Stupid chuffing leg

[milly143]

My 'bullet wound' is now nearly healed but I am still needing to wear dressings over it until it stops discharing. Because I've been having the dressings on about 2 months now my skin is reacting from the stickyness.

I've started using smaller dressings to let the skin breathe but when I took the dressing off this morning a chunk of skin came off with it which bled slightly. I had a shower straight after so it's clean but it there any sort of cream I can put over where the skin has come off to make it feel better/aid healing?

[bednobs]

why dont you use a small non-sticky dressing and put a bangage round it?

[LoftyLottie]

Milly. When I had a similar episode from a hole in the leg a while back, the nurse put on a seaweed dressing which aided healing and I had to leave it on for quite a long time.

Quote:

What are alginate dressings?
Highly absorbent, biodegradable alginate dressings are derived from seaweed. They have been successfully applied to cleanse a wide variety of secreting lesions. The high absorption is achieved via strong hydrophilic gel formation This limits wound secretions and minimizes bacterial contamination. Alginate fibres trapped in a wound are readily biodegraded [1].

Alginate dressings maintain a physiologically moist microenvironment that promotes healing and the formation of granulation tissue. Alginates can be rinsed away with saline irrigation, so removal of the dressing does not interfere with healing granulation tissue. This makes dressing changes virtually painless. Alginate dressings are very useful for moderate to heavily exudating wounds [2].

They came off very easily indeed (They stuck but they weren't sticky like plasters) and the reduce scarring as well. It may be worthwhile asking at your local practice.

[LoftyLottie]

As the wound healed the dressings got smaller and smaller. They hardly showed because they were flesh coloured.

Mine came from the surgery, but I think these must be the same.

http://www.expressche...ginate-Dressings.html

[bednobs]

ps i am feeling your pain - the puppy scratched me last week and it was so deep i had to have it steri-stripped and now it's weeping. I am using the non-adherent dressing and bandage route because my skin is quite friable

[rowanwitch]

There are also completely non adherent dressings that don't stick to anything... can be held in place with a bandage or some tubular elastic net most are silicone based but cause no trauma when you take them off

[LoftyLottie]

I am allergic to sticking plasters, but the dressings I am talking about were just fine.

[milly143]

Thanks for the answers. I've tried non sticky dressings with bandages but because it's on my thigh I found it just keep rolling down and coming off.

The nurses finished with me last week and gave me a few large dressings which they told me to just cut down so they are just big enough to cover the wound. They knew the skin was very sore (hence telling me to cut the dressings down) but I still have a big 8x8 sq patch of red, irritated skin where the last full dressing was taken off a week ago.

As the discharge is now minimal I've hoping not to need the dressings much longer but may pop to the chemist tomorrow and see if they have anything like you have suggested Lofty.

[LoftyLottie]

Ask the pharmacist first though Milly, in case they are not suitable.

I had a hole in my leg from where I fell on a bamboo cane and it went quite deep into my leg. It got infected and a piece of bamboo cane came out about a month later. Then another piece came out about an inch from the wound. I think it was last summer actually.

[bednobs]

ow ow OW!

[milly143]

Ouch! That sounds horrible! Poor you!

[rowanwitch]

ask for some tubinet for the size of your thigh it grips really well and doesnt roll as much as bandages don't get tubigrip that doesn't work

[Eve]

:( I had to use quite small dressings as mine was in quite an awkward place. I tend to use micropourous tape as I found the residue easier to get off and it didn't make my skin as sore as plaster stuff and such. Even used it to keep nicotine patches on when I initially quit smoking.

I find it easier to get off (less sticky residue and soreness) when the skin is warm and wet like in the shower I found it often comes off itself rather than having to pull it off - can work with plasters too but not if you can't get the wound wet yet - compress of a warm flannel round the edges might work in your case if you can keep it away from the wound if needs be.

I have another cyst thing start to come up a month or so ago (get them quite often) and got a plaster from the first aid box at work and after I'd got it off the area round it was sorer than the thing in the first place, actually drew blood.

Hope it sorts ifself soon! x

Lottie, I was given some kind of fast healing dressing when I had another infected wound (I swear my body is a hive of evil bacteria!) and it was brilliant. I thought he said it had iodine or something it in.