I am a 29 yr. old, SSGT. (Retired) U.S. Army, and have been a professional bullfighter for about 10 years now, or what is more commonly known by most Americans as a, "Rodeo Clown." I've had this same type of injury several times in the past, only on a different limb, or in a different area on the same limb. The injury I'm speaking of results in a large, red, swollen, feverish, rust colored fluid filled knot, located on my right, inner thigh, approximately 5 to 6 inches from the top of my knee. In the past I have gone to the Hospital, where they would lance it, allow it to drain, and pack the empty cavity full of some type of long, but very thin, gauze like, tape material. However, this time, I decided to drain the liquid myself. Although this time, after a couple days, the bruising covered nearly my entire leg, it took a couple more days to swell to the size of a hand ball. Being familiar with the results, I waited for the swelling to cease on the third day, and inserted a brand new, sterile, 14 gauge hypodermic needle into the center of the numb portion of the large knot, and proceeded to drain the fluid. At first it was a very dark and thick red, that mirrored the color of a blood clot, which is what it had looked like in the past when the Dr. lanced it at the Hospital, so I wasn't concerned. The swelling, and pressure dissipated almost immediately, to my relief, and the bruising has since faded down to my lower leg area only, but now, 3 days after I drained the thick, dark, fluid, the swelling has returned and worsened, along with fever, tenderness, and hard portions of meat, under the skin, around the healing lance scar. I, once again, drained several syringes of fluid from the knot, but now the fluid that I draw out is a clear, with faint blood, mixture. No matter how much I drain from the knot, it seems to only become more tender, swollen, red, feverish. It is my belief that there is more, and more, scar tissue developing, inside of my leg, each time I draw out the remaining fluid. I know that you shouldn't drain the fluid yourself, due to the risk of infection, and countless other reasons, but it's too late for reasoning now. I realize that I should go to the emergency room at this point, and have a "REAL" Doctor, fully examine, assess the damage, brought on by... let's just say... MY OWN, "LESS THAN EXPERT" procedure, and decide what actions need to be taken to correct the situation with my leg. I accept that realization, but my question is... What could I have done differently to prevent this outcome, OTHER THAN... just going straight to the hospital in the first place, and how can I correct or, "REMEDY," the current status of my POOR, PITIFUL, swollen, red, tender, and sometimes throbbing (only with extreme usage), feverish, and continuously fluid filled... (NO MATTER HOW MUCH FLUID I DRAIN) leg? Please help me NOT to have to visit the E.R., even though it's fully covered by my military medical insurance! Any suggestions, or help is GREATLY APPRECIATED. I really just don't have the time to sit in the E.R. all night long, next to the coughing kid, or the 45 yr. old woman who needs pain meds for her back, but really just to get high, until she finds somebody else with something stronger. It's a real hassle to get seen in any sort of timely manner, here in this small town, which is now, Apparantly... THOROUGHLY packed to the hilt with nothing but, "DRUG SEEKERS!"