Unknowingly burned myself

[afidz]

Because of all of the things that has happened to my abdomen. I don't have feeling over most of it. I am coming to find this is VERY bad.

Yesterday I had a hot cup of water that I had intended on drinking to warm up. The cup was very hot the water was even hotter. So I was waiting to drink it but I was still holding the mug by the handle. I set it on my abdomen to give more support to it so I wouldn't drop it. A few minutes later I set the cup down and looked down at my abdomen- my skin was peeling off. I have 2 huge burns on it and it is now black. I don't know if the black is dried blood or dead skin. Going to go to a doctor tomorrow to have it looked at.

I have burned my abdomen before, on accident. Last time was because a curling iron touched it and I didn't know. But this is a lot worse.

I am so upset and distraught over this. What if I am cooking and my abdomen gets to close to the burner? I wouldn't know until it was too late. Its scary not having feeling.

I just want to live in bubble wrap. At least i would be safe.

 

[UnXmas]

Do you have a lot of scars from surgeries? That could reduce sensation I think, though I have a lot of scar tissue on my stomach and still feel normally, e.g. if I am holding a hot water bottle to my stomach for cramps, I know right away it it's too hot. Usually lack of feeling - of pain, temperature, etc. - is because of nerve damage, but neuropathy usually affects the extremities - hands and feet. But maybe ask your doctor for neurology referral if there's no other obvious cause? I wouldn't have thought scars would cause that much change in sensation. I know someone with peripheral neuropathy from diabetes who has to check his feet every day for cuts or to see if his shoes have rubbed because he can't feel it, if people go too long without checking they risk infections and other problems. I guess you'll have to do the same - now you know it's a problem you can be more vigilant about it, and avoiding burns will become a habit rather than a reflex.

 

[afidz]

I have had 15 surgeries, 7 of them major and very complicated. The nerves are dead. Where I burned myself is where the incision is. If it were a little to the right or left, I would of felt something but where it is is completely numb.
I have been feeling a little bit of pain from it. I can only imagine what it would feel like if it wasn't numb.
I'm going to the ER, it's pretty bad. They might have to surgically remove the affected area because it is pitch black.

 

[Muppetgirl]

Sorry you went through that afidz. :hug: I hope that it heals without surgery. Please let us know how you got on at the ER.

The whole front of my torso is also numb from repeated surgeries. Its been that way for years and I still find it eerie. It's also (I find) surprisingly upsetting - another change / loss I guess.

 

[theOcean]

Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, Afidz. Hoping things in the ER will be okay.

 

[afidz]

I didn't go to the ER. Not yet at least. My mom works for a doctors office so I sent her a picture of the burns. They said to keep it dry and covered and if it shows signs of worsening or infection then go to the er.
My body knows I don't have insurance and it is rebeling. My finger has been very sore and puffy the last few days. Turns out it has an infection because puss is now coming or if it.
I'd like to check my order on that bubble wrap please!

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

Oh afidz, I'm so sorry!!! I too hope that things will get better without too much trouble. Wish I lived closer to give you some real hugs and support. But, I'm afraid this will have to do. :hug:

 

[Axelfl3333]

If it's not big you can buy burns dressing from the chemists normally a in a foil pack kind of a gel type dressing that are really good and help with scarring.i,ve got a friend who works in a burns unit.she also recommends bio-oil after it's mostly healed keeps it flexible and supple it's good to reduce all scars.i,m not sure if it's called bio-oil in the states but it's just a really good moisturiser.

 

[UnXmas]

Maybe I'm unusual, but I've had eight surgeries on my stomach, including a massive open surgery, and I have scars from drain sites, and don't seem to have any noticeable loss of sensation.

afidz - I would see a doctor, for your finger too. Infections will spread without antibiotics. If there is infection, it's very likely that it will be easier and cheaper to treat it now than if you leave it and it spreads.

I just went through this: I had surgery last September. The incision was infected. Cost isn't an issue here (all on the NHS), but I was worried antibiotics would cause me to lose weight as they upset my stomach, and the infection looked so minor I figured I'd just leave it, change the dressings every day, and thought it would heal on its own. I left it months before I finally realised it wasn't going to get better on its own, and was actually getting worse. It was oozing pus and surrounded by a hard red patch of skin that was so sore and getting bigger. I then saw a doctor and took one week of antibiotics, and it healed rapidly. There was still a small sore bit left when I'd finished the antibiotics, but it turned out a stitch was still stuck in there and when that was removed it healed completely. Infections often worsen without antibiotics. Antibiotics are effective and they work fast. If you have any signs of infection, I really believe it would be better to get it treated quickly, for your health as well as for the overall financial cost.

Does going to the ER cost more than seeing a GP or a practice nurse? If it's cheaper to go to your GP surgery and see a GP or practice nurse there, that should be fine, you may not need to go to the ER. That's where I got my infection treated anyway; they're able to prescribe antibiotics, dress wounds, etc.

 

[afidz]

Maybe I'm unusual, but I've had eight surgeries on my stomach, including a massive open surgery, and I have scars from drain sites, and don't seem to have any noticeable loss of sensation

I'm not sure what to say to this. I have had the same incision cut open over and over again on top of several very serious infections. The surgeries were done on my muscle and skin, not my organs. There is a ton of scar tissue. I don't have feeling. Besides that, every one is different.

For now I'm just going to continue to do what my mom's doctors said. There is no sign of infection, just some edema-but that is very typical with severe burns. As for my finger, it's not pusy any more and the swelling is going down.

I will go to the er and gave the cost if I have to but I'm still going to try and avoid it if I can. I really don't want to go into any more debt

 

[Jennifer]

UnXmas, many people deal with a loss of sensation after surgery because the nerves are being damaged. Mine was laparoscopic with hand assist so my scar is only about 4 inches long yet I do have a spot on the right side that's completely numb (about 2 inches of numbness). Recently I had been dealing with problems of a loss of sensation on my outer thigh from back problems I was having and the Neurologist used the needle test to see how good my sensation was. Due to my back issue I've lost most of the surface sensation on my thigh and on my back, yet they also checked my abdomen which has reduced sensation all over it. I was surprised that I couldn't feel the needle touching my skin even far away from the obvious numb spot I had. They said that the numbness in my abdomen was all from the surgery. So I had a lot more numbness than I originally thought. I'm glad you haven't had any noticeable numbness.

As for the rest, medical care is extremely expensive without proper insurance in the US and even then, a co-pay can also be pricey when you aren't working and are out of money.

Hope you heal up quickly afidz. That's pretty scary.

 

[UnXmas]

Sorry, I didn't mean to be dismissive, I know I have no idea of the stress that must be involved in having to pay for medical care. I just thought it could end up being even more expensive in the long run if there were an infection that spread, as most infections do without treatment. I hope you don't have an infection, afidz, in your finger or the stomach burn.

 

[afidz]

Thanks, unxmas
In can be more expensive, but I've been keeping a close eye on both. The second there is a sign of anything getting worse, I'm going to the ER. I'm flying home next weekend, I'm going to have my mom's doctors look at it if they are willing. I'm also seeing my rheumatologist ' s assistant next week too, I'm sure she wouldn't mind.
The burns are healing. The bottom smaller one isn't black anymore and the bigger one is headed in the sane direction. There isn't as much edema under them and the underlying tissue is bright red and healthy. Hopefully I can keep them on this track of healing.
The infection in my finger is gone, as far as I know. It is still slightly sore but the swelling and bruising is gone.
If I can just make it until February 1st when I should have insurance again, that would be great!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

UnX, having to pay for ER visits in the US can be tremendously expensive. Even with insurance, when my hubby had kidney stones and ended up in the ER a couple years ago - the bill was about $5,000 (just for one CT scan and one x-ray, he wasn't even admitted and only spent a few hours in the ER). With deductibles and co-pays, I think we ended up having to pay about $500ish of that bill. (I had been expecting to pay at least $1000 since our insurance typically covers 80%, so we actually paid less than I had assumed we would.) $500 still isn't cheap of course. And that's with insurance - Afidz said she currently has no insurance, so for her an ER visit could easily cost in the thousands and she'd be on the hook to pay it all. So yes, it is extremely stressful when you're in a situation like that, desperately needing medical care but not able to afford it.

Afidz, I hope you can heal on your own without needing to go to the ER! Instead of bubble wrap, are you able to get some sort of protective garment for your abdomen? Just thinking out loud here and I don't know if this would work for you with your hernias, but I recently got a corset (I do not lace it up tight!) and it actually feels really protective of my abdomen. It's weird, it's the opposite of what I thought a corset would be like. I figured it'd be extremely uncomfortable/painful, but it's actually quite comfortable and comforting. I never thought I'd want a corset, but I really like it now that I have one. It's my version of bubble wrap I guess!

 

[afidz]

I wear 2 abdominal binders most of the time. But at night, my back needs a break from them so after I am done moving around and being active I take them off. After I get this hernia fixed I am going to be looking into another type of support garment that is more comfortable and doesn't pull on my back so much. But for now, the binders are my only option