Lots of puss/blood

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I know abscesses are treated differently depending on the situation, but is there a reason why they are repacking it ? I have had abscesses drained, they are packed once and then the packing is removed and it is left open to heal.

I had an abscess drained 3 yrs ago which formed a fistula. I was put on Remicade which worked wonders. Recently, the fistula abscessed again and I just had a seton placed. Hopefully your surgeon will be able to give you all your options now that they have drained the area, and I hope it's given you some relief, take care
 
Really? That's weird that you had it left open. Maybe because of the size. Yours was probably smaller. If I left mine unpacked it would for sure get infected. Both cuts are long then my index finger. Like...each one. The nurse stuck her finger pretty far in it as well. Maybe I'll post a pic when its not so fresh. It really grosse right now. My abscess actually formed WHILE I was on Remicade which was also weird. I think too because mine is so close to the rectum, if I didn't have packing in it, it would be covered in poop everytime I went to the bathroom.

I'm going to avoid a seton at all costs too. I really don't like the sounds of it. Its going to take a LONG time for this one to heal. Atleast a few months for sure
 
Hi K: Just wanted to pop in to say that I hope you have a good, smooth healing process now. Sorry the wound is so hard to look at right now! It'll get better.
 
Thanks Entchen. I'm hoping this healing goes smoother than the last time. I have an appointment with the wound care specialist tomorrow to figure out what were going to do, and then I think I finally get to leave the hospital! Hopefully lol. Fingers crossed
 
I finally got discharged today from the hospital. They said the VAC pack won't work so they're using a new kind of packing. I have two new, but pretty disturbing pictures of it now I can post if you guys want...I just don't want to gross anyone out. It is a very serious incision so I want to give people a heads up and if you want to see them I can post them up.
 
Hey K. Really hoping this works and you can get on with the business of healing now. Re: the pics, if you put them in an album in your profile and we know they're there, that way the more squeamish can carry on reading the thread?
 
Yeah, thinking about it now I don't want those pictures floating around on the web so if anyone wants to see, I will PM you the pictures. Thanks for your thoughts
 
K, I'm in nursing and wounds intrigue me....I'd love to see it if you're willing to share.
I spent an hour or so reading your story, you've really been through the ringer! Please, next time don't let anything get that bad before getting treatment! I hope it heals quickly for you. :) Perhaps the reason they're not suggesting sitz baths is because it's packed? If there was no packing and it was open i'm sure they would be.
 
As far as the sitz baths, that was before.... They're all for it now lol. I guess after their screw up they'll try anything now. They told me because of where my packing is I would have to change it every single time I went to the bathroom, which can be 4-5 times a day sometimes!

The nurses are only allowed to come once a day they say, but I think they say that because they have no set hours and once they're done the people on the list, they're done for the day, so who would want to go out again? My fiancee is going to learn how to do it and I'm all for it because I said even the first time that at the hospital they pack it WAY more than the nurses at my house do. (The home care nurses are the reason I had to have a second surgery) so this way if my fiancee does it, I know there's no rush and she can take her time and I can actually tell her how I'm feeling and whether it feels like enough rather than the nurses rushing to get out the door.

They said the packing will more than likely fall out in the bath anyways so I have to take baths before I change it. One thing though, they said if I want to use my bathtub I'll have to pretty much bleach it in order to get it clean. Is that true or is it fine just to fill it and sit in there?

Thanks guys
 
Id bleach it K.
There is no better way to avoid the bacteria and infections. Therefore to avoid getting troubles since it is pretty much an open wound I would not take chance of not doing it. It will be safer!

Better be safe than sorry! I'm sure you don't feel like getting any additional infection.
Good luck :)
 
Hey Jane! How's things been? :)

Okay, I'll do it. I was scared that the bleach would cause an infection being such a strong chemical.

Tamesis, I will send you the pics through PM. I'm just trying to email them to myself through my phone and the email is acting up on my phone. I will get them to you as soon as it works. If anyone else wants to see, feel free to ask
 
hey hey! Things seems to be getting better, slowly, at the least I still think they are lol
It still hurts, but hurts less so I'm guessing it will be ok! :)

Are they suggesting to put bleach in as you take the bath or put bleach to clean the bath. If it is to clean the bath you don't have to worry one bit about the strenght of it. If it is to be put in... (I dare to make the supposition because I know I had to do it for feet or hand and soak in it with a certain amount, can't remember how much it was but it was like a table soup for each X amount of liter). So I don't know if that is what you meant... then I would find this a bit aggressive but I think that might also be a possibility. What did they tell you?
 
Lol no the bleach is just to clean out the bath tub before sitting in it. Is there any sort of subsitute I can use instead of bleach?

Glad you're feeling better too! Hopefully things stay that way :)
 
Well, I had my original abscess which they cut and took care of, then during the second surgery originally all they wanted to do was take their original cut, cut it again, deeper, but extend it. So they did that, they found another abscess. That's 2. They drained, and what not BUT found yet another pocket. So they cut that down the center. Which is how I got my T shape.

Infection------Infection
................ l
................ l
................ l
..............Infection



It's really hard to draw a diagram on here. Everything automatically goes to the left. My opening though actually is in a heart shape because they stretched the skin lol

I guess really the whole thing is infection, but those are the cuts and where they found the abscesses. They told me we can talk about a seton if it turns into a fistula. It really shows how deep the skin is and I can see right down to some muscle/tissue. It's quite something to look at to be honest.

That metallic thing you see is the Silvercel. Piercing...DOWN THERE!?!? No....just...no! lol
 
Hum, I guess usual lysol and such would do the trick but if you have bleach, I'd take bleach over any other product to be honest. Javel water is a serial killer + it costs pretty much nothing. Just do a 1:5 concentration and rinse it really well before taking your bath. After all, the remains can't be worse than going to a public pool, it will cause no harm.
 
KWalker said:
Really? That's weird that you had it left open. Maybe because of the size. Yours was probably smaller. If I left mine unpacked it would for sure get infected. Both cuts are long then my index finger. Like...each one. The nurse stuck her finger pretty far in it as well. Maybe I'll post a pic when its not so fresh. It really grosse right now. My abscess actually formed WHILE I was on Remicade which was also weird. I think too because mine is so close to the rectum, if I didn't have packing in it, it would be covered in poop everytime I went to the bathroom.

I'm going to avoid a seton at all costs too. I really don't like the sounds of it. Its going to take a LONG time for this one to heal. Atleast a few months for sure
Click to expand...

I agree, mine probably were not too large in comparison to what you described yours as.

I have always found it a bit overwhelming to see the incision for the first time after its been drained. Hopefully, you are feeling better now that the infection has been drained :D
 
Oh its not out yet lol. The initial infection is out but they keep it open so hopefully all of the infection will get out. I'm getting lots of drainage right now. So you can compare, my new incision is 7.5 inches long one way, and 3 or so inches the other way so its big.

It interests me with how thick the skin is and how I can see right past it, but I still have my percosettes I have to take for pain. I'm on my 4th prescription of percs and about 120 pills in, and I've built quite a pain tolerance so as much as I get relief, the pain from the incision gets the best of me sometimes.
 
Yes it is lol. I was extremely shocked the first time I saw it. I can touch it from the front, and also see it from looking at myself straight on from the back.
 
Suggest that you discuss with your doc cycling through different antibiotics as these bacteria that cause the abscess do become antibiotic resistant over time. I took Alinia as an addition to the usual Flagyl and Cipro, and it ended the underlying infection after many months of suffering. Did they culture the discharge to determine what types of bacteria were present?
 
I couldn't tell you to be honest. I was so out of it after surgery I was just glad it was over.
 
Hi KWalker,

Wow, this brings back memories for me just reading about what your going through..
About 10 years ago before I was diagnosed with crohns I had a abcess cut out from the top of my but cheek right where the crack starts.. It was a gapping hole 3cm across and about 5cm deep! After my surgey the nurse came in and told be to go and clean it in the bathroom, I nearly passed out, I had to have it packed by a nurse each day who came to my house.. They had to grow the skin from the bottom of the hole to the surface.. I too threw up when I saw.. I was so over the puss and goo running down the crack of my but which in turn made my skin sore from being moist all the time.. then to top it all off I had reactions to the tape the were using to stick down my dressings..
I know the frustration & anger you must be going through with this each day.. Sorry you have to go through this, it's just the worst..I swore I'd never ever do it again!!
One of my syptoms from my recent diagnosis of crohn's was swelling and cracking around my anus and I'm sure this was on it's way to something nasty because it was just getting worse. Anway the prednisolone i'm on seems to be helping.. No help to you but I just wanted to sympathise.. It sucks. I hope you get some healing soon..
 

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