Leg ulcers?

[VronMc]

Content warning - messy details ahead - not for the squeamish!

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I've been having trouble with a persistent, recurring leg ulcer for the last eight or nine months - this is the third time round, and the ulcer is bigger, more reluctant to heal and more painful than ever before. It's too painful to get a compression stocking on over the wound; and compression bandages made it worse (they quickly sagged into ridges and scraped more skin from the wound). It doesn't help that I'm a wheelchair user and can't stand at all (rheumatoid arthritis + severe osteoarthritis in both knees) so a lot of the advice regarding exercise and moving around is difficult to do. It has been infected twice before, requiring antibiotics, but the last swab was negative. An increasing problem is that the wound leaks fluid, which has an odd, somewhat unpleasant odour. I have visits from the district nurse team two or three times a week and they say it does not smell how an infected wound would smell, but it's still bothering me a lot. I had a pain management appointment this morning at the local treatment centre, and was uncomfortably aware that I could smell the odour while sitting in the waiting area - so I'm assuming others could smell it too. I hardly get out of the house as it is, so really don't need another reason to avoid going out! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this, and if you have any good advice? I've heard leg ulcers could be connected to RA. I'm 56 and was diagnosed with RA in January 2016, currently 3 months into taking Leflunomide (previously tried methotrexate and sulfasalazine but discontinued due to side effects).

[medway-lady]

lef takes about 12 -14 weeks to really work so early days. My mum had ulcers notmeand she had NHS maggots, worked a treat and healed wound nicely. She was in her 80's and mobile so don't know if that help but you might ask if they do them where you are or the Manuka honey application also used hereabouts too.

[helixhelix]

What a shame to get these at 56.

My mum had the manuka dressings too - hellishly expensive but worked well. And she had a little wheely thing that she pedalled from her chair to get circulation going.

[Nurseratchette in reply to helixhelix]

Honey is only good for some wounds especially infected wounds. The smell could be due to the exudate in the dressing not infection. Ask the district nurses to refer you to the tissue viability team. However dressings can't heal wounds only the body can so perhaps consider the compression again ?

[Olmettig]

Hi,

I have been recently diagnosed with RA and I am in pain, but I am trying to take the Methotrexate to see if it helps.

But, in regards to your leg ulcers, I used to work for a Vein Doctor and we saw many people with Leg Ulcers and our Doctor would treat the sick veins that surrounded that area and then the ulcers would heal. I don't know if you are here in the USA, but you can start with Midwest Vein Center, IL or research a vein center. I hope this helps! Hope they start healing soon.

[VronMc]

Just to update, in case anyone is interested - it turned out I was diabetic - had not been tested for years so don't know how long for. Once I got medication for the diabetes, and got my blood sugar under control, the ulcer started to heal up and is now gone. The nurses used to ask if I was diabetic, but didn't suggest I get tested, wish they had, it could have saved me a lot of trouble!