Ankle sores won't heal

Hi @mookiemookie, I'd like to be the first to welcome you to Connect. I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. How long has she had these wounds? I hope I can introduce you to some people who may be able to share their similar experiences in order to help your mother.

Please meet @dawn_giacabazi, @johnwburns, @tomgrinley, @saucy and @susanb34748. Do any of you have experience with wounds that just won't heal?

Thank you @nategilbraith. Welcome to the Connect community @mookiemookie. Boy diabetic wounds are so complicated!! With our patients we always have them evaluated by the Wound Clinics because they have the most experience with wounds and are most current on the ever-changing world of treatment options available. The management of diabetic foot ulcers requires offloading the wound by using appropriate therapeutic footwear, daily saline or similar dressings to provide a moist wound environment, debridement when necessary, antibiotic therapy if osteomyelitis or cellulitis is present, optimal control of blood.

Successful diagnosis and treatment of
patients involves a holistic approach that includes:
* Optimal diabetes control
* Effective local wound care
* Infection control
* Pressure relieving strategies
* Restoring pulsatile blood flow

Recognising the importance of starting treat-
ment early may allow practitioners to prevent
progression to severe and limb-threatening
infection and potentially halt the inevitable
pathway to amputation.

You mention the doctor suggested antibiotic treatments. I assume they performed a wound culture and sensitivity which would tell them which antibiotics would be most effective for treatment. This should give her a few options to choose a drug she might tolerate.

Thanks
Dawn

*the doctor did nothing other than say go to the wound center and prescribe<br>a anti biotic that gives mom other problems.. he was told he needed to<br>prescribe a liquid , stated he would and then prescribed pills and will not<br>change the prescription...*<br><br>*it is healing itself al be it slowly with triple anti biotic that is over<br>the counter stuff and some liquid vitamins that are being applied to the<br>wound each morning.. go figure, but i do not know if it will heal fully at<br>this point and the doctor refuses to change the prescription to liquid even<br>though mom can not take pills... so what do i do*<br><br>

*thank you all, look forward to your insights.. posted some new info this<br>morning.*<br><br>

Sounds like you are doing a great job in healing the woulds to this point. GREAT JOB!!

I strongly feel the second opinion of the wound clinic would be her best option at this point. But I am not a doctor. With my experience wounds are so very complicated and can change drastically in a 24hr period.

How has her diabetes control been? This plays a huge role in wound healing.

Dawn

her type 2 diabetes is controlled by diet, she does not need insulin .<br><br>

also we have left the wound exposed to air, thinking that would be best for it, at this point it has shrunk to the point that a extra large band aid would cover it, but should we use this, she likes the band aids with the Antibiotic already on it. is there something else we should try???

@mookiemookie Here is a great link that I think you'll find very beneficial.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/amputation-and-diabetes/art-20048262

@dawn_giacabazi she has a friend who told her to apply this as well to the wounds.. it is called " life force body balance liquid with sea nine" it has aloe in it and sea vegi's and is suppose to help her immune system and help to heal this... she applies it every morning, it seems to work i guess... has anyone heard of this and will it help. also what about the bandaids

You can also try [CO2 infusion devices], it is device that gives off a hot-spring type vapor-it has the natural elements that heals and dilates the area of poor circulation. Well, it worked with my grandma after 1-2 months.

**Note from the Community Director**
This post was edited and the medical device company name removed since it is not FDA approved. You can read more about the use of medical carbon dioxide here:
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/iceci/compliancemanuals/complianceprogrammanual/ucm125417.pdf