Abcess/Staph Infection

[blutuesday]

God. I have another one! I used to only get them when I would miss a coke shot, but now I muscle a lot of my heroin (absolutely no veins left, not even in the neck and feet) when I can't get a vein in a timely manner. I IM'ed a shot a few days ago too high on my right arm and it is KILLING me. I don't want to go to ER just yet, cause it hurts. I'm hoping it will go away on it's own like they sometimes do, or pop open. Otherwise I will have to go to ER because it can travel thru your bloodstream to your organs and cause MAJOR probs.

Damn Damn Damn.

Any abcess stories? Anyone?

[bored in sofl]

I've seen someone drain one by putting a spike in it and squeezing it. :(
I don't suggest doing that though

[Somanax]

When you must I.M. it

STOP bend over

PLUG IT

It will cease some abcess story's

Ly about an infected tooth

At an urgent care till you see the dentist ?

Holiday weekend .......

Pluggin yer stuff ........it is TAR ???

I'm guessin?????

Stick it up yer ass

You know sea#4 sa#4

when you see it

[Duckfeet]

Yep, this tar heroin has caused much problem, the impurities just keep giving people abcesses, if they muscle or miss...main thing is just to keep an eye on it, get some hot compresses or something, for the pain...and if it gets worse, or u get feverish, head to ER...usually they have an ER that is kind of used to this shit, needle xchanges are great for info on where to go, or maybe methadone clinc....


Hang in there....

[SHELLEY]

I've seen someone drain one by putting a spike in it and squeezing it. :(
I don't suggest doing that though

i have done that when i had a REAL bad one
stinky mucus-pus-pudding flowed outta that bitch for 10 minutes
sickest shit that ever came outta my body, EVER and i had to smell it
but if i hadn't done it, i woulda had to go to er and they would've done the same shit

[Somanax]

I am sorry B.T

There are lot's of abcess thread's

utse you know if you can't make it work CHEAT :D

I only meant to lie as an excuse to get a broad spec antibiotic

For immediate attn.... Long tem you must find an alternate R.O.A.

I just quit bangin stuff till my vien's came back

It only took like 8/9 year's

I'm kidding .........kind of they, may have been functional for awhile

Now I am back on 'done till my vein's heal .........Make no mistake

I WILL BE BACK for THE SEA #4 or SA#4

You know what it is

You are an east coast girl forget that TAR it may be good and convenient

Yet how convenient is the clinic ???????

Save your vein's for better STUFF

[dspot1234]

i can relate, right now im blind in my left eye. i was living out in san diego, used to get tat from tijuana all the time, mostly stuck to water linign it becasue i didnt want to put that dirty shit in my vein. so go figure, i go down the last tiem and get 2 pins and a gram. i do ashot, went in fine, didnt miss, but got a huge abscess inmy left armpit. cant remember the timeline too wel cause i was fucked up, but shortly after i woke up and my eye was destroyed, lot of pain and pus and all that. went into the e.r., had to get a corneal transplant and still cant see out of it, this was 2 months ago. the doctors said it was from a staph infection, but i had went swimming in a public pool 2 days before and they think that was the cause. and they knew about the abscess cause it lasteed about 2 weeks in the hospital, getting bigger and bigger until it finally popped, which might sound gross but it felt like an orgasm. i had to literally squeeze the shit otu of my arm like a tube of toothpaste. either way, supposedly the 2 werent related but it does seem like a strange coincidence doesnt it?

[SHELLEY]

i can relate, right now im blind in my left eye. i was living out in san diego, used to get tat from tijuana all the time, mostly stuck to water linign it becasue i didnt want to put that dirty shit in my vein. so go figure, i go down the last tiem and get 2 pins and a gram. i do ashot, went in fine, didnt miss, but got a huge abscess inmy left armpit. cant remember the timeline too wel cause i was fucked up, but shortly after i woke up and my eye was destroyed, lot of pain and pus and all that. went into the e.r., had to get a corneal transplant and still cant see out of it, this was 2 months ago. the doctors said it was from a staph infection, but i had went swimming in a public pool 2 days before and they think that was the cause. and they knew about the abscess cause it lasteed about 2 weeks in the hospital, getting bigger and bigger until it finally popped, which might sound gross but it felt like an orgasm. i had to literally squeeze the shit otu of my arm like a tube of toothpaste. either way, supposedly the 2 werent related but it does seem like a strange coincidence doesnt it?

i got pinkeye in both eyes once
and when i went to the dr for antibiotics they did a test for gonorrhea
apparently if you have the clap, you tend to get pinkeye (fyi: i was and still am negative for all stds)
kinda off topic, but weird eye shit can be related to other shit...

[dspot1234]

haha yup they thought i had ghonnorea too at first, unfortunately you have to get laid to catch it

[Poppylvr]

God. I have another one! I used to only get them when I would miss a coke shot, but now I muscle a lot of my heroin (absolutely no veins left, not even in the neck and feet) when I can't get a vein in a timely manner. I IM'ed a shot a few days ago too high on my right arm and it is KILLING me. I don't want to go to ER just yet, cause it hurts. I'm hoping it will go away on it's own like they sometimes do, or pop open. Otherwise I will have to go to ER because it can travel thru your bloodstream to your organs and cause MAJOR probs.

Damn Damn Damn.

Any abcess stories? Anyone?

Tuesday, you know the drill about hot packing abscesses? Hot washcloth - not burning but really warm, hold over the abscess site for ~5 minutes, repeat frequently -5-6 times a day. This causes the abscess to come to a "head" which makes it easier to open. Scrub your hands with hot soapy water & rinse well afterwards.
As a nursie, I HATE hearing of people opening their own abscesses because it's dangerous. You can cause the infection to spread further. And sometimes, when you drain an abscess, you think you've got it all but you dont. So I recommend you go to an instacare/doc in the box or private doc office as they are much cheaper than an ER & have the abscess taken care of professionally.
If you ABSOLUTELY have to do it yourself, be smart. Take a hot shower with soap & a washcloth & scrub yourself clean. Buy some povidine iodine solution in the drug store, and paint the head of the abscess well. Let the iodine stay wet for several (5) minutes to kill skin bacteria. Use a very large sterile needle (16-18 gauge if you can find 'em) and poke into the head you have nurtured by hotpacking well for a couple of days. GENTLY squeeze from about 2 inches out toward the center & wipe away the crud. Do this a couple of times until you aren't getting crud anymore. Continue frequent hotpacking until it's clear it's healing. If at any time you get a fever, the chills, you feel really sick or the red area gets really big, you HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.
To prevent this from happening again, Ya might wanna follow the plugging advice from friend Somanax - beats the hell outta abscesses, which, if they get outta hand can lead to bloodstream infections, heart linig infection and death.
Good luck, may you get yourself to a doc for proper care and may it never happen again.....

[Duckfeet]

Very Well Said: should be sticky'ed...too often people don't do these things....


Tuesday, you know the drill about hot packing abscesses? Hot washcloth - not burning but really warm, hold over the abscess site for ~5 minutes, repeat frequently -5-6 times a day. This causes the abscess to come to a "head" which makes it easier to open. Scrub your hands with hot soapy water & rinse well afterwards.
As a nursie, I HATE hearing of people opening their own abscesses because it's dangerous. You can cause the infection to spread further. And sometimes, when you drain an abscess, you think you've got it all but you dont. So I recommend you go to an instacare/doc in the box or private doc office as they are much cheaper than an ER & have the abscess taken care of professionally.
If you ABSOLUTELY have to do it yourself, be smart. Take a hot shower with soap & a washcloth & scrub yourself clean. Buy some povidine iodine solution in the drug store, and paint the head of the abscess well. Let the iodine stay wet for several (5) minutes to kill skin bacteria. Use a very large sterile needle (16-18 gauge if you can find 'em) and poke into the head you have nurtured by hotpacking well for a couple of days. GENTLY squeeze from about 2 inches out toward the center & wipe away the crud. Do this a couple of times until you aren't getting crud anymore. Continue frequent hotpacking until it's clear it's healing. If at any time you get a fever, the chills, you feel really sick or the red area gets really big, you HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.
To prevent this from happening again, Ya might wanna follow the plugging advice from friend Somanax - beats the hell outta abscesses, which, if they get outta hand can lead to bloodstream infections, heart linig infection and death.
Good luck, may you get yourself to a doc for proper care and may it never happen again.....

[Suboxstitute]

Totally agreed with Poppylvr on the urgent care/doc in a box thing (heck, they're putting 'em in WalMarts now, which makes a lot of sense for things like pinkeye, ear infections, etc.) MUCH cheaper than ER and even a doctor's office. They can only treat a list of conditions, not sure yours fits.

ERs are flooded with people with no insurance (can't blaim 'em) so the waits are horrendous in the cities even out in the 'burbs now since peeps use it as their primary care and then only when their problem has gotten way out of hand, if it had been treated right away. And people go in for MUCH less serious health issues than an abscess. An abscess, depending on where it is, is nothing to fool with, at least yours is not around the throat or head is it??? Did you say where? On the arm?

I worry about the self-care treatment, although the one above is a good one. I might consider, if I were you and it was still this way in 24-48 hours, going in and just having an urgent care take care of it in a sterile manner. They can really get in the bloodstream and then you've got all kinds of shit to deal with.

Then again, it MAY go away. Man,tough decision.

[Tony]

God. I have another one! I used to only get them when I would miss a coke shot, but now I muscle a lot of my heroin (absolutely no veins left, not even in the neck and feet) when I can't get a vein in a timely manner. I IM'ed a shot a few days ago too high on my right arm and it is KILLING me. I don't want to go to ER just yet, cause it hurts. I'm hoping it will go away on it's own like they sometimes do, or pop open. Otherwise I will have to go to ER because it can travel thru your bloodstream to your organs and cause MAJOR probs.

Damn Damn Damn.

Any abcess stories? Anyone?

I have a story. I had an abcess in my arm. I thought it had healed.
Then I started itching and getting red. I still thought I was OK.

All of a sudden I got neck pain and stiffness real bad. I remember that
I could not hold my head up straight. Also I was real sensitive to light.
I was kind out of it mentally too. My friend took me to the ER and they
did a Tap. They came back and told me that I had Spinal Meningitis.

Seems I was lucky. It responded to the antibiotics and the kind I had
was not MRSA. I must say though that even with them adjusting my pain
meds ( I am a CP ) the pain was almost unbearable.

Please watch out for neck pain, red running streaks and sensitivity to light!

Be careful and good luck!

[SHELLEY]

I have a story. I had an abcess in my arm. I thought it had healed.
Then I started itching and getting red. I still thought I was OK.

All of a sudden I got neck pain and stiffness real bad. I remember that
I could not hold my head up straight. Also I was real sensitive to light.
I was kind out of it mentally too. My friend took me to the ER and they
did a Tap. They came back and told me that I had Spinal Meningitis.

Seems I was lucky. It responded to the antibiotics and the kind I had
was not MRSA. I must say though that even with them adjusting my pain
meds ( I am a CP ) the pain was almost unbearable.

Please watch out for neck pain, red running streaks and sensitivity to light!

Be careful and good luck!

i had that once too...
is it really from shooting? i thought it was just contagious through the air
because i went to er when i was retardedly sick and couldn't look at ANY light even tv
and once they thought i had spinal menengitis i was put in isolation
and everyone who came in had to wear one of those masks, and a mask for me too
mrsa is a kind of staph infection that doesn't like antibiotics... nothing to do with menengitis
hell i could be wrong, i just know i had both (staph and menengitis)
and most of my friends have had really severe mrsa... i dunno

[rockbottom]

2 good absesses 2er visits--tell them any story u want--fuck em--end up lanced with a script for antibiotics

[Tbird921]

Yep, got a abcess, waited for a few days, hot compressing etc, didn't go down, was painfull thought I would drain it myself, stuck a syringe in it. Just a shitload of blood, ended up going to the doc, got it lanced and drained, had sterpt(not sure the spelling, usually occurs in your thoart, but mine was in my foot) infection, got antibotics, now it's almost healed, I'm a lot more carefull about making sure I'm in now.

[blutuesday]

Tuesday, you know the drill about hot packing abscesses? Hot washcloth - not burning but really warm, hold over the abscess site for ~5 minutes, repeat frequently -5-6 times a day. This causes the abscess to come to a "head" which makes it easier to open. Scrub your hands with hot soapy water & rinse well afterwards.
As a nursie, I HATE hearing of people opening their own abscesses because it's dangerous. You can cause the infection to spread further. And sometimes, when you drain an abscess, you think you've got it all but you dont. So I recommend you go to an instacare/doc in the box or private doc office as they are much cheaper than an ER & have the abscess taken care of professionally.
If you ABSOLUTELY have to do it yourself, be smart. Take a hot shower with soap & a washcloth & scrub yourself clean. Buy some povidine iodine solution in the drug store, and paint the head of the abscess well. Let the iodine stay wet for several (5) minutes to kill skin bacteria. Use a very large sterile needle (16-18 gauge if you can find 'em) and poke into the head you have nurtured by hotpacking well for a couple of days. GENTLY squeeze from about 2 inches out toward the center & wipe away the crud. Do this a couple of times until you aren't getting crud anymore. Continue frequent hotpacking until it's clear it's healing. If at any time you get a fever, the chills, you feel really sick or the red area gets really big, you HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.
To prevent this from happening again, Ya might wanna follow the plugging advice from friend Somanax - beats the hell outta abscesses, which, if they get outta hand can lead to bloodstream infections, heart linig infection and death.
Good luck, may you get yourself to a doc for proper care and may it never happen again.....

Thanks for taking the time to write all of that. I am also a nurse, but I have been out of work for the last 4 months, I have had many an abcess and a few I handled at home, but I know when it's about that time to go to the hospital. This one is like nothing I have seen before, and it is definitely spreading. I know I need to go, but I don't want it drained. I know that for them to drain it, is also the best thing and safest, but I've had them drained in the past and anyone who has knows what a hell that is like. Also, normally if it is Staph there is no point in them injecting lidocaine as the lidocaine has no effect due to the staph. And since you are an IV drug user, you can forget about anything for pain-where I'm from, even NON narcotic.. I have been having fever, no chills and have been treating accordingly. If it doesn't come on open in the next 9 hours or so I will have no choice but to go. (There is red streaking-spreading) I hate going to the ER to be ridiculed. It's awesome!

Thanks for taking the time to write that poppy, and it's nice to know there is a fellow nurse out there. Are you still practicing? What specialty? Just curious, if that is too personal, I understand if you don't want to answer.

Take Care!


EDIT: Also, I wanted to say that it was NOT tar. It was china. Most of my abcesses in the past have been from stimulants as they will not permeate the membranes and tissues as heroin does. I guess it all depends on what they cut the stuff with etc, how soluble that is etc. Thanks for all the responses. This is TRULY the worst and most bizzarre one I have had.

[Larry]

i had that once too...
is it really from shooting? i thought it was just contagious through the air
because i went to er when i was retardedly sick and couldn't look at ANY light even tv
and once they thought i had spinal menengitis i was put in isolation
and everyone who came in had to wear one of those masks, and a mask for me too
mrsa is a kind of staph infection that doesn't like antibiotics... nothing to do with menengitis
hell i could be wrong, i just know i had both (staph and menengitis)
and most of my friends have had really severe mrsa... i dunno


Do you guys remember that guy about a year ago who flew with his wife on there honeymoon to italy and then illegally flew back to the states and he had to be quarantined bc he had menengitis

[Duckfeet]

Well, if u'd get down to the ER, u might find they just give u massive anti-biotics...I know they don't always drain'em...but even if u know what yer doing...well, I'd get down there anyway: u need to see a doc

[pokergooch]

I was lucky. A few years ago I was on dilaudid pills orally. They stopped working and my brother told me to pop em. So, like an idiot, I crushed up a few pills, filtered and put it in my upper outer thigh (basically my butt) I did this twice, 2 months a apart. The second time is when I started to get an abcess. I had no Idea what they were. Never saw one, thought it was in ingrown hair. It got big as hell. I started to have a fever, tons of pain in the area, chills, ect. My wife forced me to the E.R. a doc lanced it. Hurt like hell. He said it was in his top ten of abccesses. The infection went to my bone. He almost stopped and sent me to the operating room to have a general sergeon do it.

Worst experience of my life. I will never, ever use a needle again.

Edit: the reason I said I was lucky was because I only did it twice, not because I was on dilaudid, lol.

[Duckfeet]

It got so bad w/my girl's veins, that she had to do the same thing, w/k4's...and it worked a couple times, then she, too, got bad abcess in butt...fuck...didn't keep her--or me--from fixing tho...just made her try harder to find a vein...


I was lucky. A few years ago I was on dilaudid pills orally. They stopped working and my brother told me to pop em. So, like an idiot, I crushed up a few pills, filtered and put it in my upper outer thigh (basically my butt) I did this twice, 2 months a apart. The second time is when I started to get an abcess. I had no Idea what they were. Never saw one, thought it was in ingrown hair. It got big as hell. I started to have a fever, tons of pain in the area, chills, ect. My wife forced me to the E.R. a doc lanced it. Hurt like hell. He said it was in his top ten of abccesses. The infection went to my bone. He almost stopped and sent me to the operating room to have a general sergeon do it.

Worst experience of my life. I will never, ever use a needle again.

Edit: the reason I said I was lucky was because I only did it twice, not because I was on dilaudid, lol.

[blutuesday]

Well guys I still have the abcess and it is probably the worst one I have ever had. I know I have to go to the ER it's inevitable. One of the areas actually starting to bust open and drain on it's own, but there are other areas that look terrible. I have in the past, convinced a doc not to drain, and just give antibiotics, and that is what I will try to do this time if I go. I DO NOT want it drained..

Just wanted to give an update.


Will post again when I actually go to ER.

[Poppylvr]

Well guys I still have the abcess and it is probably the worst one I have ever had. I know I have to go to the ER it's inevitable. One of the areas actually starting to bust open and drain on it's own, but there are other areas that look terrible. I have in the past, convinced a doc not to drain, and just give antibiotics, and that is what I will try to do this time if I go. I DO NOT want it drained..

Just wanted to give an update.


Will post again when I actually go to ER.
Tuesday love, it worries me when you say "this is different and the worst one I have ever had". That makes MRSA pop up in flashing neon letters in my brain. I wish I could fly to your side & go to the ER with you & give you support/courage. Maybe make me into a tiny little being:D & tuck me in your pocket, along with Shelley or Raz who will give anyone who treats you badly some well deserved lip?:p
I have you in my prayers for getting your ass to the ER and for the ER staff to not be dicks about it.

I still play nurse! I am now the medication nurse (dontcha LOVE irony? A former junquie who passes meds for a living??) on a secure psychiatric unit in a free standing psychiatric hospital. We care for the severely & persistently mentally ill along with some regular old depressives with suicidal ideation and alkies/dopers who need to detox. But most of my patients are really psychotic, and I LOVE what I do.
I learned my harm reduction by being the Pediatric Coordinator for my city's homeless clinic for 8 years. Part of that job was running a walk in clinic for street teens. We took care of so many IVDU's there, I can do abscess care in my sleep. We worked closely with our town's harm reduction project and I did LOTS of teaching about how to get off safely (there's a GREAT book by that very title!).
I had to do 5 years of probation before the Board of Nursing to keep my license, and it was worth it. I absolutely believe that my experiences as an IV using drug addict have made me a more compassionate, less judgemental all around better nurse.

GO TO THE ER NOW; TAKE ME WITH YOU IN YOUR MIND FOR COMFORT; GET TREATED & COME BACK HERE & SHARE HOW IT WENT.
Good luck, sweetie. Give 'em hell. And you can always fall back on the famous "spider bite" etiology of your abscess......

[Duckfeet]

That's what I have been waiting to hear...u need to go to ER, and I'm sure, w/your medical knowledge, you'll be able to talk to doc about not wanting it to be drained...for some reason this reminds me of when I finally went to ER recently, due to bowel blockage--good old methadone--and was worried doc would have to "go up there" and that terrified me...but once he saw I was serious, and would follow his instructions, and come back if it got worse, he had no problems...as I'm sure you won't...

Best wishes,,,


Well guys I still have the abcess and it is probably the worst one I have ever had. I know I have to go to the ER it's inevitable. One of the areas actually starting to bust open and drain on it's own, but there are other areas that look terrible. I have in the past, convinced a doc not to drain, and just give antibiotics, and that is what I will try to do this time if I go. I DO NOT want it drained..

Just wanted to give an update.


Will post again when I actually go to ER.

[blutuesday]

god! i still havent went 2 er. im going tho in like 30 mins. the thing is draining already which is good but i still think i need abx 2 make sure all infection gets out. Agreed poppylvr?


Also, no matter how many times u smell staph, u just dont get used 2 it. kinda like a stool sample w/ c-diff huh poppylvr? lol

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. sorry this was typed w one hand.

[Duckfeet]

Don't start thinking that just because it's draining, that it's getting better: you could have full blown staff infection, or worse...and they'll drain all the time...but it don't get better, until u get serious anti-biotics...what yer doing is 19th century crap...which is just to hope if enuff puss gets out, that it'll get better...and every once in a while the body's defenses do kick in...but we are raised on anti-biotics, so we don't have that built in stuff anymore: Get to the ER!~!! ...and take a book, since the illegals now use ER's as primary care centers...so it takes a while...but be glad yer taxes are making it easier for our newest neighbors to get free medical care!!!


god! i still havent went 2 er. im going tho in like 30 mins. the thing is draining already which is good but i still think i need abx 2 make sure all infection gets out. Agreed poppylvr?


Also, no matter how many times u smell staph, u just dont get used 2 it. kinda like a stool sample w/ c-diff huh poppylvr? lol

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. sorry this was typed w one hand.

[bored in sofl]

hope u feel better sounds painful

[blutuesday]

Don't start thinking that just because it's draining, that it's getting better: you could have full blown staff infection, or worse...and they'll drain all the time...but it don't get better, until u get serious anti-biotics...what yer doing is 19th century crap...which is just to hope if enuff puss gets out, that it'll get better...and every once in a while the body's defenses do kick in...but we are raised on anti-biotics, so we don't have that built in stuff anymore: Get to the ER!~!! ...and take a book, since the illegals now use ER's as primary care centers...so it takes a while...but be glad yer taxes are making it easier for our newest neighbors to get free medical care!!!

I know, I know. As a nurse I have a tendency to want to do things at home, I never get colds and never get sick, Never get the flu or the flu shot (don't believe in it for MOST ppl,) and my wounds and cuts always heal easy. I have no health problems. I am always compelled to just stay at home and do a DIY job, I got up, took a shower. Drained the hell out of it. It looks 5 million percent better. I peroxided, bacitrazin'd, gauzed and bandaged and will still be going to the E.R.

The only concern is that if it is not just normal staph. I will need a doc to do a culture for MRSA (basically methacillin resistant/abx resistant staph.) Which is a big prob. Anyway, as a nurse I know what I need to do, but doing it is another thing. At least they wont need to make an inciscion and drain, as most of it has come out. He will prob just press on it until he is sure most of it is gone, then pack it with gauze using scissors (yay! my favorite!)

Oh well, you make your bed, you gotta lay in it right?

[SurfRat]

Don't start thinking that just because it's draining, that it's getting better: you could have full blown staff infection, or worse...and they'll drain all the time...but it don't get better, until u get serious anti-biotics...what yer doing is 19th century crap...which is just to hope if enuff puss gets out, that it'll get better...and every once in a while the body's defenses do kick in...but we are raised on anti-biotics, so we don't have that built in stuff anymore: Get to the ER!~!! ...and take a book, since the illegals now use ER's as primary care centers...so it takes a while...but be glad yer taxes are making it easier for our newest neighbors to get free medical care!!!


Ok that is just too scary true.

No comment health insurance rates in this part of the world are higher/highest than anywhere else in the country...


umm, ms blutuesday, I think the next post REALLY needs to be the one where you tell us what happened at the Urgent Care or Clinic or ER. Yes?

[red26]

A friend of mine from jail got a bad one, like real bad. His whole bicept swelled and he could'nt move it. Finally we convinced him to go to the hospital and the doc took one look at the poor kid all tracked out, walked out, minuite later comes back with a scalpal , grabbs said arm and just slices the chit outta the guy. They started digging tissue out and he told them he"hed to collect himself before they continue". He cooks up a shot and registers right when the nurse comes back in and starts yellin"get that outta there!!" and all such stuff. He said fuck you, this hurts like hell and if your not going to give me anything for pain I will.

[Poppylvr]

god! i still havent went 2 er. im going tho in like 30 mins. the thing is draining already which is good but i still think i need abx 2 make sure all infection gets out. Agreed poppylvr?


Also, no matter how many times u smell staph, u just dont get used 2 it. kinda like a stool sample w/ c-diff huh poppylvr? lol

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. sorry this was typed w one hand.

agreed.. Gross shit. HOW DID THE ER GO???

[Poppylvr]

A friend of mine from jail got a bad one, like real bad. His whole bicept swelled and he could'nt move it. Finally we convinced him to go to the hospital and the doc took one look at the poor kid all tracked out, walked out, minuite later comes back with a scalpal , grabbs said arm and just slices the chit outta the guy. They started digging tissue out and he told them he"hed to collect himself before they continue". He cooks up a shot and registers right when the nurse comes back in and starts yellin"get that outta there!!" and all such stuff. He said fuck you, this hurts like hell and if your not going to give me anything for pain I will.
Props to the DIY pain relief! If that nurse had an ounce of compassion she would have said "Fuck yeah, you need somfin' for pain, shoot away"...
(Although I do confess that I Nurse Ratchet Yelled with exceedingly colorful language at one of our street kids who was smoking crank in the bathroom at our clinic. The owners of the building HATED our harm reduction philosophy and had they learned that we looked the other way at smoking meth there we would have been out in the cold wet street on our BE-hineys with the law breathing fire down on us....).

[jonny-5]

i have a good abcess story but im just not in the mood to tell it right now. that makes this post worthless and me a post whore. sweet.

[bored in sofl]

2767 u r already a post whore j/k

[jonny-5]

2767 u r already a post whore j/k


no youre right. i dont care tho

[bored in sofl]

hey me too. anything to make me fit in lol j/k
I did just find out one of my boys just od'd on some benzo's
that sucks.
but the plus side is I can fuck his neighbor again. I'm such a man whore

[jonny-5]

hey me too. anything to make me fit in lol j/k
I did just find out one of my boys just od'd on some benzo's
that sucks.
but the plus side is I can fuck his neighbor again. I'm such a man whore

did he die?

congrats on the sex tho. too bad you had to lose a friend to get it

[candy]

Hope your trip to the ER turned out well, but I wanted to add something if it has not been said or covered already in this forum.
I apologize for not reading through all the posts.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to IM (intra-muscular) anything using an insulin syringe is going to lead to abscesses.
An IM should be given with a needle longer than what comes with an insulin syringe.
Rub the site after the injection to help circulate the fluid which can sit there in the tissue under the skin making a perfect place for bacteria to grow.

Always clean the site your going to hit first and if you can wash your hands too.
Hey, I know you can't always have alcohol wipes handy or be in a place that has all you need, but following some basic rules can save trips to the ER and the worst case scenario: your very needed arm!

hope you are feeling better and take care!

[Naomi]

i always wish i could be bothered to take pictures but i never get round to it. right now, on my right arm (an inch above my wrist) i have the hugest bandages on. i had to go get an abcess sorted yesterday. it was about the size of a golf ball and was causing me to vomit, faint & act absolutely deleriously. i was absolutely crazy, sweating, shaking, puking.... i knew i had to get to the hospital asap and my doctor confirmed it by immediately ringing up a&e to tell them i was coming in. i went out in search of a shot first but fainted, got in a taxi and went to the hospital.

he gave me a local anaesthetic, told me to look away and cut the abcess right open. i looked down at it and i couldnt believe how big the wound was. it was a massive whole. huge. and obviously, they cant stitch it up. i dont know when i can take off these bandages or what; i can see blood leaking through and the bandage is wrapped round about 8 times.
when can i take it off? he said he was putting sometime on it to keep the sides together, but i am worried i will pull the said thing off the wound and make it bleed if i remove the bandage. what to do? its such a huge open wound i acnt leave the bandage on for a week until i have an appointment because its already getting grubby and will get wet when i shower.

[lilred0005]

Hey, is this abcess story hour(raises hand)? I've got a good one. No in all seriousness, I don't understand why abcesses are treated so differently. One person goes to the Dr. & gets put on antibiotics & that's it. One guy goes to the ER maybe gets an IV & has it drained & goes home. Me, I spent 3 wks in the hospital, had a P.I.C. line inserted, had a debridement under full anesthesia, and had to take antibiotics for another 2 wks @ home. Maybe one of the Health Professionals has an answer?

[dieselbaby]

i always wish i could be bothered to take pictures but i never get round to it. right now, on my right arm (an inch above my wrist) i have the hugest bandages on. i had to go get an abcess sorted yesterday. it was about the size of a golf ball and was causing me to vomit, faint & act absolutely deleriously. i was absolutely crazy, sweating, shaking, puking.... i knew i had to get to the hospital asap and my doctor confirmed it by immediately ringing up a&e to tell them i was coming in. i went out in search of a shot first but fainted, got in a taxi and went to the hospital.

he gave me a local anaesthetic, told me to look away and cut the abcess right open. i looked down at it and i couldnt believe how big the wound was. it was a massive whole. huge. and obviously, they cant stitch it up. i dont know when i can take off these bandages or what; i can see blood leaking through and the bandage is wrapped round about 8 times.
when can i take it off? he said he was putting sometime on it to keep the sides together, but i am worried i will pull the said thing off the wound and make it bleed if i remove the bandage. what to do? its such a huge open wound i acnt leave the bandage on for a week until i have an appointment because its already getting grubby and will get wet when i shower.

Please do not fuck with the bandaging. If you need to have anything about it changed, go back to the doctor and let them deal with it. You don't want to risk getting it infected (again). When taking a shower put a plastic bag over it and make sure to keep it waterproof/airtight. The body is amazing with all the ways it heals itself, you should be good in a little bit.

[PrisonHer]

+1 DB. I just had a terrible abcsess..it popped on it's own. Still went to ER the dickwod squeezed it out and sent me home. A week later It refilled with the gross green and black shit. Got a fever..went back to ER. They re-opened it..flushed it and packed it...kept me in the hospital for 2 days. worst pain e.v.e.r. They packed it with some shoe string lookin' shit and I wanted to pull it out sooooooooo bad. But i didn't and the doc said good thing I left it alone because fucking with the packing and bandages can irritate it and cause it to get reinfected.

[pokergooch]

I am such a fucking idiot!!! I vowed never to IM again since I had a bad abcess a few years ago. 3 months a go I found a packaged needle that Ive had for years. I also, had an un opened bottle of sterile water. I looked at my opana, looked at the needle, well you can guess what I did. In the ass it went. A few days later i noticed a bump, a little worried. but not too bad. then it got a little bigger, I found some anti biotics in the kitchen and took them for a couple weeks, it never got bigger, even went down. no real pain, just a bump. It would go down to where I thought it was gone, then it would go back up again. Then, about 5 days ago, it started to get red and very painful. It even has a head and can tell its somewhat of a monster. SHit SHIT SHIT....IVe told myself I would never do this again;, It looks like Its ER time..

Question, when I go, should I tell them what I take? I dont want to give them my doctors name or meds that I take. Everything that I take is legally prescribed, just not taken, lol. I know it going to be very painful, and the 10mg morphine shot they will probably give wont do shit, so I think that ill take a shitload of meds beofre going in.. Help guys!

PG

[bronyraur]

Hey, is this abcess story hour(raises hand)? I've got a good one. No in all seriousness, I don't understand why abcesses are treated so differently. One person goes to the Dr. & gets put on antibiotics & that's it. One guy goes to the ER maybe gets an IV & has it drained & goes home. Me, I spent 3 wks in the hospital, had a P.I.C. line inserted, had a debridement under full anesthesia, and had to take antibiotics for another 2 wks @ home. Maybe one of the Health Professionals has an answer?

I'd guess that abscesses are treated according to the severity. Some might just need drained, and some might need the whole workup–surgical draining (I&D), central line for heavy duty antibiotics–the whole 9 yards.

[PrisonHer]

I am such a fucking idiot!!! I vowed never to IM again since I had a bad abcess a few years ago. 3 months a go I found a packaged needle that Ive had for years. I also, had an un opened bottle of sterile water. I looked at my opana, looked at the needle, well you can guess what I did. In the ass it went. A few days later i noticed a bump, a little worried. but not too bad. then it got a little bigger, I found some anti biotics in the kitchen and took them for a couple weeks, it never got bigger, even went down. no real pain, just a bump. It would go down to where I thought it was gone, then it would go back up again. Then, about 5 days ago, it started to get red and very painful. It even has a head and can tell its somewhat of a monster. SHit SHIT SHIT....IVe told myself I would never do this again;, It looks like Its ER time..

Question, when I go, should I tell them what I take? I dont want to give them my doctors name or meds that I take. Everything that I take is legally prescribed, just not taken, lol. I know it going to be very painful, and the 10mg morphine shot they will probably give wont do shit, so I think that ill take a shitload of meds beofre going in.. Help guys!

PG

The kinda good thing about getting the abscess in your butt is that you can easily tell the ER you had an ingrown hair. My brother (who IV's) got an abscess in his thigh..they never even knew he IV'd. he told them he popped a pimple and that's how he got it. I would NOT tell the ER where you get your meds from. When I went to the ER they did NOT give me narcotic pain killer before they took care of it so you might wanna think twice about telling them you use a needle....good luck!

[pokergooch]

That was a close one. Luckily, I got it to drain on its own. Spent most of the day yesterday pushing it out and today its almost gone. Note self, Look at this thread before attempting this again, you fucker (thats me)..

Thanks for your response

[webay]

weird...For some reason I've heard alot more stories of people getting abcesses's from shooting morphine than dope.You'd think with all the cut the dope would be worse.Probaly is i'm sure.I've had some bad staph infections before but the last one was actually from missing half a mscontin shot turned into a baseball sized lump on the middle of my bicep it was terrible.Told the Dr it wasnt from shooting and had no track marks at the time on that arm somehow so i got a shot of fetanyl before a shot of dilaudid after and a script of 20 percs

[candy]

http://www.saferinjecting.net/safer-injecting-drugs.html


Above is a link that discusses safer ways to inject to avoid abscesses. Just thought I would post it for anyone
interested in reading it.