A Question about a Leg Ulcer.

[DurhamBushcrafter]

I have a rather nasty ulcer on my shin. it has been 3 months now with no sign of healing.

Does anyone know of a natural remedy that may help???????............. as the NHS are clueless..

If the MODS allow, I will post a pic.to show what i got!

 

[Seadog]

Hi DurhamBushcrafter

As I am sure you know there are a number of underlying medical conditions that can result in hard to heal leg ulcers. While some natural remedies work I would stick to conventional medicine. You also need to get to the bottom (although you may already know) of why the leg is ulcerated in the first place. If you are getting nowhere with the NHS ask to see someone else. It was only after six or seven bouts of cellulitus that I saw a locum GP who thought to test me for diabetes.

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

It was only after six or seven bouts of cellulitus that I saw a locum GP who thought to test me for diabetes.

Hi Seadog, thank for the reply.....but I haven't got Diabetes, get tested for it every time I see ad different doc! lol I DO have cellulitis.and really bad circulation ion my feet.

the last leg ulcer i had. in the same place took 22 months.....yes, nearly two years to heal. that was 8 years ago.I was 44.and i heal slower now im 52 than i did then!
A previous ulcer on my other leg needed 'Maggot Therapy' as I got MRSA in it......three months in hospital and another 5 months healing. i am trying to avoid all that.
i do have a hospital appointment on 13th April at Durham University Hospital to see a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon.....Im not looking forward to that! ( I hate hospital food) and the pain and faff with the dressing changes n stuff means my Bushcrafting plans for this Year are only gonna be day trips or overnighters.

The worst part is where it is situated, makes kneeling almost impossible or at least very painful, and also is conveniently placed to be struck against a variety of objects.....

 

[Toddy]

Does the hospital not have a dedicated wound specialist ?
Ulcers like that are a right royal pain to heal properly, and legally we cannot advise herbal remedies….but if it were mine, I'd be buying the best honey I could find and making up some plasters with it.
Peer review research shows that it does work in many cases.
http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar...arr&ei=9gIYVcmQJIvmUtvYgpAN&ved=0CCIQgAMoAjAA

The other thing that really does help is getting the fluid moving in your legs……it needs exercise to do that since the veins have no muscles themselves.
See those daft looking wee cycling things that folks can use while sitting down ? they actually work and that helps things heal too simply by getting everything moving.

Best of luck healing it up; I have an elderly relation who suffers miseries with them.

atb,
Toddy

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

I'd be buying the best honey I could find and making up some plasters with it.
Peer review research shows that it does work in many cases.Toddy

Hi Toddy, I used Manuka Honey on the last one...Genuine stuff from NZ cost me a fortune £37 for a 1lb jar! after 3 months..no change..... But it was DELICIOUS on Toast....

And you aint kidding they are a Misery, thats a truth right there!

As for getting it moving.... I bought myself a gorgeous soft as clarts 'rescue' Staffy Bitch who demands, vocally and constantly until i do, to go walking three times a day...I still haven't worked out who is rescuing who..

 

[Toddy]

Expensive that; it's an old recipe idea here, and it just used the local honey. Comfrey and honey, though the elderly won't try it; "I like the nurse coming in to dress it; I know that she knows what she's doing", so we let her get on with it.

Sorry DurhamBushcrafter, I'm not being of much help. I take it that the water tablets/pressure bandage things didn't work either then ?
Maybe you need to demand that the dog goes for a brisk walk with you every hour ?

atb,
M

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

Nope Toddy, It just seems like my body wants to do its own thing....one doctor did say, because i have LOADS of varicose veins, ''did you do a job where you stood still all day standing up''? the answer was yes, i was a Silk Screen printer, and used to stand, probably 10 or 11 hours a day, in roughly the same place for 3 or for hours at a time.( the perils of self employment) and i di that for 15 years....so thats probably what killed my legs in the first place...

 

[rik_uk3]

I worked for a time in tissue viability for a local trust, the work was interesting but sometimes left everyone scratching their heads..."why's this not working' sort of thing; what works for some may not work for others, what works quickly for some takes an age for others.

Heal well chap.

 

[Toddy]

Oh, that would do it

Swimming's supposed to be good too, all the movement and the pressure of the water, helps to shift stuff too. Old folks used to paddle up to mid thigh in the sea to do it. One of the reasons the old spas with the mineral waters were much used and considered really effective.

M

 

[Chaard]

sounds pretty terrible! I studied biology at uni and remember a lecture from a professor of tropical diseases and medicine that involved a fair few pics of giant ulcers.

As far as i remember, and please don't try any of this without properly researching and consulting a doctor, the key was high oxygenation of the blood. The best results they had was treating patients with oxygen masks in high pressure chambers. Like the ones they use for divers with the bends.

I also remember a lot of work using medically sterilized maggots (dont just buy a lb of them from the bait shop). They eat necrotic tissue but also secrete antimicrobial compounds and enzymes. Really interesting stuff if you have the stomach for it!

Also if you smoke... stop. not only will you save money and feel better, but nicotine causes vasoconstriction so might slow the healing.

Hope you get better soon!

 

[peaks]

Getting to see a Tissue Viability specialist - if you haven't already done so - would be your best bet. Unfortunately you might need to be very consistent in getting your voice heard....
As they say in your neck of the woods "Shy kids get nowt"

I know there is still a lot of research being done into the use of honey and I understand that there is renewed interest in the use of alginates again.

 

[xylaria]

It sounds like you have a serious circulation issue. I hope the under lying cause gets found soon.

Meanwhile food for thought you are 35% homosapien the other 65% is bacteria. A lot of long term illness an imbalance of this bacteria is implicated. From the link between dental disease and heart disease to over growth of wrong ones in the guts disease to not having enough good guys in lungs being linked to asthma and copd. The diet that I am eating at moment taste nice, I feel full and I have lost a stone in six weeks. My asthma symptoms have nearly gone and I am fitter. The idea is that the mirco biome needs feeding with a group of substances called prebiotics. Basically I eat soaked uncooked oats, fruit and raw veg with the odd blob of peanut butter. I then eat a normal tea with meat and two veg. No processed sugar, no strong alcohol, no aspartame and no preservatives. It might rebalance the skin biome, it should spring clean the cardiovascular system to boot.

 

[Seadog]

Hi Durham-Bushcrafter

Sorry was not suggesting you have diabetes - just using it as an example - ulcers associated with varicose are really nasty. I too have suffered from varicose veins although teaching i only spend half the day on my feet. I know how frustrating it can be but would echo what peaks said - you often need to be quite pushy. Good luck I am sure you will get lots of support off this website

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

Hi to the last three posters!

no worries about the diabetes thing....lol

Had maggot therapy on left leg when one ulcer got infected with MRSA... not something im keen to do again...A. the smell. B the little beggars hurt like hell when they get the necrotic skin eaten and start cleaning up around your nerve endings! and C. you get fewer visitors....because of said smell!

Tried the Honey on last one. also Green clay.that was interesting.very soothing...but did nuthin to heal...

 

[Chaard]

Sorry for this meandering side story but there is a point i promise - when i was 20 i got back ache - it persisted for 3 months and came with night fevers and loss of feeling to the feet.

i was a student at the time (with dreadlocks to complete the look) and despite being a biology student and telling each doctor i saw that "this isn't just backache, backache is a f***ing symptom" and pointing out that all evidence points to an infection - i got very little attention. When i went home for Christmas i saw my family GP who knows me quite well and saw that i was in trouble - i was referred to a private specialist that day who correctly diagnosed me within 10 minutes, i was admitted to hospital and got an MRI scan and full blood check.

long story short - bacterial infection in my spine - 1 week away from paralysis - 2 from death.

Thanks to persistent nagging, insisting on 2nd opinions and getting referred to a specialist, I'm alive and healthy today with no loss other than a lost Christmas and new years in hospital and couple of fused vertebrae.

If you have a persistent problem, its causing you pain and discomfort, go see a specialist!

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

Sorry for this meandering side story but there is a point i promise - when i was 20 i got back ache - it persisted for 3 months and came with night fevers and loss of feeling to the feet.

i was a student at the time (with dreadlocks to complete the look) and despite being a biology student and telling each doctor i saw that "this isn't just backache, backache is a f***ing symptom" and pointing out that all evidence points to an infection - i got very little attention. When i went home for Christmas i saw my family GP who knows me quite well and saw that i was in trouble - i was referred to a private specialist that day who correctly diagnosed me within 10 minutes, i was admitted to hospital and got an MRI scan and full blood check.

long story short - bacterial infection in my spine - 1 week away from paralysis - 2 from death.

Thanks to persistent nagging, insisting on 2nd opinions and getting referred to a specialist, I'm alive and healthy today with no loss other than a lost Christmas and new years in hospital and couple of fused vertebrae.

If you have a persistent problem, its causing you pain and discomfort, go see a specialist!

Hmmmmmmm Interesting! As i never mentioned the night sweats.....and oh boy do i! change sheets time..seriously....unbelievable. well at the specialist on the 13th for scans n stuff.so if im not dead by then........he may find something!

 

[petrochemicals]

On the news I saw the NHS in birmingham are trialing the use of plain dry sugar ,supposed to work, youll have to do a quick search on how to. They are also trialling stemcells to replace cartelage in bone joins and may also cure arthritis, but curing arthritis seems to have been cured by a little electric pusledevise you just turn on for 5 minutes a day.

 

[Toddy]

Consider yourself hugged
I've just been reading up on that electic pulse device thingie, and see if it works ? I will be one incredibly happy lady.
How the hang do I get onto their trial though; it's in America.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a blight of a thing to thole.

M

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

On the news I saw the NHS in birmingham are trialing the use of plain dry sugar ,supposed to work, youll have to do a quick search on how to. They are also trialling stemcells to replace cartelage in bone joins and may also cure arthritis, but curing arthritis seems to have been cured by a little electric pusledevise you just turn on for 5 minutes a day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbaAH89Ew7o found it.....what have i got to lose......apart from a leg? im off to the kitchen.will post tomorrow my findings

and i found this too! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...But-thanks-Mail-reader-banish-leg-ulcers.html

Well i have filled the ulcer up with sugar, just over a heaped teaspoon, added some dressing over it and a sealed waterproof dressing over that. its 'tickling' feels odd...but not painful. I will leave it as long as i can before i change the dressing, a week is suggested bit i dont know if i can handle that long..

watch this space!

 

[Countryman]

There is logic in the Sugar thing and potentially honey.

I was going to suggest quite humbly Tea Tree Oil.

There is a lot in these old remedies. Drug companies simply are not interested because you cannot patent Sugar or Tea Tree Oil. So there is no return on investment.

The cure for Cancer could be sitting there. Another member leant me "Run from the Cure" when my wife was diagnosed. Interesting stuff.




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