night nurse

Everyday living
1

hello my mates.

Had to call the emergency district nurses last night. Some of you may recasll the problem with my suprapubic catheter (spc), which was rubbed raw and ulcerating, following my holiday last week.

Well I had a nurse to look at it on Sunday and a swab was taken on Monday. The nurse dressed it and said to leave the dressing on until tomorrow, when they would come again to check it.

Well last evening at bed time, I looked at the dressing and saw it was wet and soggy! I carefully removed it and boy! what a mess. It had been itchy and painful all day. What I saw scared me silly…red raw, very oozy and so so sore! I thought it might be poisoning me, so i rang the out of hours number. 2 lovely nurses arrived about an hour later. They took a brief history and looked at the spc and wound.

They cleaned and re-dressed it and assured me it wasnt as serious as I was imagining. As we are still awaiting the results of the swab test, they couldnt use any kind of cream etc.

I was wondering about having to have it taken out and what would i do then??? I would end up needing to wear big pads and just wet myself, as I have lost my control and standing strength.

Anyway, the nurses assured me that wasnt necessary and that the soreness was due to me being trundled about in the van and holiday. I did feel better after theyd gone.

You know, our district nurses are marvelous. Ive been very lucky, as theyve always come asap, when I`ve rung them.

So now I have to be kind to myself and rest up…no galavanting for me this week!

luv Pollx

2

Oh pollx sounds painfull you have to take it easy ,wonder why they told you couldnt use any cream as it would of helped the soreness.Big cuddle xxx julie

3

Hi Julie, ta for your reply luv.

They are waiting for the results of the swab test before thery use any creams etc.

luv Pollx

4

Poll, l have always found mine to be far worst if it is covered with a dressing. lt just keeps it moist and a breeding ground for bugs. Bathe it in salt water - and dry it - a bit of baby nappy rash cream works well. The site is not supposed to ‘heal’ as it is a moving part inserted in it - and a ‘foreign body’ at that. [l can think of better foreign bodies l would like ‘inserted’. See when you get to my age - this is what becomes of us.] Back to the SPC - mine - even after 18yrs - still regularly bleeds a little - which is acceptable considering what is going on - l just gently wash away the dried blood - lf it is left to harden it causes friction which results in soreness. A small amount of urine can escape around the cath site and that will cause soreness. l like that Bepanthenum baby nappy cream -it acts like a barrier. l have explained to you how l wear mine without any lengths of tubing - and close and contained. This way means that no trauma occurs when l am bouncing about on my Tramper. l have been through all that you have experienced - at the begining - before finding a better way of coping - and l am sure you will too. We are made of ‘stronger stuff’ - well thats what l keep saying to myself!

Fx

5

Thankyou Frances. I know I can always rely on you to make me feel better and not worry so much. You are a good buddy!

I have wondered about wearing my bag the way you do, but with my overly large tum (again) anything pressing on it hurts my tubing inside.

I know it will come right in the end.

luv Pollx

6

Poor you Poll, you are going through the wars. I really feel for you, it it’s not one thing tis another. I hope you are starting to feel better today and actually do what you are told and rest up. Hope you get better soon. Linda x

7

Hi polly sorry to hear your still having problems with the spc, have you tryed putting some padding under the tube, but not to close to the wound then tape the tubing so its not bouncing around, this may take the pressure off the wound and allow it to stop rubbing.

Its just a thought as ive no experiance of this kind of thing.

All the best Barbara.xx

8

Thanks Barbara. Your suggestion makes perfect sense. The nurse put the new dressing on in a way that the tube doesnt touch my skin.

Tomorrow, when nurse comes, I will ask her to show me how to do it.

luv Pollx

9

Hi all. Just to update you…

My GP rang me Wed pm and said shed got the results of the swab test...........there was a small amount of infection, but she wasnt eager to give me anti-biotics if it wasnt absolutely necessary. I asked about anoti-b creams and she said creams often make the skin react badly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So she didnt prescribe them, but anti-bs to take orally. Then she advised me to see what the nurse said when she came yesterday morning.

So nurse came and said the wound did look infected, so she rang GP and asked for the meds. Then she cleaned and dressed it again and ordered some more dresssings, gauze squares, sensitive tape and scissors…these scissors are for the sole use of cutting dressings and she said please dont use the tape for anything other than fixing the dressings, as it is very expensive. She said some of her patients have used it to hang pictures!!!

She told me not to use the plaster type dressings all the time, as they draw the wound and keep it wet…an ideal bacteria growing ground!

She said to pad it well with gauze when going out, to avoid the rubbing and rawness.

We talked about the stabbing pain I am still experiencing, which is about 4 inches to the right of the wound. She thinks it is likely to be caused by the tip of the catheter poking the bladder wall. It isnt there all the time, but when it is, boy! does it hurt! She said she thought that only the urologist could answer the question of what is causing it. I see him in November. At the time of the op, he did tell me that spc ops can take months to settle down.

So I spent yesterday in bed, keeping still. Carer got me up and showered this morning and freshened up. But as I hoisted, it felt like I was being stabbed by 50 sharp knives.

Paracetomol at the ready!

You know, as much as I love the spc system of emptying my bladder, right now I feel more poorly than I have in a long time.

It has to get better, eh?

luv Pollx

10

Awww Poll, really feel for you. You don’t have your troubles to seek do you? I am sorry you are going through even more rubbish. I hope they finally get on top of the pesky infection and give you some relief from one of your ailments. I hope you have someone close to you to try and keep your spirits up and not sitting fretting. Big hugs Linda x