I've had what started as a pressure sore no bigger than the size of your pinky finger, that is until the surgeon I went to debrided it and all and made it look like a cave(ok exaggerating here) but seriously, the doctor debrided it and everything and made it huge. Long story short, it's been going now 16 months with alot of improvement thanks to my family physician referring me to another doctor, who seems to care more for his patients than the almighty dollar(no offense to any doctor or nurse who come here). Up until November 2008, I was on the wound vac(Freedom vac version), until he suggested Medihoney, which works great. Now, he has suggested I go back to the vac for a part of the wound that isn't healing as it should. The company sent me their new vac called the Activac and after familiarizing myself with it, my question is as far as an intensity level, what should be the setting for the part of the wound that looks like it's tunneled? (Note: I can't see the wound but it being described, they say it is tunnel like). Thanks to anyone for the input.
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Pressure wounds
- By Matt32
- Posted May 24, 2009 at 3:04 pm · 40 replies
- In Health matters
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- By mikey
- Posted May 24, 2009 at 8:56 pm
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Check out this link.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/932832/electric_bandage/
- By Matt32
- Posted May 25, 2009 at 7:07 am
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Thanks mikey
I looked at that video last night and then came across a website that had to say this about the bandage: The FDA approved the electric bandage in December. It's not covered by insurance yet, but its creators hope it will be within the next six months. The article was written April 30, 2009
Source: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/apr/30/electric_bandage80629
- By Globalwoundcare
- Posted May 25, 2009 at 5:13 pm
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Matt32, I deal with pressure ulcer fairly regularly. I like Medihoney and use it frequently. I would suggest you talk to your wound physician and see if he thinks you are a candidate for topical nitroglycerin paste around your wound and possibly using Regenecare HA in the wound. These products bring more blood into the wound and usually enhance healing. Good luck. Another suggestion frequent wound cultures with appropriate treatment. Oh, yeah, try to stay off the wound, it is VERY IMPORTANT!
- By Matt32
- Posted May 25, 2009 at 5:45 pm
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I do try and stay off of it as much as possible. Like I say, it's being ongoing for 16 months. I have had only 2 cultures done that I know of since being referred to my current wound physician and as of now I'm using Medihoney on 1/2 the wound and Aquacel on the other 1/2. I started using the Activac wound vac Friday morning and due to what I believe is a nurse not being trained in how to apply it, it had to come off almost 48 hrs later but that was after it had to be re-draped twice because of leakage by in-home caregiver. Also due to a nursing schedule conflict today, I have to wait until tomorrow for it to be put back on. My wound physician recommended that the tunnel of the wound be covered with the Activac wound vac and the other 1/2, which is almost healed, be covered with something like Tegaderm
- By Globalwoundcare
- Posted May 26, 2009 at 12:36 pm
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You might want to share my recommendations with your wound care doctor to see if they are appropriate for your wound. I do like the vac system and when they are working, I recommend staying with the vac until healing slows down.
- By Learning1
- Posted May 27, 2009 at 1:31 am
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Another option to look into if the pressure sores are lingering:
Laurance Johnson, wrote a book called Alternative Medicine and "Spinal Cord Injury - Beyond the Banks of the Mainstream". Johnson was a regular contributor to a magazine called "Paraplegia News", and he has been a director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Research and Educational foundations. In his book is a section on Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy.
The bottom line is that there are apparently a number of studies that show that magnetic pulse therapy substantially accelerates healing of pressure sores. And the examples seem to imply that the technology can often trigger lingering sores to begin healing. If there is a therapist in your area who uses this, it sounds like it is worth considering. And if not, it may be worth researching on the internet. The big commercial magnetic pulse units, like the Diapulse, the Papimi, and the MagnaPulse are probably faster and could be a bit more effective, but they are quite pricy, so it might be hard to find a therapist who has this, though the number of therapists using, at least in Canada, is increasing. If there are no therapists who use in your region, the good news is that, in the last few years several portable, much more cost effective, pulsed magnetic therapy machines have come out, which have apparently been effective in accelerating healing.
I know someone who has a QRS pulsed magnetic therapy machine and feels that it has substantially acclerated healing on the things he's tried it on, and that it has helped reduce pain. Another apparently comparable machine is the MRS 2000+ Designo. And the third is the Magnopro. It sounds like they are all close to one another in function, and the technology has been used for a while in Germany, where some of the devices come from. The Magnopro sounds like the most reasonable in price at $1890, and one of the features - the variable pattern in the signal, is something which, at least with Scenar technology, also helps speed healing. You can find several locations that handle these if you are interested. And there is a lot of information available on the web (from outside the US and Canada, where very few claims can be made about the units).
- By CurtisNeeley
- Posted May 27, 2009 at 9:04 am
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I almost died as a result of my wounds.
Gross pre-flap photo.
I had a "flap" surgery on my bottom and my legs had tunnels on the back of my heels for two years. I did the wound vac for several months and I finally told the docs to just cut off my legs.
It may sound extreme, but it was a success.
- By Matt32
- Posted May 27, 2009 at 6:43 pm
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As of right now, I've discussed it with my in-home caregiver and we are gonna discuss with my wound care specialist about the "Electric Bandage" Mikey referred to earlier to see if the doctor has ever heard of it since it came out. Too, I think he may wanna keep me on the vac for awhile to see how things are going. I go and see him next Wednesday and who knows, he himself may want to go a different route with me once more depending on how things look. I've already been through hyperbaric oxygen treatments for 3 months, which don't help at all, that went along with wound vac care up until October 2008, between late July and early August 2008, I had 3 consecutive surgeries to close the wound, no help, that's when I went to the doctor I'm seeing now and everything thus far that he has tried on me has helped tremendously with the exception on that tunneled part. Also what I don't like about this new Activac wound vac is the thing turns itself off occasionally and you never once hear an alarm going off letting you know, like last night while asleep, it went off because of what it said to be a leakage problem. It must've been the way I was turned cause I haven't had any problems today(knock on wood).
- By mikey
- Posted May 27, 2009 at 7:56 pm
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You have had this pressure sore for a long time.
I think you should insist on the electric bandage.
- By Matt32
- Posted May 28, 2009 at 9:56 am
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Well, insisting on it is not the problem. The problem with that is "has the wound physician heard of it?". I talked it over with the home health nurse this morning and even she had never heard about it until I described in detail what I knew about it based on the video I saw of it.
- By Learning1
- Posted May 28, 2009 at 12:48 pm
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I also wouldn't count out other options.
As mentioned in Laurance Johnston's book, Alternative Medicine and Spinal Cord Injury, the Diapulse magnetic pulse therapy machine has been documented as helping pressure wounds. I found a site that has a Johnston's article [which first appeared in PN Paraplegia News (http://www.pvamagazines.com) but to get article from them you have to pay for it] - article is posted at: http://www.healingtherapies.info/diapulse.htm.
As mentioned before, it looks like most of the magnetic pulse therapy machines do basically the same thing. Some may be a bit more effective than others, or faster than others in getting results, but they all trigger the same responses in the body, so if Diaapulse (the machine that was used in the studies) is not available, others (like the Magnapulse or Papimi, or even the smaller home units) probably would do the same thing.
- By luminita
- Posted May 29, 2009 at 11:47 am
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l've tried many things to heal my pressure sore and l use now Hydrocoll,which is working great.You should try,or read about them.Nothing helped like this dressing wound.
- By Matt32
- Posted May 30, 2009 at 9:58 am
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Luminita,
I do use something called Fibracol along with Aquacel and Tegaderm. I alternate the days I use them. That's all on the bottom 1/2 of the wound which is healing really good.
- By luminita
- Posted May 31, 2009 at 5:14 am
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Matt32,reading what everybody said here,l understood that in USA there are hundreds ways to heal the pressure wounds.Here,in hospitals,they use ONLY some cream and people have to deal with this problem for years.Believe it or not,l have a pressure wound for 5 years,doctors are not worried at all,still use that cream,Dermazin,but is healing now because l've found the Hydrocoll searching on the internet.By myself.
You told about Manuka honey which is working,too and l learn more and more from all of you.
God bless America
- By Learning1
- Posted June 1, 2009 at 1:32 am
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Luminita,
From your background, I see you are in Romania.
I'm not sure what you have access to. In North America most treatment is doctor, medicine, and surgery focussed, which helps at times, and at other times has its limitations.
For example, pressure wounds are very similar to the open sores many horses have had which are long term and don't heal. Vets have recently begun to recognize that proper use of a laser can help that type of wounds heal. Simply watching to ensure enough light is used, but not too much, and the horses start recovering very quickly even with lingering wounds. But the doctors here don't yet seem to be open to learning from the vets and need extensives studies before they will consider, and nobody is out there to fund that type of study.
I've heard that in Russia, and a number of the other former members of the USSR, the doctors and therapists are more open to trying the technologies they have available. If something like scenar, or laser, is available in your area, it might be worth seeing if they might be open to trying to see if that type of technology might help, and if they are, let everybody know the results. From the theory, and other types of similar problems, I suspect either should help. Scenar typically helps trigger the body to begin to heal parts it has been ignoring, and as mentioned, lasers have helped similar types of problems with horses. I've also heard that ElectroMagnetic Pulse therapy has been shown to help pressure sores, and that comes out of Germany and eastern Europe, but may not be available in your area.
- By luminita
- Posted June 1, 2009 at 4:16 am
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In my country laser is not used,yet,for the treatment of the wounds.l asked around and l've got informations about all the therapies l can have.Laser,no chance.......unfortunatelly.
Thank you,anyway.
- By Learning1
- Posted June 2, 2009 at 1:36 am
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Luminita,
I can see that many of the techniques and tools which are in the West, and even in many parts of eastern Europe, including Russia, are not available to you in Romainia.
There is something available, though, that has no physical cost to it, but it is something that those of us in the West have not had to look to, or depend on - something that few even know about, and even fewer have had the despiration and trust needed to get there. I hesitate getting into it, because I know so little about it, and many here in the west would call it crazy because it does not line up with traditional medicine. Yet it seems to be the one thing readily available to you there if somehow you can tap into a resource that is within you.
Doctors here often refer to it as the "placebo effect", and according to those who have studied it, they apparenlty attribute a third of all progress in injuries to this. It has something to do with a confidence that you will improve, and the process that your brain and body underg from there. And it goes far beyond that a mere "hoped for" result. It has something to do with the body's natural ability to heal itself from our energy within. And if Jack Schwartz was right (and he demonstrated what he said), there is a form of energy healing that can occur by your body's own brain waves.
The person I learned most of my information about lasers from, Dr. Larry Lytle, eventually, studied under this man, Jack Schwartz. Some of the key healing frequencies in the laser I have came from Jack Schwartz. but not from Schwartz' studying. They came from scientists literally reading the energy put out by his brain waves. And the frequencies in the laser do help with healing many conditions.
As one place on the web put it, "By voluntarily attaining specific brainwave states, Jack Schwarz has scientifically shown how to control the pain of physical trauma, regulate blood flow, blood pressure, and heart rate; heal his body within hours after it was injured, and be unaffected by toxic substances injected into his body."
There is not much on Schartz on the internet, but one site, connected with a foundation run by his wife, has some information: http://www.holisticu.org/jack/
Jack Schwartz was someone who believed in, and pacticed, mind over matter, and proved it in his life. see http://www.holisticu.org/jack/mindovermatter.html
Schwartz had been a prisoner in one of the Nazi concentration camps in WWII, and he was badly beaten a number of times, thrown into his cell, and left to die. Somehow, in that setting, he managed to harness his brain waves and get miraculous healings after significant injuries, apparently with skin and bones healing within hours of injury. He was able to carry that ability forward into his later life.
What he learned in his prison cell is something that is there - the challenge is simply getting to a point where someone can put it into practice. I know too little about it to be of any more help, but if you contact his wife's foundation (by the web site listed above) they might be able to help.
- By Learning1
- Posted June 3, 2009 at 2:46 am
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One other thought for Luminita:
If the ability to tap into that internal energy is beyond you (as it currently is for me), and the devices available in the west are not available in Romania, you might want to look closely at what is available there, and see if you know anybody who is handy with making things electronic. I've heard, for example, that healing lasers are not hard to make, and parts are not expensive. And there is a magnetic pulse therapy device which can be made for even less money, and there is lots of information on the web on the little unit.
And from the video of the Electric bandage (link is posted earlier), it should not be hard to come up with some type of basic device which would operate in a similar manner. The bandage is simply a type of electrode across which an electical current is run, apparently from some type of battery pack. I suspect that it would work best in a pulsed method, ideally pulsed like Scenar devices pulse (since scenar, with electrodes spread out has helped speed other types of healing), but any type of current with a mild tingle to it should help stimulate healing.
The inexpensive version of a magnetic pulse therapy unit is a hand-held unit, and sounds like in many circumstances it accomplishes what the Diapulse unit (the one Johnston says helps the body heal pressure sores) does.
Robert Beck was a controversial physicist who was ahead of his time for energy healing methods, but also was well received by many of the upper end government scientists before his death in 2002. About 10 years ago, Beck indicated that the magnetic pulse therapy machine he designed could be made using about $20 worth of parts. Given inflation, it is probably $30 or so today, and in Romania the parts might be a bit more expensive, and someone probably needs to tweak the design to reflect the difference in power (here it is 110 volt, I understand Europe is 220). Here are links to the instructions he put out for making a little pulse therapy unit, some basic instructions on how to use, and one article which mentions that it seems to work as well as the Diapulse for some things:
Instructions for making a Magnetic Pulser following Robert Beck’s design
http://www.twotowers.com/beck/beck_emp.html
and
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2009/02/19/build_a_low_cost_simple_ma gnetic_pulser.htm
Making the coil
http://keelynet.com/biology/thumcoil.htm
Notes by Beck indicating similar results to the expensive Dyapulse unit
http://www.padrak.com/beck/NOTES2.html
Instructions on how to use Beck type devices
http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer02/BobBeck-MP.html
For those in North America (who are not electrically inclined), there appears to be one company making these devices, Sota. They retail for $325, and there are several places that seem to sell them for about $300 on the internet. For the cost, when compared to the problems, it is probably worth trying, especially if the unit could work as well as the Diapulse (see the link to Johnston's web site for SCI alternatives). If I'm reading it right, Johnson's comments about the Diapulse seem to to indicate that progress with it is fairly timely - if so, it might be faster than the electric bandage, which sounds like it works but takes time.
- By luminita
- Posted June 3, 2009 at 5:08 am
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Learning1,thanks very much,l will try everything is possible.The best is that l learn from all of you.Thanks to everybody who teach me what to do.
- By Learning1
- Posted June 3, 2009 at 10:58 am
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It appears that at least a number of the Beck type magnetic pulse machines (at least some of the more primitive ones) may have been battery operated, but were designed to use power adapters to take to battery type voltage.
A brief video that goes through how Beck's Magnetic Pulse device works is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMeFHp36WNo
On it Beck says it can be made with less than $26 in parts (done in 1996). There are a few reasons that magnetic pulse therapy apparently works, in additiona to stimulating the cells. Beck also indicates that it kills bacteria, which in itself should help with any healing.
What is interesting about some of the comments about magnetic pulse therapy are the comments that for a number of SCI situations, it has helped regain some feeling, and and in some cases has helped regain some muscle use, in addition to helping trigger the body's healing. This would fit with some of the experiments on SCI recovery, since if swelling can be reduced, dormant neurons in the spinal column (still present and alive but sleeping can be stimulated and brough back to functioning.
For those in North America (and they might ship elsehwere), one place claims to sell a very basic, totally manual version (appears to be home constructed from picture) for $49.95 plus shipping:
http://dir.curezone.com/a/info.asp?RID=2821&p=land&L=0&w=0&d=0&Level=2&c=28 &CID=184
The disadvantage of this format is that you continually have to push the button.
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