Ok so I have a question for anyone and everyone that thinks they might be able to help. About a 1 1/2 ago I started noticing that I would get these spots on my skin where the skin would turn bright red and then come off completely leaving this open wound sore thing. I have had them all over my arms and legs for the past year and a half. They have never gotten bigger than the size of a nickel roughly. The only exception was that I once had the same thing happen at the spot on a surgical scar. I once had a tympanoplasty done, but to do it they cut behind my ear and went in that way instead of going through the front of my ear, thus I have a scar running down the length of the back of my ear. Last August this scar which is about 2 years old turned bright red and came open just like the other spots. Now for the scary weird part, that prompts this post. The monday of the last week of January I woke up to find a long strip on the middle of my left leg bright red. I immediately knew what was going on. By the next day the skin had come off and I had a huge open wound down my leg. This orginal one is about 1 1/2 inches long by 3/4 of an inch wide. I also noticed a spot on my right shoulder doing the same thing. I covered each with a bandaid and didn't think much of it. Soon they were red and inflamed. My mom took me to the doctor who put me on some antibiotic cream and sent me to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist didn't do a thing... She just told me to try a different type of bandaid. So we tried that but soon realized that all that bandaid did was cause the stuff comming out of the wounds to pool on the skin instead of being absorbed by the bandaid. Just then a new problem occured.... 4 new spots opened up, they were all around the orignial spot and just a little wider and longer. One was actually above the orignial spot and one was below. A little freaked I went back to the doctor, who told me put me on antibiotics, and took a culture. By this time it hurt so much to walk that I had to be put on crutches. I was also put on crutches because my leg was so swollen that it was almost unrecognizable. The culture came back as having staph in them so I took a 10 day course of antibiotics. However while this did clear up the infection it did not stop the wounds from spreading and I now have 3 new ones. In total the wounds take up the whole width of my leg and have become to be about 3-4 inches long. My leg is swollen and hurts pretty bad. I ended up going to a wound clinic where they put a una boot on which is like a cast except it is made out of a material that has zinc oxide paste in it so it stays moist but it is rigid like a cast. It also gives the compression of a cast. It was also decided that I needed to have a skin biopsy done which is scheduled for a week from yesterday. I am kind of freaking out about that because I don't like needles and they are just going to numb the area and then do the biopsy.... Anyways if anyone knows what this could be or has any insight what so ever please let me know!
THanks
Brianna
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Wow, Brianna.
I'm really sorry you're going through this. I wish I was a doctor to tell you what you have going on but I'm not. Yet, I want to say at first I was thinking "elephantitis" when you said your leg was unrecognizable and then I thought it deifnitely sounds like an infection; a flesh-eating bacteria. Either way it sounds like you're hurting something fierce. If your test results, on the next visit, come back inconclusive, I suggest you look for another doctor and keep on looking. Don't give up! It took my gynecologist to diagnose me with a blood clot(s) in my leg after I visited, at the time, four doctors and two trips to the ER. I had slipped and twisted my entire leg some years ago and nobody listened to my complaints, dismissed my swollen, red, hot-to-the touch leg and told me I just had a sprained ankle. I missed my appointment with my gynecologist and when I explained why (that I had been in the bed for two weeks with the swollen leg) he immediately told me I had blood clots and at the end of the month, to stop taking the birth control pills he had prescribed for me. He had also chided me about not telling him of my situation beforehand. We often don't think of going to one kind of doctor about a problem that we think is not in their field of expertise. But "He", I feel, saved my life and taught me to step out of the box and look elsewhere to get the answers we seek. I stopped the pills and have never had that kind of swelling and pain again. It was confirmed that I had injured the major vein and I now wear a heavy weight compression support sock and from time-to-time have open sore ulcerations, requiring a trip to the hospital to get yet another Unnaboot. I wish you the best and hope you get the much needed help to save your leg and possibly your life. You are in my prayers, Brianna. Cynthia
Hi Brianna,
A friend of mine, MyMartinez asked me to read your story and see if I could Help. I've had MRSA a type of staph infection for about 2 years. The good thing is the swab showed Staph, but that doesn't mean it MRSA. It sounds like a biopsy is all that can be done, at least then you'll know what it is and maybe they can help clear it up for you. I have Lupus, and I wonder if it could be something like Discoid Lupus, it is a type of Lupus that affects the skin. Obviously you won't know for sure untill the biopsy is done. I had a skin biopsy for my Lupus, and it wasn't bad at all. It didn't hurt and they only numb the skin, so the needle is very small and doesn't go very deep. I hope you get it figured out and quickly. Here's some info on Discoid Lupus:
Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is a chronic skin condition of sores with inflammation and scarring favoring the face, ears, and scalp and at times on other body areas. These lesions develop as a red, inflamed patch with a scaling and crusty appearance.
Michele
Michelle and Cynthia,
Thanks for the helpfull information! Cynthia you talked about going to different doctors, and I will definately look into that if this doesn't pan out. So far, a Medical Genetist, A Dermatologist, My Pediatrician and My Otolaryngologist have seen this with no real insight into what it could be. I would have to say the least helpful has been the dermatologist, who just told me to try a new type of bandaid and live with it. It is also nice to hear from someone else who has had these unnaboot things, they are so weird.... My leg feels heavy like its in a cast but yet the thing around it is not hard because they don't want to cause friction. I would have to say the worst part is that they feel kinda gooey although I am getting used to that now as this is my third day wearing it. Michelle Thank you for the helpful information! They at one time suspected I might have Lupus, but promptly dismissed the idea again infavor of another one. Mostly I suspect because when they did an autoimmune test to see if I had an autoimmune disease it came back negative, I later read however that that test can be wrong up to 50 % of the time. I don't know what this is, but it is sure something fierce. The thing is it is closing in on a month and if these wounds keep up their normal time table they will start healing soon with or without intervention. However the healing that will start here will take about another month to two months to complete and will leave huge scars. I will let you guys know how this all turns out, what the results of the biopsy are and such!
Thanks so much for your kind response!
Brianna
Just an FYI to anyone following this look at my new post Update on the Biopsy! It contains info about my trip to the doctor etc.
Thanks
Brianna
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