9 replies to this topic

[TheFountain]

A friend of mine was recently hospitalized for an unknown foot ailment. She had a serious infection on one of her feet that was an escalation from a minor cut that turned into a serious infection because of something she applied to it that she was apparently allergic to. Initially she visited a 'clinic' which was for people who did not have insurance. She was given morphine for the pain and her condition healed, then she went back to work after a 2 week absence. Now her condition is not only returning but manifesting as blisters covering the entire bottom of one of her feet. These blisters are filled with white fluid, presumably pus. The only difference now is that she is developing blisters on the other foot as well. She said she went back to the clinic but all they did was shrug their shoulders and told her to wait her out, whereas the first time she saw a doctor he said if she waited any longer it could have cost her blood poisoning. What I need to know is, a list of possible ailments that can cause this, because the medical community in this country is getting worse and worse about turning a blind eye to people without insurance like my friend. This way she can go to the emergency room armed with knowledge of possible causes which she can mention to them and thus cause more liability on their parts if they should not act on these possibilities. So, what could this condition be?

[StrangeAeons]

Obviously we are talking about major infection. Be on the lookout for high fever, swelling of the lymph nodes and legs, and altered level of consciousness. The most obvious cause I can think of is diabetes. Shy of total septicemia (said "blood poisoning") this is the most obvious explanation for the infection spreading. I have to imagine she should be getting IV antibiotics, labs from the infection to discover the strain, and either some sort of pressure dressing or an incision and drainage (I couldn't say for sure, I don't know enough about that). If she doesn't already carry a diabetic diagnosis it's extremely important to test for it, and aim to lower the HbA1C to keep the vascular damage in check. Barring that possibility it's essential to look for causes of a suppressed immune system, including autoimmunity, HIV, and paraneoplastic syndrome (cancer), as well as making sure she hasn't come into contact with ionizing radiation or dangerous chemicals recently.
All that said, determining the specific infection and giving IV antibiotics is critical in this case, and proper follow up for wound care (including things like regular dressing changes, drainage, and possibly pressure bandages) are essential regardless of the more detailed cause. Your friend could be stuck in a wheelchair if this isn't taken care of immediately.

[TheFountain]

Obviously we are talking about major infection. Be on the lookout for high fever, swelling of the lymph nodes and legs, and altered level of consciousness. The most obvious cause I can think of is diabetes. Shy of total septicemia (said "blood poisoning") this is the most obvious explanation for the infection spreading. I have to imagine she should be getting IV antibiotics, labs from the infection to discover the strain, and either some sort of pressure dressing or an incision and drainage (I couldn't say for sure, I don't know enough about that). If she doesn't already carry a diabetic diagnosis it's extremely important to test for it, and aim to lower the HbA1C to keep the vascular damage in check. Barring that possibility it's essential to look for causes of a suppressed immune system, including autoimmunity, HIV, and paraneoplastic syndrome (cancer), as well as making sure she hasn't come into contact with ionizing radiation or dangerous chemicals recently.
All that said, determining the specific infection and giving IV antibiotics is critical in this case, and proper follow up for wound care (including things like regular dressing changes, drainage, and possibly pressure bandages) are essential regardless of the more detailed cause. Your friend could be stuck in a wheelchair if this isn't taken care of immediately.

I actually mentioned diabetes to her already but we both sort of silently ruled it out because of her age (22). Diabetes usually does not crop up in her family till middle age (50+). I will mention all this to her, but what we are looking for us a reason for her NOT to be denied care by a general healthcare physician or at the emergency room. She is afraid of denial but my understanding is that under no circumstances can she be denied in the case of emergency, which this obviously is.

[rwac]

I actually mentioned diabetes to her already but we both sort of silently ruled it out because of her age (22). Diabetes usually does not crop up in her family till middle age (50+). I will mention all this to her, but what we are looking for us a reason for her NOT to be denied care by a general healthcare physician or at the emergency room. She is afraid of denial but my understanding is that under no circumstances can she be denied in the case of emergency, which this obviously is.

That's a weak reason to rule out diabetes. Why not get a cheap blood glucose meter and check out her blood sugars ?

[niner]

A friend of mine was recently hospitalized for an unknown foot ailment. She had a serious infection on one of her feet that was an escalation from a minor cut that turned into a serious infection because of something she applied to it that she was apparently allergic to. Initially she visited a 'clinic' which was for people who did not have insurance. She was given morphine for the pain and her condition healed, then she went back to work after a 2 week absence. Now her condition is not only returning but manifesting as blisters covering the entire bottom of one of her feet. These blisters are filled with white fluid, presumably pus. The only difference now is that she is developing blisters on the other foot as well. She said she went back to the clinic but all they did was shrug their shoulders and told her to wait her out, whereas the first time she saw a doctor he said if she waited any longer it could have cost her blood poisoning. What I need to know is, a list of possible ailments that can cause this, because the medical community in this country is getting worse and worse about turning a blind eye to people without insurance like my friend. This way she can go to the emergency room armed with knowledge of possible causes which she can mention to them and thus cause more liability on their parts if they should not act on these possibilities. So, what could this condition be?

Are you sure that it was an infection? If all she had was morphine, and not an antibiotic, then it sounds more like an atopic reaction; an allergic skin condition. Did they give her any steroids? If a doctor said that if she waited any longer she might have had blood poisoning, that does sound like a diagnosis of infection. So... did she get any antibiotics? Her condition now might not be an infection, given that the same clinic told her to wait it out. Did she see a doctor the second time, or did this advice come from the receptionist/security guard? I have to say, it doesn't sound like great healthcare is happening here, but it doesn't sound like we're getting the whole story either, since some of it doesn't add up. Whether or not this is an emergency depends critically on whether she actually has symptoms of infection. Ordinary blisters filled with clear fluid might look like pus at first glance, given the thick skin on the plantar surface. Has she lanced one to see what comes out? Does she have fever, swelling, inflammation, as mentioned above? I don't see a reason to suspect diabetes yet, but if her family gets diabetes at 50(!), she ought to get an HbA1c; they're cheap. She ought to learn how to eat right if she isn't already, as well. I hope she's feeling better; before we can hope to figure out what's going on, we'll need to know what the diagnosis was the first time she went to the clinic, and what drugs she got. We also should know what she's put on her feet since then, if anything.

[TheFountain]

A friend of mine was recently hospitalized for an unknown foot ailment. She had a serious infection on one of her feet that was an escalation from a minor cut that turned into a serious infection because of something she applied to it that she was apparently allergic to. Initially she visited a 'clinic' which was for people who did not have insurance. She was given morphine for the pain and her condition healed, then she went back to work after a 2 week absence. Now her condition is not only returning but manifesting as blisters covering the entire bottom of one of her feet. These blisters are filled with white fluid, presumably pus. The only difference now is that she is developing blisters on the other foot as well. She said she went back to the clinic but all they did was shrug their shoulders and told her to wait her out, whereas the first time she saw a doctor he said if she waited any longer it could have cost her blood poisoning. What I need to know is, a list of possible ailments that can cause this, because the medical community in this country is getting worse and worse about turning a blind eye to people without insurance like my friend. This way she can go to the emergency room armed with knowledge of possible causes which she can mention to them and thus cause more liability on their parts if they should not act on these possibilities. So, what could this condition be?

Are you sure that it was an infection? If all she had was morphine, and not an antibiotic, then it sounds more like an atopic reaction; an allergic skin condition. Did they give her any steroids? If a doctor said that if she waited any longer she might have had blood poisoning, that does sound like a diagnosis of infection. So... did she get any antibiotics? Her condition now might not be an infection, given that the same clinic told her to wait it out. Did she see a doctor the second time, or did this advice come from the receptionist/security guard? I have to say, it doesn't sound like great healthcare is happening here, but it doesn't sound like we're getting the whole story either, since some of it doesn't add up. Whether or not this is an emergency depends critically on whether she actually has symptoms of infection. Ordinary blisters filled with clear fluid might look like pus at first glance, given the thick skin on the plantar surface. Has she lanced one to see what comes out? Does she have fever, swelling, inflammation, as mentioned above? I don't see a reason to suspect diabetes yet, but if her family gets diabetes at 50(!), she ought to get an HbA1c; they're cheap. She ought to learn how to eat right if she isn't already, as well. I hope she's feeling better; before we can hope to figure out what's going on, we'll need to know what the diagnosis was the first time she went to the clinic, and what drugs she got. We also should know what she's put on her feet since then, if anything.

She has been in a great deal of pain and refuses to clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide as she fears the pain it would cause. Apparently when she was at this free clinic for people with no insurance she had her foot poked by a nurse and when she told the nurse it hurt badly the nurse quipped 'no it doesn't' to which my friend replied by almost kicking the bitch in the face, and my friend is NOT a violent person. She has an appointment with a general care physician today for which I urged her to pressure for all sorts of tests, from hepatic and immune dysfunction to any and all things related to podiatric causation and other systemic disorders. The doctor had better follow the hippocratic oath with my friend or she shall surely file a law suit, so she says. Had she lived in europe she'd have been taken care of long ago.

[niner]

A friend of mine was recently hospitalized for an unknown foot ailment. She had a serious infection on one of her feet that was an escalation from a minor cut that turned into a serious infection because of something she applied to it that she was apparently allergic to. Initially she visited a 'clinic' which was for people who did not have insurance. She was given morphine for the pain and her condition healed, then she went back to work after a 2 week absence. Now her condition is not only returning but manifesting as blisters covering the entire bottom of one of her feet. These blisters are filled with white fluid, presumably pus. The only difference now is that she is developing blisters on the other foot as well. She said she went back to the clinic but all they did was shrug their shoulders and told her to wait her out, whereas the first time she saw a doctor he said if she waited any longer it could have cost her blood poisoning. What I need to know is, a list of possible ailments that can cause this, because the medical community in this country is getting worse and worse about turning a blind eye to people without insurance like my friend. This way she can go to the emergency room armed with knowledge of possible causes which she can mention to them and thus cause more liability on their parts if they should not act on these possibilities. So, what could this condition be?

Are you sure that it was an infection? If all she had was morphine, and not an antibiotic, then it sounds more like an atopic reaction; an allergic skin condition. Did they give her any steroids? If a doctor said that if she waited any longer she might have had blood poisoning, that does sound like a diagnosis of infection. So... did she get any antibiotics? Her condition now might not be an infection, given that the same clinic told her to wait it out. Did she see a doctor the second time, or did this advice come from the receptionist/security guard? I have to say, it doesn't sound like great healthcare is happening here, but it doesn't sound like we're getting the whole story either, since some of it doesn't add up. Whether or not this is an emergency depends critically on whether she actually has symptoms of infection. Ordinary blisters filled with clear fluid might look like pus at first glance, given the thick skin on the plantar surface. Has she lanced one to see what comes out? Does she have fever, swelling, inflammation, as mentioned above? I don't see a reason to suspect diabetes yet, but if her family gets diabetes at 50(!), she ought to get an HbA1c; they're cheap. She ought to learn how to eat right if she isn't already, as well. I hope she's feeling better; before we can hope to figure out what's going on, we'll need to know what the diagnosis was the first time she went to the clinic, and what drugs she got. We also should know what she's put on her feet since then, if anything.

She has been in a great deal of pain and refuses to clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide as she fears the pain it would cause. Apparently when she was at this free clinic for people with no insurance she had her foot poked by a nurse and when she told the nurse it hurt badly the nurse quipped 'no it doesn't' to which my friend replied by almost kicking the bitch in the face, and my friend is NOT a violent person. She has an appointment with a general care physician today for which I urged her to pressure for all sorts of tests, from hepatic and immune dysfunction to any and all things related to podiatric causation and other systemic disorders. The doctor had better follow the hippocratic oath with my friend or she shall surely file a law suit, so she says. Had she lived in europe she'd have been taken care of long ago.

"all sorts of tests" are not warranted if she doesn't have a serious problem. Did the clinic advise her to clean the wound with H2O2? So she's going to sue the doctor if he does anything that causes pain? Good luck with that... Sounds like a great patient. Had she lived in Europe, she might have received the same treatment as here. We still have zero evidence that she is infected.

[TheFountain]

A friend of mine was recently hospitalized for an unknown foot ailment. She had a serious infection on one of her feet that was an escalation from a minor cut that turned into a serious infection because of something she applied to it that she was apparently allergic to. Initially she visited a 'clinic' which was for people who did not have insurance. She was given morphine for the pain and her condition healed, then she went back to work after a 2 week absence. Now her condition is not only returning but manifesting as blisters covering the entire bottom of one of her feet. These blisters are filled with white fluid, presumably pus. The only difference now is that she is developing blisters on the other foot as well. She said she went back to the clinic but all they did was shrug their shoulders and told her to wait her out, whereas the first time she saw a doctor he said if she waited any longer it could have cost her blood poisoning. What I need to know is, a list of possible ailments that can cause this, because the medical community in this country is getting worse and worse about turning a blind eye to people without insurance like my friend. This way she can go to the emergency room armed with knowledge of possible causes which she can mention to them and thus cause more liability on their parts if they should not act on these possibilities. So, what could this condition be?

Are you sure that it was an infection? If all she had was morphine, and not an antibiotic, then it sounds more like an atopic reaction; an allergic skin condition. Did they give her any steroids? If a doctor said that if she waited any longer she might have had blood poisoning, that does sound like a diagnosis of infection. So... did she get any antibiotics? Her condition now might not be an infection, given that the same clinic told her to wait it out. Did she see a doctor the second time, or did this advice come from the receptionist/security guard? I have to say, it doesn't sound like great healthcare is happening here, but it doesn't sound like we're getting the whole story either, since some of it doesn't add up. Whether or not this is an emergency depends critically on whether she actually has symptoms of infection. Ordinary blisters filled with clear fluid might look like pus at first glance, given the thick skin on the plantar surface. Has she lanced one to see what comes out? Does she have fever, swelling, inflammation, as mentioned above? I don't see a reason to suspect diabetes yet, but if her family gets diabetes at 50(!), she ought to get an HbA1c; they're cheap. She ought to learn how to eat right if she isn't already, as well. I hope she's feeling better; before we can hope to figure out what's going on, we'll need to know what the diagnosis was the first time she went to the clinic, and what drugs she got. We also should know what she's put on her feet since then, if anything.

She has been in a great deal of pain and refuses to clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide as she fears the pain it would cause. Apparently when she was at this free clinic for people with no insurance she had her foot poked by a nurse and when she told the nurse it hurt badly the nurse quipped 'no it doesn't' to which my friend replied by almost kicking the bitch in the face, and my friend is NOT a violent person. She has an appointment with a general care physician today for which I urged her to pressure for all sorts of tests, from hepatic and immune dysfunction to any and all things related to podiatric causation and other systemic disorders. The doctor had better follow the hippocratic oath with my friend or she shall surely file a law suit, so she says. Had she lived in europe she'd have been taken care of long ago.

"all sorts of tests" are not warranted if she doesn't have a serious problem. Did the clinic advise her to clean the wound with H2O2? So she's going to sue the doctor if he does anything that causes pain? Good luck with that... Sounds like a great patient. Had she lived in Europe, she might have received the same treatment as here. We still have zero evidence that she is infected.

I am keeping a positive thought process here, I mean I know she will be alright. But she has to follow through with whatever means she can to reduce any swelling and possible spread of this condition. As I stated in the first post it went from one of her feet to the other already. She was ordered by the people at the clinic to wear nothing but slippers for the next several weeks. I advise her to clean the wound regardless of the pain. I never said she said she would sue the doctor for causing a little necessary pain, I said she would raise an issue if they did absolutely nothing for her. Which is quite understandable. Wouldn't you?

[niner]

A friend of mine was recently hospitalized for an unknown foot ailment. She had a serious infection on one of her feet that was an escalation from a minor cut that turned into a serious infection because of something she applied to it that she was apparently allergic to. Initially she visited a 'clinic' which was for people who did not have insurance. She was given morphine for the pain and her condition healed, then she went back to work after a 2 week absence. Now her condition is not only returning but manifesting as blisters covering the entire bottom of one of her feet. These blisters are filled with white fluid, presumably pus. The only difference now is that she is developing blisters on the other foot as well. She said she went back to the clinic but all they did was shrug their shoulders and told her to wait her out, whereas the first time she saw a doctor he said if she waited any longer it could have cost her blood poisoning. What I need to know is, a list of possible ailments that can cause this, because the medical community in this country is getting worse and worse about turning a blind eye to people without insurance like my friend. This way she can go to the emergency room armed with knowledge of possible causes which she can mention to them and thus cause more liability on their parts if they should not act on these possibilities. So, what could this condition be?

Are you sure that it was an infection? If all she had was morphine, and not an antibiotic, then it sounds more like an atopic reaction; an allergic skin condition. Did they give her any steroids? If a doctor said that if she waited any longer she might have had blood poisoning, that does sound like a diagnosis of infection. So... did she get any antibiotics? Her condition now might not be an infection, given that the same clinic told her to wait it out. Did she see a doctor the second time, or did this advice come from the receptionist/security guard? I have to say, it doesn't sound like great healthcare is happening here, but it doesn't sound like we're getting the whole story either, since some of it doesn't add up. Whether or not this is an emergency depends critically on whether she actually has symptoms of infection. Ordinary blisters filled with clear fluid might look like pus at first glance, given the thick skin on the plantar surface. Has she lanced one to see what comes out? Does she have fever, swelling, inflammation, as mentioned above? I don't see a reason to suspect diabetes yet, but if her family gets diabetes at 50(!), she ought to get an HbA1c; they're cheap. She ought to learn how to eat right if she isn't already, as well. I hope she's feeling better; before we can hope to figure out what's going on, we'll need to know what the diagnosis was the first time she went to the clinic, and what drugs she got. We also should know what she's put on her feet since then, if anything.

She has been in a great deal of pain and refuses to clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide as she fears the pain it would cause. Apparently when she was at this free clinic for people with no insurance she had her foot poked by a nurse and when she told the nurse it hurt badly the nurse quipped 'no it doesn't' to which my friend replied by almost kicking the bitch in the face, and my friend is NOT a violent person. She has an appointment with a general care physician today for which I urged her to pressure for all sorts of tests, from hepatic and immune dysfunction to any and all things related to podiatric causation and other systemic disorders. The doctor had better follow the hippocratic oath with my friend or she shall surely file a law suit, so she says. Had she lived in europe she'd have been taken care of long ago.

"all sorts of tests" are not warranted if she doesn't have a serious problem. Did the clinic advise her to clean the wound with H2O2? So she's going to sue the doctor if he does anything that causes pain? Good luck with that... Sounds like a great patient. Had she lived in Europe, she might have received the same treatment as here. We still have zero evidence that she is infected.

I am keeping a positive thought process here, I mean I know she will be alright. But she has to follow through with whatever means she can to reduce any swelling and possible spread of this condition. As I stated in the first post it went from one of her feet to the other already. She was ordered by the people at the clinic to wear nothing but slippers for the next several weeks. I advise her to clean the wound regardless of the pain. I never said she said she would sue the doctor for causing a little necessary pain, I said she would raise an issue if they did absolutely nothing for her. Which is quite understandable. Wouldn't you?

No. If I call up my doctor and he's booked up, he does nothing for me that day. I don't sue him. If the doctor examines your friend, and says "there's nothing I can do for it", should she sue him? This thread is stupidifying rapidly. It started out as a person with an "infection", and now it sounds like nothing of the sort. You might want to check out the meaning of infection. What exactly did she put on her foot that started this whole ordeal, anyway?

[StrangeAeons]

I jumped to the conclusion that this was infection, but I can't say for sure; what I can say is that somebody who's had training and looked at it is more likely to tell what's really going on. If she was advised to clean it with peroxide and wear slippers and is refusing, then the causal "unknown" is non-compliance. It's only worth getting a second opinion if the first opinion has been taken somewhat seriously. I don't know what to suggest about the pain, though I imagine the morphine is a hell of a good start.