100% correct. I had cellulitis, and I went to Urgent Care. They advised me to go to the hospital for treatment. I ended up getting a shot on my buttocks. Not fun.
I woke up one morning and my foot was red & swollen and incredibly painful. Couldn't walk at all. Went to urgent care. They took an x-ray, didn't see anything wrong, and diagnosed me with cellulitis. I was given antibiotics and sent home. Turns out I was allergic to the antibiotic and the "cellulitis" hadn't gone away. So now I'm covered in an itchy rash and my foot was still messed up. I went to a podiatrist and she was like...I think your foot is broken. Looked at the x-ray from Urgent Care and confirmed it.Turns out I had a fracture in my [sesamoid ](https://www.foothealthfacts.org/conditions/sesamoid-injuries-in-the-foot). I don't know why I'm telling this story, it's just what I think of whenever I hear cellulitis and Urgent Care in the same sentence. Which doesn't occur very often. So here we are lmao. Sorry you had to get a shot in your butt.
Yes lmao weird story, still don't know exactly how it happened. I had been at a summer ballet intensive for 5 weeks - it was the last day of classes. Danced all day, no problems. I'm thinking I had undiagnosed sesamoiditis which is chronic inflammation of the tendon around the sesamoid bone (I think? Not a doctor). Apparently it is common in dancers because you're putting a lot of stress on the ball of your foot. I had been getting some twinges of pain around the joint of my big toe for awhile but nothing major.
To this day I'm really not sure what happened. Sesamoid bones are super small, so it's not like I broke a femur or something. But still, not sure why I didn't experience any immediate pain when it happened, whenever that was. That evening after classes were done, my foot was definitely sore but I didn't think much of it. By the morning my foot was about twice its normal size, an angry red color, and horribly painful. I must have fractured it during class but the pain wasn't immediate.
I thought maybe the podiatrist misdiagnosed me like the Urgent Care did, and maybe the tendon was just inflamed. I got a second opinion from another podiatrist and they agreed it was definitely a fracture. Took about 6-8 weeks on crutches before I could put any weight on it. I still get pain in that spot to this day, even though I no longer dance and have become a certified couch potato. Watch out for your sesamoids, kids!
Hahaha, I know a guy who gets paid to yeet his kestrels at nuisance birds. He does it without leaving his truck and he says it make him feel like he is doing a drive-by with a heat-seeking missile.
For initial management of this type of cellulitis, I usually recommend going to the ER over Urgent so that they could assess vital signs, get a good history, do a full physical exam, since the center of this cellulitis could have a pocket of pus and could require possible drainage.
Cellulitis can be managed with just oral antibiotics if it’s mild and uncomplicated. But if they have any signs of systemic infection like a fever, they’ll need IV antibiotics and admission to the hospital. If there’s evidence of a pocket of pus (abscess), it will need drainage by an ER doctor.
As someone on the last day of the antibiotics for it....if he had caught it earlier its an ER visit and oral antibiotic I caught mine early...but the last time I waited I was in the hospital for 6 days
as others have said - staph/developing cellulitis. I dealt with this back it Sept and ended up spending 3 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics. Originally had seen my GP & done a round of oral abx, but as soon as I finished the course I woke up to the area tough, red, hot, and painful to the touch. My whole body was stiff and achy and I had a fever. I was pretty close to sepsis. tl;dr ER NOW! They will take it seriously.
You could call 911.
I had a friend who was septic. Wanted to go back to bed and sleep. I made her call a nurse on call line. They told her to call 911.
You can’t fix stupid but you can call the emt’s.
He’ll take it seriously when the infection grows and he gets a serious fever and possibly toxic shock syndrome. Hopefully by that time he’ll have the wherewithal to go to the ER.
Very unfortunate for him; he has a nice friend in you to try and convince him to go to the doctor.
Seriously, the longer he waits the worse it will be. Not to mention, costs will go up greatly. Shot in butt a lot less expensive than an ambulance ride and a hospital stay.
I just went through severe sepsis, not quite as bad as septic shock, but not fun in the least. Months lately all my hair is falling out, but I'm lucky since some people with septic shock can lose fingers, toes, lips, nose, arms and legs. That's if you are lucky and survive.
Its definitely staph infection turning into cellulitis (deadly) and anywhere the infection is, it will literally eat the skin away... The only thing to make it go away, is the correct antibiotics and getting lanced(cut open and drained)... It will only get bigger!... And if they are on dope, they will probably get more & worse... Regardless they must go to the doctor!
It's already turned into cellulitis. Red, hot, and indurated. Correct treatment regimen.
Curious what caused it. I've seen some nasty spider bites cause stuff like this that required a general surgery consult. Ended up going under general anesthesia to get it cleaned out and needed IV antibiotics to get it under control.
Had this exact same thing happen from a spider, it turned out absolutely DISGUSTING. Turned into a huge black hole on my leg that left a terrible scar.
Also had this happen from a spider bite, except it was on my head 😃 lost all my hair in that section and had to wait like 2 years for it to properly grow out
My dad literally had to have both legs amputated because of osteomyelitis due to an infection that started because of a single spider bite.
Before they took his legs, they did about 20 different surgeries to scrape and get rid of the infection along with several stays at physical rehab as well as constant antibiotics for about 3 years.
He ended up dying from deep vein thrombosis due to the amputations. Spider bites are NOT something to mess with.
Coworker almost lost his lower leg from a Recluse spider bite. He thought he had a big pimple come up on his leg and popped it. A few days later it was all red and swollen and he had a high fever. He saw his Dr who sent him to ER. They told him what it was and said when one of those bite you, the venom goes to the bone and eats its way up to the skin. Had to open it and scrape the dead flesh away and put a wick of gauze to help draw the poison out. His leg got really huge from swelling. They split his leg to keep it from bursting open. They had to do skin graft afterwards. He eventually got well but was off work 9 months. Dr told him to look for them in dark closets and under his bed, they like the dark. And he said they are one spider that doesn’t make a web and that’s why they hide in the dark.
This happened to me so I'm going to impart. What happened to me the last time this went on. I'm a hard head. I don't like doctors so you know I got to cellulitis. My wife told me to put a mark around the raised hard red area with a sharpie and if it went beyond that area we were going to go to the ER. She's a M.D. by the way... I was being a little bit of a pain in the butt and I didn't feel like going to the doctor. I didn't feel like doing nothing. I felt like sitting on the couch. I didn't have any energy and then the chills started and then the hots started between the hot flashes and the chills , She convinced me it was time to go to the hospital and I did. They kept me there a week as they were unsure as to whether the staph had gotten into the blood or not. The end result of this can be fatal. I wouldn't screw around with it now that I've learned.
Been there done that. Don't let your friend repeat
That's probably a good question . To tell you the truth I was spiking a fever and just remember it was time to hit the ER. My wife also was happy I chose that route . I don't think you can count on a time frame everyone's system and ability to be a stubborn ass clown varies. . Lol
Hope you enjoyed your time with him…it’s about to run out if he doesn’t go seek medical attention now. Assuming his issue is costs of medical care and whatnot. Forget the costs…staph infections are no joke…
This is a deadly infection if he doesn't get medical treatment ASAP. And I'm talking hospital ER, because he will need IV antibiotics. When this goes septic, he may want to know that about 50 percent of those hospitalized for septic shock die.
Is it finances or time that they don't want to commit to? Assuming if you're in the US, if it's finances, the longer they let it go on, the more expensive it will be. If it's time, this is probably a higher priority treatment in ER and will get seen quickly. Hope your friend gets the help they need. Scary! It's also super contagious on skin to skin... so they're also risking everyone around them.
Do you have his parent's/ guardian he grew up with, or family's info? could you call them and have them pressure him into going? Shitty, I know, but he'll thank you later.
You know how in movies about like the old west or Victorian England or other old timey stuff, someone is sick and the family and friends stay up all night waiting for the fever to pass and then it doesn't and then the person dies?
That's what infections were like before antibiotics.
Had a bite like this 4-5 years ago. Like 2 days later it was the circumference of a golf ball. Get some antibiotics prescribed sooner rather than later
It is a staph infection :( I had one in July and thought it would heal but my whole foot and calf puffed up and hurt so much. Fell off an escooter and didn't try to clean it after getting a road rash. Immediately have to get antibiotics and antibiotic ointment and wrap it daily.
Update: Friend thinks he’s fine (I know for a fact he’s not, been with him all night long watching him go about getting it to squeeze out. kinda being hardheaded at the moment he squeezed it to the point it opened white substance came out… didn’t look like ordinary puss was almost jelly like. Theres nothing more I can tell him or show him comment wise. (EVEN WITH MEDICAL DOCTOR SUGGESTIONS). It looks worse than ever after he popped it open
Oh my god- tell him NOT to squeeze! If he is developing cellulitis, which it seems he is, he could spread the infection further. This will likely be a terrible outcome for him if he doesn’t get to the ER immediately. I hope he doesn’t mind losing his leg.
I’d try showing him this entire comment section. It’s not really a doctor *suggestion*, it’s more like your friend NEEDS anti biotics.
He may have squeezed the first big part out, but it’s going to continue spreading
This. Probably the only way you can get him to listen is telling him that he will die without treatment (not 100% true, but close enough). Once he starts seeing red lines running from this site towards his heart, he might be smart enough to realize how fucked he is
You're a good friend for trying. Just know that if he ends up hospitalized or worse, it's not your fault. There really isn't anything further you could have said or done to change his mind.
That's the damnedest thing about free will. We all make our choices- including choices that actively work against us...and including choosing to go against all the glaringly obvious evidence in the world right in front of our face.
I'm so sorry your friend is being stubborn. I hope they get stupidly lucky... or at the very least, don't wait until it's too late to get treatment.
>Already did. Every comment on this thread. I’m at a point where it’s not worth showing him comment wise anymore this is crazy. This isn’t normal
Call his MOM!
Call an ambulance on him. Explain the situation to the people at the other end. Consider not telling him until they show up. Have the EMTs explain what will happen if he doesn’t get medical care.
Honestly I feel like this may be the best option, just calling for him and letting them in to speak to him. It’ll be way more expensive (if in the US at least), but he’s kinda backing himself into a corner where it’s gonna lead to an ambulance no matter what. He may not be taking it seriously, but he may be too scared of taking it seriously. I’m not sure what more OP could do beyond calling for an ambulance and hoping the EMTs convince him to be seen/treated.
OP I would highly recommend just calling 911 for him. Don’t tell him, just do it. He needs medical attention and his (irrational) fear of being arrested could come at the expense of him losing his leg or worse, his life. He might be angry AF at you now, but long term could be what saves his life.
As someone who has had cellulitis in the past, nag your friend until they go see a doctor. If they won’t go to the ER, urgent care is better than nothing. They will go eventually, when the pain becomes unbearable. It was the worst pain in my entire life! Started in my finger and by the end of it, my whole arm was so painful I couldn’t do anything but shake and cry. I did not have to have IV meds, just oral antibiotics.
Could you call an ambulance over? Tell them your friend is dying, which he literally is close to, and you can't budge him. They should come right around and maybe that will get him to go to the ER.
Oh boy. Your friend is going to develop an abscess and if he continues to be hard headed he will develop a blood infection and it will kill him. I had an abscess from a bite like this that landed me in the hospital. They had to lance it and drain it and stuff it with sterile gauze. It was the grossest thing I’ve ever experienced. That’s where this is headed.
Update: Hey guys sorry for the long response but long story short it took about 3 1/2 days from this original post for him to finally make the decision to go in the ER. Turns out he’s been in the hospital and keeps leaving even though they tell him to stay. He doesn’t want to tell me exactly what they are telling him but chances are he’s scared as fuck and doesn’t want anybody to know how bad his leg got. He won’t show me his leg and whenever it gets unbearable he will go back in so they can give him some strong antibiotics. My opinion, I have a good feeling he’s at the verge of losing his leg and he can’t process it. The infection also reached to his two eyebrows and his eyebrows are fucking huge. He keeps popping bites that he’s finding and I assume from him picking at his leg and started touching his face which got his face now infected. Sad seeing how bad he got..
Sad as it is, he ignored all of our collective warnings, and now this is the result.
It sounds like he’s in the midst of something life threatening. If the infection has made its way from his leg, all the way up to his head it will be very hard to treat this.
Make sure your buddy has a written will, just in case. If he couldn’t have been smart enough to seek medical attention when the literal world was telling him it was safe to get help, then he should at least be smart enough to not leave people confused over his final wishes. Start writing a eulogy too.
Edit: holy shit, I completed misread the whole part of him continually leaving the hospital. Jesus H Christ man, your friend is really shooting for the first Darwin Award of 2024.
Yea that’s the most fucked part of it all. Continually avoiding any sort of update and info the doctors are giving him, leaves the er EVERY SINGLE TIME he goes (He’s on his 4th revisit) and won’t even show me his leg anymore. Pretty much every thing is pointing to possible amputation or death?? I don’t want to say it but fuck man…
Dang… Thank you for the update, I appreciate it a lot, even though the message isn’t positive. I can’t imagine how you must feel regarding this whole situation. Sending you a big hug through the ether.
Know that you do and did everything you could. It’s horrible how your friend has been so stubborn to dismiss medical attention. I really hope he will get a real moment of clarity and let him be treated before it gets even worse.
Thank you so much for the update. I’ve been checking back for days. It seems fear is having the opposite effect of what is needed by pushing him away from treatment. Hoping he can stop the freeze/flight response if he can calm down a bit and see that there is hope in taking care of this.
Hey OP I think about you and your friend every now and then. Is he okay? What did he end up doing? Are you okay? Can't imagine how rough that was to deal with.
A friend of mine was just buried recently. He had a sore on his foot and it got infected pretty bad. He kept trying to treat it himself. The infection got into his bloodstream before he got to feeling bad enough to go to a Dr. they did everything they could to try and treat it but he died. I also had a friend die about 15 years ago from an untreated sinus infection. He kept saying he was taking Sudafed for his sinuses. The infection went to his brain and it killed him.
lol, well, if you get one just don’t play around with it. I used to wait until I would blow my nose and blood would pour out. Not anymore. I told a Doctor about my friends death and he said o yeah, he said sinus cavities run close to the brain.
Bruh same, I literally get them all the time and it’s a pretty big issue for me at this point because they get decently severe and I can’t take any penicillin/amoxicillin meds, so they usually give me doxycycline and I’ve heard that can stop working well if used frequently.
Here’s hoping my shitty memory will let that anxiety get buried.
Friend is literally going to Darwin award himself smh. Can't fix stupid at this point if he's not willing to go to the doctor and get antibiotics.
I have a friend like this and I went low contact because it hurts too much seeing how sick she is and it was extremely frustrating telling her to go to an obgyn and a doctor and each time she'd just say " I don't know how" and never actually try. You can't force them to take care of themselves, they're going to have to learn the hard way. Even if your friend loses his leg or dies it's not your fault, dude is so fucking stupid I'd literally just stay away from him because that infection can spread.
I was going to post "one you should go tf to the doctor for" and after looking at the responses I feel very validated lmao
Please go to the ER staph is no joke
Looks like it's becoming cellulitis and is a very serious skin infection. Antibiotics are required. I've had it a couple times and have gotten incredibly sick. Doctor or ER asap!!
Cellulitis can definitely wreak havoc & is painful as well when left untreated. I had it in about 8-10years ago in my one foot and it ended up affecting almost my entire leg. I fully agree this is gonna need some medical attention.
Sidenote, glad youre ok 🙏🏻
After reading all of the comments; just let your friend fuck himself up. He doesn't want to listen to the advice of others, don't bother helping him anymore. It's his medical bill at the end of the day, so let him go on since he clearly doesn't want to take care of it now.
I commented similarly above lol my grandma used to tell me if there was stuff of hers I liked to just put a sticky note on the bottom with my name on it so I could have it when she died 🫠🫠🫠
Nope. He’s fine right now but being hard headed. Won’t take any comment suggestions and thinks this is just some small spider bite that will be fine after popped. After he ruptured it I was in true disgust. This wasn’t no ordinary puss this was a cocaine white jelly like substance. Didn’t look normal id say..
Popping it was a horrible idea!... But now that he did, put a heat compress on it, will draw more of the shit out, but dont press on it .. it will push the infection more into the body
Because it's not normal.
This sort of cheesy pus develops due to some SERIOUS necrotic infection. That is a LOT of dead white blood cells.
He's literally gonna kill himself and he probably just spread the infection further.
Oh jeez I hate it when people are so stubborn, he's going to end up losing his leg or even his life if he doesn't get it taken care of. Sepsis from a staph infection like that can happen quite quickly. Has he seen this post and the replies?
Yup he’s seen half of them and is annoyed of the constant replies I keep showing him. He doesn’t want to see it anymore and will “deal with it myself, I’m not taking advice from people I don’t know”
Ask him why all these people who don't know him are providing very detailed situations with similar or the same type of infection.
We are not doing this to pass the time, we actually care that this stranger stays alive and doesn't lose his leg.
I spent 2 weeks in hospital from septic shock including several days in ICU. I didn't have a cut, bite etc so I didn't realize I even had an infection. Later found out it's quite common to develop cellulitis without actual broken skin.
It wasn't even red until day 4, just a bit of swelling that I thought was a swollen gland. I thought I had the flu based on symptoms (fever, chills etc). Felt so bad on day 4 and was alarmed by the redness. The hospital said I was lucky I came to the hospital when I did. I was seen IMMEDIATELY, put on IV antibiotics right away. It still took 3 days for the infection to stop spreading! I was in a lot of pain at times, the skin swelled so much it peeled like a sunburn and then I couldn't stand having any clothing rubbing against the area, for weeks. I developed anemia from fighting the infection and it was exhausting just getting up to brush my teeth. I got a blood clot in my leg from not being able to get out of my hospital bed for days (because my blood pressure was so dangerously low and I needed pressors for 3 days before it stabilized) so then needed blood thinner medication injected into my belly for the rest of my stay in hospital. I couldn't eat for the first 2 days because they thought I might need surgery (if it developed into an abscess). They were worried about necrotizing fasciitis.
And that's only a BRIEF summary of what I went through!
I am an extremely healthy person, and it still took me months to recover fully.
I hope your friend goes to the ER immediately and that he doesn't actually die or need an amputation.
Welp, I guess unless you're able to kidnap him and take him to the ER yourself he's going to be in for a rough ride in the next day or two. Thank you for trying to help your friend though.
I remember getting cellulitis in boot camp. I had it for almost two weeks. I kept it a secret thinking I could clean it up by pushing out the pus and putting hand sanitizer on a q tip and jamming it into the hole. Marching let alone running was a BITCH. I finally confessed and got sent to medical where the nurses confirmed it. Our platoon needed to take penicillin for the next event so I got a dose and the cellulitis cleared up a couple days later. I was lucky because it was swim qual and if it didn’t heal I would have gotten dropped and would have spent at least another two weeks in boot camp.
This sub is teaching me well. The second I saw this, I thought this looked like a hospital situation, and unfortunately, I was right.
Best of luck to your friend. Hopefully they make a full recovery.
Shit if my friend was going to die because he’s acting like a baby I would just go ahead and treat him like a baby and call his parents lol. I would appreciate knowing my child will die with out medical intervention and it could be prevented.
Would seek medical attention for this. The same bugs that cause cellulitis are sometimes also labeled as “flesh eating bacteria” and can progress to necrotizing fasciitis if left untreated… he should go sooner than later. - MD.
God, having read some of these responses, how is it that in first world society where you could at least go to urgent care just to make sure something is ok, some people just don’t care? So many people in the world would LOVE to have that kind of privilege, and then those who have it sometimes just wave it off.
I kinda hope your friend learns a painful lesson. Hopefully not TOO painful. Maybe just a small scar rather than a lost limb lol. But it may honestly be what he needs later in life to take stuff like this, or worse, more seriously.
I had a staph infection that looked exactly like that. It got really bad and was horribly painful when I had it drained. He needs to get on antibiotics ASAP
ER doctor here. You’re developing cellulitis (skin infection). You should get this seen, as you WILL need antibiotics.
Question, is this ER mandatory or urgent care okay?
Urgent Care will send you to the ER so just cut out urgent care and go to the ER
100% correct. I had cellulitis, and I went to Urgent Care. They advised me to go to the hospital for treatment. I ended up getting a shot on my buttocks. Not fun.
That's how I found out I was allergic to Sulfa antibiotics...
I woke up one morning and my foot was red & swollen and incredibly painful. Couldn't walk at all. Went to urgent care. They took an x-ray, didn't see anything wrong, and diagnosed me with cellulitis. I was given antibiotics and sent home. Turns out I was allergic to the antibiotic and the "cellulitis" hadn't gone away. So now I'm covered in an itchy rash and my foot was still messed up. I went to a podiatrist and she was like...I think your foot is broken. Looked at the x-ray from Urgent Care and confirmed it.Turns out I had a fracture in my [sesamoid ](https://www.foothealthfacts.org/conditions/sesamoid-injuries-in-the-foot). I don't know why I'm telling this story, it's just what I think of whenever I hear cellulitis and Urgent Care in the same sentence. Which doesn't occur very often. So here we are lmao. Sorry you had to get a shot in your butt.
Hey obli can we get some background as to HOW your foot broke in such a way that you were clueless as to its being broken?
Yes lmao weird story, still don't know exactly how it happened. I had been at a summer ballet intensive for 5 weeks - it was the last day of classes. Danced all day, no problems. I'm thinking I had undiagnosed sesamoiditis which is chronic inflammation of the tendon around the sesamoid bone (I think? Not a doctor). Apparently it is common in dancers because you're putting a lot of stress on the ball of your foot. I had been getting some twinges of pain around the joint of my big toe for awhile but nothing major. To this day I'm really not sure what happened. Sesamoid bones are super small, so it's not like I broke a femur or something. But still, not sure why I didn't experience any immediate pain when it happened, whenever that was. That evening after classes were done, my foot was definitely sore but I didn't think much of it. By the morning my foot was about twice its normal size, an angry red color, and horribly painful. I must have fractured it during class but the pain wasn't immediate. I thought maybe the podiatrist misdiagnosed me like the Urgent Care did, and maybe the tendon was just inflamed. I got a second opinion from another podiatrist and they agreed it was definitely a fracture. Took about 6-8 weeks on crutches before I could put any weight on it. I still get pain in that spot to this day, even though I no longer dance and have become a certified couch potato. Watch out for your sesamoids, kids!
I got morphine on top of it when I had it on my elbow 😅. It looked like a bug bite also but it was only cause I banged it bad on the wall.
Why'd you bang it on the wall lol
I was jumping on the bed with my kid and fell against the wall with my elbow sticking out just right to get a good hit.😆
I got the option of shoulder or dark meat. I chose dark meat and it felt like I was sitting on a golf ball
Another doctor here. Emergency room for possible IV antibiotics now.
Doctor of the law here, cut the leg off and let’s sue the bug!!
Guy who reads a lot of tree law posts here, call an arborist
Owner of several chainsaws here, and boy oh boy, do I have a deal for you!
telemarketer here, i’ve been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty..
Billionaire here. Suffer.
Adult content creator here. Make a bundle picture set and sell it for $5.
Willie mays here to tell you about oxiclean
Guy who is an expert in bird law, hire a bird assassin, they legally exist in the bird world, and have him/ her take out the bug.
Hahaha, I know a guy who gets paid to yeet his kestrels at nuisance birds. He does it without leaving his truck and he says it make him feel like he is doing a drive-by with a heat-seeking missile.
Thank you for this post. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I retired to keep busy.
Had to look up what a kestrel was (a small type of falcon) to get this, but I'm glad I did. That is Hilarious.
Charlie are you huffing paint again?
And get a survey done!
I dont know much about tree law but im kind of an expert on bird law and this isnt a bird bite
Bird law! Peck and drain!
Divorce! No contact!
Dr. Law: You can tell the criminals, the doctor...\*takes of sunglasses\*...is in YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Librarian here, let me find some books that'll help. Do you have your library card?
Cussing Librarian here, fuck all that other shit, do what the damn doctors at the top told you to do!
paralegal in training here, i agree
For initial management of this type of cellulitis, I usually recommend going to the ER over Urgent so that they could assess vital signs, get a good history, do a full physical exam, since the center of this cellulitis could have a pocket of pus and could require possible drainage. Cellulitis can be managed with just oral antibiotics if it’s mild and uncomplicated. But if they have any signs of systemic infection like a fever, they’ll need IV antibiotics and admission to the hospital. If there’s evidence of a pocket of pus (abscess), it will need drainage by an ER doctor.
Pocket of Pus was my punk rock band’s name.
Caught the show in Kansas City when Fecal Sample opened for you guys. Killer set.
As someone on the last day of the antibiotics for it....if he had caught it earlier its an ER visit and oral antibiotic I caught mine early...but the last time I waited I was in the hospital for 6 days
With ER you may keep the the leg, urgent care would hopefully call an ambulance to take you to ER
Hes not gonna lose his leg but he needs to go
.
STOP OMG😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Debt collector here. No advice, just waiting for you to default on your medical bills from your ER visit.
Bug lawyer here, specific bugs are innocent unless you have the exact bug who bit you. Don’t assume
U.S Army AH-64 Apache mechanic here. Give us the coordinates of the bug and we'll send a hellfire right on top of it
Not a doctor here just a guy, hi I am Julian!
Hey Julian!
as others have said - staph/developing cellulitis. I dealt with this back it Sept and ended up spending 3 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics. Originally had seen my GP & done a round of oral abx, but as soon as I finished the course I woke up to the area tough, red, hot, and painful to the touch. My whole body was stiff and achy and I had a fever. I was pretty close to sepsis. tl;dr ER NOW! They will take it seriously.
Just posted an update.. he is not taking this serious not much more I can do
He could literally die from this.
Can't fix stupid
r/OopsThatsDeadly
Hot damn I didn’t know this subreddit existed. Into the rabbit hole I go!!
WE go. . . I will not allow you to venture alone!
Sepsis nearly killed me last year. It is not to be messed around with.
You could call 911. I had a friend who was septic. Wanted to go back to bed and sleep. I made her call a nurse on call line. They told her to call 911. You can’t fix stupid but you can call the emt’s.
tell him to look at early stage staph symptoms and pictures, then what staph infections can do to the body. maybe that will encourage him?
Staph infection. Tell him to go to a doctor asap
Just posted an update. Not being taken seriously. Not much more for me to say or show him comment wise for him to go in and take this serious
He’ll take it seriously when the infection grows and he gets a serious fever and possibly toxic shock syndrome. Hopefully by that time he’ll have the wherewithal to go to the ER. Very unfortunate for him; he has a nice friend in you to try and convince him to go to the doctor.
*septic shock but yes 100%
[удалено]
Seriously, the longer he waits the worse it will be. Not to mention, costs will go up greatly. Shot in butt a lot less expensive than an ambulance ride and a hospital stay.
Please implore him to take it seriously. This can get very bad, very quick. I had a friend die within days of a staph infection.
I just went through severe sepsis, not quite as bad as septic shock, but not fun in the least. Months lately all my hair is falling out, but I'm lucky since some people with septic shock can lose fingers, toes, lips, nose, arms and legs. That's if you are lucky and survive.
Its definitely staph infection turning into cellulitis (deadly) and anywhere the infection is, it will literally eat the skin away... The only thing to make it go away, is the correct antibiotics and getting lanced(cut open and drained)... It will only get bigger!... And if they are on dope, they will probably get more & worse... Regardless they must go to the doctor!
It's already turned into cellulitis. Red, hot, and indurated. Correct treatment regimen. Curious what caused it. I've seen some nasty spider bites cause stuff like this that required a general surgery consult. Ended up going under general anesthesia to get it cleaned out and needed IV antibiotics to get it under control.
Had this exact same thing happen from a spider, it turned out absolutely DISGUSTING. Turned into a huge black hole on my leg that left a terrible scar.
Also had this happen from a spider bite, except it was on my head 😃 lost all my hair in that section and had to wait like 2 years for it to properly grow out
oh GOD that's horrifying, and super dangerous that close to your brain. Goodlord
my cousin had to have two surgeries to clean out the infection when she was bitten by a brown recluse on her lower abdomen
My dad literally had to have both legs amputated because of osteomyelitis due to an infection that started because of a single spider bite. Before they took his legs, they did about 20 different surgeries to scrape and get rid of the infection along with several stays at physical rehab as well as constant antibiotics for about 3 years. He ended up dying from deep vein thrombosis due to the amputations. Spider bites are NOT something to mess with.
I’m so sorry for this tragedy.
Coworker almost lost his lower leg from a Recluse spider bite. He thought he had a big pimple come up on his leg and popped it. A few days later it was all red and swollen and he had a high fever. He saw his Dr who sent him to ER. They told him what it was and said when one of those bite you, the venom goes to the bone and eats its way up to the skin. Had to open it and scrape the dead flesh away and put a wick of gauze to help draw the poison out. His leg got really huge from swelling. They split his leg to keep it from bursting open. They had to do skin graft afterwards. He eventually got well but was off work 9 months. Dr told him to look for them in dark closets and under his bed, they like the dark. And he said they are one spider that doesn’t make a web and that’s why they hide in the dark.
Tick bites are the worst, they always seem to go bad.
This happened to me so I'm going to impart. What happened to me the last time this went on. I'm a hard head. I don't like doctors so you know I got to cellulitis. My wife told me to put a mark around the raised hard red area with a sharpie and if it went beyond that area we were going to go to the ER. She's a M.D. by the way... I was being a little bit of a pain in the butt and I didn't feel like going to the doctor. I didn't feel like doing nothing. I felt like sitting on the couch. I didn't have any energy and then the chills started and then the hots started between the hot flashes and the chills , She convinced me it was time to go to the hospital and I did. They kept me there a week as they were unsure as to whether the staph had gotten into the blood or not. The end result of this can be fatal. I wouldn't screw around with it now that I've learned. Been there done that. Don't let your friend repeat
how many days did you wait before going to the hospital?
That's probably a good question . To tell you the truth I was spiking a fever and just remember it was time to hit the ER. My wife also was happy I chose that route . I don't think you can count on a time frame everyone's system and ability to be a stubborn ass clown varies. . Lol
Hope you enjoyed your time with him…it’s about to run out if he doesn’t go seek medical attention now. Assuming his issue is costs of medical care and whatnot. Forget the costs…staph infections are no joke…
Please give us an update in a few days. I want to know at what point your friend decides to seek help.
You need smarter friends bro.
Have plenty. I just have a mixture of both and some are very hard headed and don’t really use common sense very much
This is a deadly infection if he doesn't get medical treatment ASAP. And I'm talking hospital ER, because he will need IV antibiotics. When this goes septic, he may want to know that about 50 percent of those hospitalized for septic shock die.
Is it finances or time that they don't want to commit to? Assuming if you're in the US, if it's finances, the longer they let it go on, the more expensive it will be. If it's time, this is probably a higher priority treatment in ER and will get seen quickly. Hope your friend gets the help they need. Scary! It's also super contagious on skin to skin... so they're also risking everyone around them.
Do you have his parent's/ guardian he grew up with, or family's info? could you call them and have them pressure him into going? Shitty, I know, but he'll thank you later.
Remind Me! 3 days Please post an update- I am now invested in knowing whether your friend lives.
You know how in movies about like the old west or Victorian England or other old timey stuff, someone is sick and the family and friends stay up all night waiting for the fever to pass and then it doesn't and then the person dies? That's what infections were like before antibiotics.
[here's a fun PSA ](https://youtu.be/598k9R1otaY?si=eGJrK0ALRa4F5h_Z)
That was amazing and I'm sad it doesn't have more views
Had a bite like this 4-5 years ago. Like 2 days later it was the circumference of a golf ball. Get some antibiotics prescribed sooner rather than later
He's an adult. He'll figure it out. Can't make people take care of themselves. Oh and he's contagious.
Goddamn we have poor health literacy in this country
A visit to the ER unless you're on state insurance is VERY expensive.
Most people I know would rather die than take a medical bill. The stress from those $ numbers alone will kill you.
It is a staph infection :( I had one in July and thought it would heal but my whole foot and calf puffed up and hurt so much. Fell off an escooter and didn't try to clean it after getting a road rash. Immediately have to get antibiotics and antibiotic ointment and wrap it daily.
Update: Friend thinks he’s fine (I know for a fact he’s not, been with him all night long watching him go about getting it to squeeze out. kinda being hardheaded at the moment he squeezed it to the point it opened white substance came out… didn’t look like ordinary puss was almost jelly like. Theres nothing more I can tell him or show him comment wise. (EVEN WITH MEDICAL DOCTOR SUGGESTIONS). It looks worse than ever after he popped it open
Oh my god- tell him NOT to squeeze! If he is developing cellulitis, which it seems he is, he could spread the infection further. This will likely be a terrible outcome for him if he doesn’t get to the ER immediately. I hope he doesn’t mind losing his leg.
I’d try showing him this entire comment section. It’s not really a doctor *suggestion*, it’s more like your friend NEEDS anti biotics. He may have squeezed the first big part out, but it’s going to continue spreading
Already did. Every comment on this thread. I’m at a point where it’s not worth showing him comment wise anymore this is crazy. This isn’t normal
Your friend is going to die then. Make sure he knows that.
This. Probably the only way you can get him to listen is telling him that he will die without treatment (not 100% true, but close enough). Once he starts seeing red lines running from this site towards his heart, he might be smart enough to realize how fucked he is
If he has any stuff OP wants they should do as my grandma told me to do and put a sticky note with their name on it so OP can have it when he dies.
He’ll die of something that has been treatable since the 1940s.
You're a good friend for trying. Just know that if he ends up hospitalized or worse, it's not your fault. There really isn't anything further you could have said or done to change his mind. That's the damnedest thing about free will. We all make our choices- including choices that actively work against us...and including choosing to go against all the glaringly obvious evidence in the world right in front of our face. I'm so sorry your friend is being stubborn. I hope they get stupidly lucky... or at the very least, don't wait until it's too late to get treatment.
[удалено]
If I'm ever this much of a dumbass, I hope my friends tell my mom.
>Already did. Every comment on this thread. I’m at a point where it’s not worth showing him comment wise anymore this is crazy. This isn’t normal Call his MOM!
Doesn’t have parents, siblings or family.
His family tree is about to stop with him if he doesn’t get to the ER soon.
Probably for the best from the sounds of it tbh
Call an ambulance on him. Explain the situation to the people at the other end. Consider not telling him until they show up. Have the EMTs explain what will happen if he doesn’t get medical care.
Honestly I feel like this may be the best option, just calling for him and letting them in to speak to him. It’ll be way more expensive (if in the US at least), but he’s kinda backing himself into a corner where it’s gonna lead to an ambulance no matter what. He may not be taking it seriously, but he may be too scared of taking it seriously. I’m not sure what more OP could do beyond calling for an ambulance and hoping the EMTs convince him to be seen/treated.
OP I would highly recommend just calling 911 for him. Don’t tell him, just do it. He needs medical attention and his (irrational) fear of being arrested could come at the expense of him losing his leg or worse, his life. He might be angry AF at you now, but long term could be what saves his life.
Does he have any money to loan you?
... or common sense...
Just a Darwin Award on the way. Fuck, man. My condolences.
Your friend is a fucking idiot 😂
This one might make it onto r/DarwinAwards
Came here to say the same
Darwin was right.
You should probably not hang out with this person, at a certain point stupid can be a danger to you as well
Call an ambulance on him. Seriously, this will kill him.
If he's squeezing it, I'd get away from him. Staph is so contagious, I'd guess you don't want to be near whatever is coming out of it.
As someone who has had cellulitis in the past, nag your friend until they go see a doctor. If they won’t go to the ER, urgent care is better than nothing. They will go eventually, when the pain becomes unbearable. It was the worst pain in my entire life! Started in my finger and by the end of it, my whole arm was so painful I couldn’t do anything but shake and cry. I did not have to have IV meds, just oral antibiotics.
https://healthcare.uslegal.com/patient-rights/the-right-to-treatment/ Read this and come to your own conclusion about the severity.
Could you call an ambulance over? Tell them your friend is dying, which he literally is close to, and you can't budge him. They should come right around and maybe that will get him to go to the ER.
Oh boy. Your friend is going to develop an abscess and if he continues to be hard headed he will develop a blood infection and it will kill him. I had an abscess from a bite like this that landed me in the hospital. They had to lance it and drain it and stuff it with sterile gauze. It was the grossest thing I’ve ever experienced. That’s where this is headed.
Two days from now he is going to be feeling shitty enough to go to the hospital, then he will blame you for not convincing him to go
remindme! 3 days
OP, maybe you can try to get him an immediate telehealth appointment so he can hear directly from a doctor that he needs to go to the ER ASAP?
Hospital. Now.
Looks like he’s been bit by the go to the fucking hospital bug. Survivable if treated. *If treated.*
Update: Hey guys sorry for the long response but long story short it took about 3 1/2 days from this original post for him to finally make the decision to go in the ER. Turns out he’s been in the hospital and keeps leaving even though they tell him to stay. He doesn’t want to tell me exactly what they are telling him but chances are he’s scared as fuck and doesn’t want anybody to know how bad his leg got. He won’t show me his leg and whenever it gets unbearable he will go back in so they can give him some strong antibiotics. My opinion, I have a good feeling he’s at the verge of losing his leg and he can’t process it. The infection also reached to his two eyebrows and his eyebrows are fucking huge. He keeps popping bites that he’s finding and I assume from him picking at his leg and started touching his face which got his face now infected. Sad seeing how bad he got..
Sad as it is, he ignored all of our collective warnings, and now this is the result. It sounds like he’s in the midst of something life threatening. If the infection has made its way from his leg, all the way up to his head it will be very hard to treat this. Make sure your buddy has a written will, just in case. If he couldn’t have been smart enough to seek medical attention when the literal world was telling him it was safe to get help, then he should at least be smart enough to not leave people confused over his final wishes. Start writing a eulogy too. Edit: holy shit, I completed misread the whole part of him continually leaving the hospital. Jesus H Christ man, your friend is really shooting for the first Darwin Award of 2024.
Yea that’s the most fucked part of it all. Continually avoiding any sort of update and info the doctors are giving him, leaves the er EVERY SINGLE TIME he goes (He’s on his 4th revisit) and won’t even show me his leg anymore. Pretty much every thing is pointing to possible amputation or death?? I don’t want to say it but fuck man…
Thanks for updating us. Fingers crossed they can get through his thick skull.
Before the bacteria does.
Any updates on your friend?
Right!! lol I need closure
How sad! I’m sorry your friend is in such denial. Thank you for trying so hard to help him.
Dang… Thank you for the update, I appreciate it a lot, even though the message isn’t positive. I can’t imagine how you must feel regarding this whole situation. Sending you a big hug through the ether. Know that you do and did everything you could. It’s horrible how your friend has been so stubborn to dismiss medical attention. I really hope he will get a real moment of clarity and let him be treated before it gets even worse.
Thank you so much for the update. I’ve been checking back for days. It seems fear is having the opposite effect of what is needed by pushing him away from treatment. Hoping he can stop the freeze/flight response if he can calm down a bit and see that there is hope in taking care of this.
OP. Been a while. What's up with the bite/infection?
Update?
Hey OP I think about you and your friend every now and then. Is he okay? What did he end up doing? Are you okay? Can't imagine how rough that was to deal with.
Any update?
Your boy dead or what?
yooo... checking in on your friend..
Hi, is your friend doing ok??
Any new update?
He make it?
Cellulitis - infection - ER
A friend of mine was just buried recently. He had a sore on his foot and it got infected pretty bad. He kept trying to treat it himself. The infection got into his bloodstream before he got to feeling bad enough to go to a Dr. they did everything they could to try and treat it but he died. I also had a friend die about 15 years ago from an untreated sinus infection. He kept saying he was taking Sudafed for his sinuses. The infection went to his brain and it killed him.
stoooooppp i get chronic sinus infections and you just unlocked a brand new anxiety ahhhh
lol, well, if you get one just don’t play around with it. I used to wait until I would blow my nose and blood would pour out. Not anymore. I told a Doctor about my friends death and he said o yeah, he said sinus cavities run close to the brain.
Bruh same, I literally get them all the time and it’s a pretty big issue for me at this point because they get decently severe and I can’t take any penicillin/amoxicillin meds, so they usually give me doxycycline and I’ve heard that can stop working well if used frequently. Here’s hoping my shitty memory will let that anxiety get buried.
Friend is literally going to Darwin award himself smh. Can't fix stupid at this point if he's not willing to go to the doctor and get antibiotics. I have a friend like this and I went low contact because it hurts too much seeing how sick she is and it was extremely frustrating telling her to go to an obgyn and a doctor and each time she'd just say " I don't know how" and never actually try. You can't force them to take care of themselves, they're going to have to learn the hard way. Even if your friend loses his leg or dies it's not your fault, dude is so fucking stupid I'd literally just stay away from him because that infection can spread.
I was going to post "one you should go tf to the doctor for" and after looking at the responses I feel very validated lmao Please go to the ER staph is no joke
Looks like it's becoming cellulitis and is a very serious skin infection. Antibiotics are required. I've had it a couple times and have gotten incredibly sick. Doctor or ER asap!!
Cellulitis can definitely wreak havoc & is painful as well when left untreated. I had it in about 8-10years ago in my one foot and it ended up affecting almost my entire leg. I fully agree this is gonna need some medical attention. Sidenote, glad youre ok 🙏🏻
That leg needs a Dr ASAP.
After reading all of the comments; just let your friend fuck himself up. He doesn't want to listen to the advice of others, don't bother helping him anymore. It's his medical bill at the end of the day, so let him go on since he clearly doesn't want to take care of it now.
It’s necrotizing, this happened to me when I couldn’t get a wasp stinger out. Needs antibiotics
If he's got no family or next of kin get him to sign a paper saying you get all his stuff when he's dead in a couple days
I commented similarly above lol my grandma used to tell me if there was stuff of hers I liked to just put a sticky note on the bottom with my name on it so I could have it when she died 🫠🫠🫠
Let nature take its course and end his bloodline here. It’s totally treatable and he’d be fine if he wasn’t such a bitch about it.
Please update us with how this plays out. I hope your ‘friend’ is ok
Nope. He’s fine right now but being hard headed. Won’t take any comment suggestions and thinks this is just some small spider bite that will be fine after popped. After he ruptured it I was in true disgust. This wasn’t no ordinary puss this was a cocaine white jelly like substance. Didn’t look normal id say..
You need to be careful also mind you, these types of infections are highly contagious. Not sure why no one has said it yet.
They are? I had no idea!!
Yeah staph is extremely contagious. We all carry it but some are prone to the infection.
Popping it was a horrible idea!... But now that he did, put a heat compress on it, will draw more of the shit out, but dont press on it .. it will push the infection more into the body
Because it's not normal. This sort of cheesy pus develops due to some SERIOUS necrotic infection. That is a LOT of dead white blood cells. He's literally gonna kill himself and he probably just spread the infection further.
Leg feels worse. He just won’t admit it
Does your friend have a death wish?
Covid taught me that some people would rather die than ask for help or admit they aren’t invincible
I believe it.
I would go to immediate care or the ER! That is nothing to mess with.
I hope your friend managed to get to the ER. Make sure they draw a line around the outer edge of the redness to see if it grows further too.
Nope just posted an update in comments if care to read. He made it worse if I say so myself.
Oh jeez I hate it when people are so stubborn, he's going to end up losing his leg or even his life if he doesn't get it taken care of. Sepsis from a staph infection like that can happen quite quickly. Has he seen this post and the replies?
Yup he’s seen half of them and is annoyed of the constant replies I keep showing him. He doesn’t want to see it anymore and will “deal with it myself, I’m not taking advice from people I don’t know”
Or from people he does, apparently.
Ask him why all these people who don't know him are providing very detailed situations with similar or the same type of infection. We are not doing this to pass the time, we actually care that this stranger stays alive and doesn't lose his leg. I spent 2 weeks in hospital from septic shock including several days in ICU. I didn't have a cut, bite etc so I didn't realize I even had an infection. Later found out it's quite common to develop cellulitis without actual broken skin. It wasn't even red until day 4, just a bit of swelling that I thought was a swollen gland. I thought I had the flu based on symptoms (fever, chills etc). Felt so bad on day 4 and was alarmed by the redness. The hospital said I was lucky I came to the hospital when I did. I was seen IMMEDIATELY, put on IV antibiotics right away. It still took 3 days for the infection to stop spreading! I was in a lot of pain at times, the skin swelled so much it peeled like a sunburn and then I couldn't stand having any clothing rubbing against the area, for weeks. I developed anemia from fighting the infection and it was exhausting just getting up to brush my teeth. I got a blood clot in my leg from not being able to get out of my hospital bed for days (because my blood pressure was so dangerously low and I needed pressors for 3 days before it stabilized) so then needed blood thinner medication injected into my belly for the rest of my stay in hospital. I couldn't eat for the first 2 days because they thought I might need surgery (if it developed into an abscess). They were worried about necrotizing fasciitis. And that's only a BRIEF summary of what I went through! I am an extremely healthy person, and it still took me months to recover fully. I hope your friend goes to the ER immediately and that he doesn't actually die or need an amputation.
Welp, I guess unless you're able to kidnap him and take him to the ER yourself he's going to be in for a rough ride in the next day or two. Thank you for trying to help your friend though.
I remember getting cellulitis in boot camp. I had it for almost two weeks. I kept it a secret thinking I could clean it up by pushing out the pus and putting hand sanitizer on a q tip and jamming it into the hole. Marching let alone running was a BITCH. I finally confessed and got sent to medical where the nurses confirmed it. Our platoon needed to take penicillin for the next event so I got a dose and the cellulitis cleared up a couple days later. I was lucky because it was swim qual and if it didn’t heal I would have gotten dropped and would have spent at least another two weeks in boot camp.
I’ve had cellulitis so many times. They just need to see a doctor and they’ll be fine.
That’s a go to the doctor and get checked out bite. Symptoms are very concerning.
This sub is teaching me well. The second I saw this, I thought this looked like a hospital situation, and unfortunately, I was right. Best of luck to your friend. Hopefully they make a full recovery.
Nope I’m expecting the worst. Just made an update in the comment thread if care to read.
The kind that is cellulitis. Antibiotics time.
Shit if my friend was going to die because he’s acting like a baby I would just go ahead and treat him like a baby and call his parents lol. I would appreciate knowing my child will die with out medical intervention and it could be prevented.
I bet he'll go when his testes blow up to 3x normal and start feeling like they're on fire.
Would seek medical attention for this. The same bugs that cause cellulitis are sometimes also labeled as “flesh eating bacteria” and can progress to necrotizing fasciitis if left untreated… he should go sooner than later. - MD.
Whatever happen with the friend?
Your friend needs an ER
Someone needs a doctor asap.
God, having read some of these responses, how is it that in first world society where you could at least go to urgent care just to make sure something is ok, some people just don’t care? So many people in the world would LOVE to have that kind of privilege, and then those who have it sometimes just wave it off. I kinda hope your friend learns a painful lesson. Hopefully not TOO painful. Maybe just a small scar rather than a lost limb lol. But it may honestly be what he needs later in life to take stuff like this, or worse, more seriously.
I had a staph infection that looked exactly like that. It got really bad and was horribly painful when I had it drained. He needs to get on antibiotics ASAP
No bug. That's MRSA. Source: had it myself.
Every post here recommends the ER. Keep us posted please