Open Wound On Leg Won't Heal... (Page 1)

Hmmm, that sounds like you might have an abscess kicking there. How much does it hurt?

I came to this site when I had this problem and couldn't find anything to help. I then tried an ointment called Iodex. That is the brand name of an ointment with iodine in a jelly base. It is not easy to find but I had it in the house because it is great for blind hairs. Anyway, I kept using it twice a day on the scab and sore. In about three days I saw improvement and it took about two weeks for it to fully go away. I hope this helps you as well as it did me.

It only hurts when the scab begins to fall off. Other than at that time, I don't even notice it.

Hi there, Just wondering- i have the exact same problem. im guessin by now yours has gone away... as u posted this is 2007& its now 2011. how long did it take for yours to go?pleasE?help!

Hi there, Just wondering- i have the exact same problem. im guessin by now yours has gone away... as u posted this is 2007& its now 2011. how long did it take for yours to go?pleasE?help!

Is it any way possible that you could wear sandals until it clears up some more? That might sound stupid, but it would work quite quickly. Low cut shoes might help too. Hmmm, doesn't sound like an abscess then, you'd know if it was. You might need to get it looked at unfortunately.

I was afraid of that I don't really have very good medical insurance through work. Would there be anything at the drug store that I could use to keep it dried out?

That's the biggest problem. There is so much pus that the scab just kind of "slides off" after a while. I know it sounds disgusting, but that's kind of what's happening...

Hmmm, I have one thing I can recommend. If you have a health food store nearby, buy some tea tree oil and put it on the wound regularly. That might help clear it up, works real quick if it will. The strange thing is you're saying there's so much pus. Have you tried squeezing and pressing around the edge of it to see if it drains? Have you noticed any drainage on your socks and such or maybe on your sheets when you wake up?

yes, there definately is drainage on my socks and the sheets. Pressing around the edges does nothing...it's a gradual leakage.

Not like a pimple at all.

Hmmm, that does sound like a possible abscess, but usually if you press around them and such something should come out, plus the area you describe is a little too shallow for something that can be as deep as that. How did this wound start? How much drainage is there?

I think it originally started with an ingrown hair that got irritated but I'm not positive. There is A LOT of drainage, sometimes so much that it will run down on to my foot if I leave it un-bandaged.

That has to be an abscess, no normal wound will drain that much. Unfortunately, only a doctor's intervention can get rid of it. If you're really, really, incredibly brave you can try it yourself, but it won't be easy. You would need to dig into the whole way to get to the heart of the infection and then pack it with gauze to keep it open. You better get it looked at if you can't seem to get any relief from tea tree oil, that's really your last hope. Drainage that bad has to be abscess. Any way you can post a picture of it on here?

Please go to a wound center for treatment.

O'Conner's Hospital in San Jose is where I took my husband after a bad leg injury. It also didn't heal and became worse as time went on. He was also a diabetic so it made it more difficult to heal.

They may have to scrap out the infected part of skin and then you will have the chance to recover.

Good luck to you.

Thanks a lot...I'll see what I can do.

Hi, your wound sounds almost the same as mine however there isn't a large amount of drainage just enough in a 9-hour period to stain the gauze pad. I have had mine for about 4 months, finally went to the doctor, he swabbed a culture & sent it to the lab, a week later he says there was no sign of a bacterial infection, then he gives me a prescription for "cephlexin" and that doesn't work! I need a new doctor as I can't afford to keep taking off from work to see this guy.
Good Luck!
Steve D.

I have exactly the same problem but located on my shin. It's a wound that started small ... not sure how as I did not notice it at first. But it got bigger over time. Lots of drainage. Heals but scab comes off due to drainage. Then it has to heal all over again. All I want to know is what the hell is this thing and how do I get rid of it!?

My husband is a diabetic and he has the same thing on his leg. It's been over two months and he's already seen the doctor and taken antibiotics without the wound healing. There doesn't seem to be much information or help with this online....but if anyone sees anything helpful, please post it here - I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

I have found that hot water is the best cleaning agent for healing...Not burning hot, but nice and warm...Using a clean cloth maybe four times a day with warm to near hot water would be my best advice...That and keeping it clean...Take care...

Caroline

Well, I agree with AnneinNC ... there is NO INFO online about this and I searched extensively. I looked all over this site too.

I am happy to report that my wound is now finally all healed. I want to let everyone know how I did it. (CarolineEF comes closest to what worked for me ... I don't know if that was from your own experience Caroline or if you are a practitioner.)

What I observed was that my wound was infected. The infection slowly moved out from the initial wound and affected a gradually increased area around the wound so the wound simply got bigger and bigger.

I noticed that if I simply put an antibiotic all over the wound, it didn't help. All the while I was trying to keep it away from water. WRONG! One day I just let the warm water from the shower flow onto the wound. It felt good too. But when I got out of the shower I noticed the scab was loosened. So I scraped all the scab off with a cotton swab soaked in antiseptic peroxide. GOOD MOVE! It did not hurt but the scab easily came off. I also squeezed all the pus out as best I could (there was even pus under the distant surrounding skin). Thed I dried it with a clean antiseptic soaked cotton followed by a dry cotton swab. Then I used Neosporin on the raw wound ... just put a dab on there and rubbed som all around the wound area. Early in the process, there was enough drainage below the scab that it sort of "floated" off. Later I had to apply more force to remove it.

I repeated this every day: soak in warm water, remove scab, squezze out extra pus, disinfect, dry, Neosporin. And sure enough, every day the scab came off, the wound below was smaller. I also moisturized the skin around the wound because I noticed it had gotten dry with even some dead skin left over.

I think the key to the whole thing was removing the scab and squezing out the pus even from the surrounding skin. I thin it was the growing unremoved pus and infection under the surrounding skin that made the wound just get bigger and worse over time. Getting the pus out by removing the scab was the key. Sounds gross. But it worked! It was there for three or four months.

I'm looking at the affected area right now and it is completely healed. However, there are residual marks on my skin which I think were the result of me not figuring it out sooner and the surrounding skin was thus getting damaged by the infection and pus spreading outwards. Anyway, the marks are fading away now. I'm just sorry it took me so long to finally get it figured out ... the damaged area ended up 1-inch in diameter ... that's the size of the mark now on my shin! Thank god it is fading.

from what I understand my great grandfather had this and so does my grandmother. I asked a nurse about it and she said it could be from the kedney not working right. I am investigating this more becouse I noticed a sore spot right below my knee and I dont know how I got it. It is now looking dried and scalying. I am woried that I might get it too.

Im ic Chicago. My mom has this and she is desperate for help. I will follow this post and hope that someone finds a cure. She went to the doctor this has not helped.

I have a wound on my ankle too. I think it was caused by a boot that's fits too snug on my ankle. I've been using a treatment similar to Mangojulie's. Clean wound with hot as I can bare tap water in sink (but shower works, too). Then I clean the area around the wound with hydrogen peroxide and a swab (or q-tip) trying NOT to get any in the wound. Everything on the web says that hydrogen peroxide will kill the new skin that's growing in the wound. Wipe dry with a sterile gauze. I let it air dry for as long as I can then cover (about an hr). I've been using hydrocolloid bandaids from the local store recently because they catch the drainage really well. However, they are expensive, but you can shower with them and I only have to change it every two days. I put one of these on without Neosprin.

However, I'm switching to latex free bandaids which I will need to change daily. I will add a little vaseline or Neosprin to the bandaid and place on the wound.

My wound is slowly shrinking and draining less everyday. HalleluYah! And, way less painful! Also, if you can elevate or prop up your leg at least thigh height for 30 minutes 3-4 times per day. I loosely wrapped my foot with an ace bandage to prevent swelling. Wear a sock and wrap loose enough to get one finger under the band of your sock. Whew, that's a lot but it seems to be working.

I'll try to come back and update regularly.

Wow! I have the same type of wound as Bad Leg and several others here... SAME location too!!! I've had mine about a month now with no end in sight...OH, one difference.. Mine seems to hurt to the bone, though not all the time.
However, that said, I want to thank all the good folks who have posted ideas and suggestions!!! I have more hope now AND am happy that I'm not alone!! :O)

i had one of these a few years back and i have another now that is the reason i am on this blog the way mine was fixed last time had to go to a rehab place and they pt my leg in a plastic hyperbaric chamber and they pushed oxygen into the wound and they would scrape it clean and it healed from the bottom up diabetes has a lot to do with it i bet everyone having trouble their skin is proabley red and gray get it treated if you dont want to have your leg amputated

i had one of these a few years back and i have another now that is the reason i am on this blog the way mine was fixed last time had to go to a rehab place and they pt my leg in a plastic hyperbaric chamber and they pushed oxygen into the wound and they would scrape it clean and it healed from the bottom up diabetes has a lot to do with it i bet everyone having trouble their skin is proabley red and gray get it treated if you dont want to have your leg amputated