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I Am A Meth User Who Injects And I Have
Question: I am a meth user who injects and I have 2 hard and painful lumps on my arm that have blood and pus coming out of it when I have added pressure on it to relieve pressure and pain and drain the nasty blood and pus out of it so it will heal faster. I don't know if it is phlebitis or just abscesses or if I should be worried about a serious medical problem like heart damage. My veins are very damaged from overuse and I worry about blockage in a vein or a blood clot. I have been using an OTC drawing salve to help them come to a head and drain faster, along with Neosporin with pain relief antibiotic ointment. Do I need to go to the hospital or just my doctor to have him look at these lumps and see if I am in trouble or have a serious infection to worry about? I don't want to go to the ER because they are not nice to drug addicts at all and treat me with total lack of compassion or kindness and make sure I know they resent me even asking for help and that I am a waste of their time and I don't deserve any pain relief at all or even being treated with the same care as any other patient and be professional health care staff who I know are expected to keep their personal opinions to themselves and do their job and show each patient basic kindness and care regardless of their personal issues that have brought them to seek medical care. What can I do at home to help these painful lumps go away and ease my pain?
How do I know if these painful lumps are abscesses, Phlebitis, cellulitis, or something more serious? I worry about blocked veins and whether I have serious blood flow problems and severely damaged veins and possible blood clots. I think they are just abcesses due to my using a needle more than one time before I use a new one, but I keep getting them in the same spots on my arm over and over again. What can I do to help drain them myself at home and avoid going to the ER?
Brief Answer:
Probably abscesses
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using Ask a Doctor. These do sound like abscesses, which, as you pointed out, can easily happen if you a needle that has been contaminated with bacteria. You are likely going to need a doctor to cut these open and make sure they drain completely, one of the biggest problems with abscesses like this is that they drain a little, but not completely, and so do not completely heal. You can try using a warm compress on them several times a day to help them to drain, and use over the counter antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, but it sounds like that will likely not be enough. It is not necessarily an emergency, so you can go to a regular doctor, and they will likely need to cut them open, drain them completely, and then possibly put you on oral antibiotics for a while until they completely heal.
I'm sorry that you haven't received good care at the ER, unfortunately that is the way many people are, though they should be professional and caring. Hopefully you can find a doctor who will treat you well.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any questions about any of that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Probably abscesses
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using Ask a Doctor. These do sound like abscesses, which, as you pointed out, can easily happen if you a needle that has been contaminated with bacteria. You are likely going to need a doctor to cut these open and make sure they drain completely, one of the biggest problems with abscesses like this is that they drain a little, but not completely, and so do not completely heal. You can try using a warm compress on them several times a day to help them to drain, and use over the counter antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, but it sounds like that will likely not be enough. It is not necessarily an emergency, so you can go to a regular doctor, and they will likely need to cut them open, drain them completely, and then possibly put you on oral antibiotics for a while until they completely heal.
I'm sorry that you haven't received good care at the ER, unfortunately that is the way many people are, though they should be professional and caring. Hopefully you can find a doctor who will treat you well.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any questions about any of that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
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