alot of grief... as they say "its better to be safe than sorry" tracie x
Do you have a health unit that you can go to? Does your BF use a needle exchange? if he does they may have a nurse on site, but even if they don't they can tell him where to go and get it seen to.
Please let him know that this could mean life or death for him, it is very serious.
take care.
Karen
Please let him know that this could mean life or death for him, it is very serious.
take care.
Karen
I had in the middle of my arm what started as a very small sore "from using dirty needles". it quickly grew into a huge painful discolored lump. I noticed it about a week after shotting in that spot. It grew to about 4.5 inches long nearly under my arm pit before i went to the hospital. I let it go about 8 days before treatment, it got nasty very FAST!. IT WAS SO PAINFUL I could not lift my arm without crying. It was infected with a anti botic resistant staph infection "which can kill you". At the hospital they cut it open squezed and cleaned it out. I still have a scar from that infection. I was in the hospital for 8 days on heavy i.v anti botics. I was told if there was no inprovement in 3 days they would take my arm to keep it from spreading. It healed after a few months. It had ate a HUGE hole up inside my arm over a inch deep hollow hole. I had to use long q tip things and shove medical packaging gause inside my arm. They could not stitch anything because they said it had to heal from the inside out. I was also running a small fever during that infection. I advise anyone with a infected injection site to get it treated as soon as possible. I had used over the counter stuff on mine it did nothing at all to clear it up. Had i let my infection go much longer i would not have my right arm. .lil info on staph: Staphylococcus can cause skin, heart valve, blood, and bone infections, which can lead to septic shock and death. These infections are primarily caused by the toxins which Staphylococci produce. For example, the enterotoxins produced by S. aureus are a significant cause of food poisoning (2) and the superantigens can cause toxic shock syndrome if present in the blood stream (9). In their more potent forms, the toxins are responsible for damaging host tissues, inhibiting phagocytosis (whereby the host neutralizes the Staphylococci toxins and eliminates the bacteria), and causing disease symptoms (8).
Ninety percent of Staphylococcus strains are resistant to penicillin and penicillin-derived antibiotiocs. The next line of attack, methicillin, is increasingly becoming less effective: between 1975 and 1991, the prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus increased ~26% (13). While non-hospital acquired Staphylococcus infections can be treated with penicillin-derived antibiotics, hospital-acquired infections are entirely resistant to penicillin and require more aggressive antibiotic treatments
Ninety percent of Staphylococcus strains are resistant to penicillin and penicillin-derived antibiotiocs. The next line of attack, methicillin, is increasingly becoming less effective: between 1975 and 1991, the prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus increased ~26% (13). While non-hospital acquired Staphylococcus infections can be treated with penicillin-derived antibiotics, hospital-acquired infections are entirely resistant to penicillin and require more aggressive antibiotic treatments
