Help with leg ulcers

[Three~Little~Birds]

My DH has, for the third time now, developed an ulcer in his leg that isn't healing. The first time that this happened was 3 years ago. He banged hus shin on a piece of furniture. Instead of healing as a cut normally would, it proceeded to worsed, get a staph infection, and take numerous doctors and 1.5 years to heal.

Well, that wound later re-opened and my DH was able to heal it with compression wrapping, but it still took a ridiculously long time to heal.
He now has an ulcer on his other shin (as a result from a super small bang on the shin in the night from a child). What appeared to be a somewhat localized problem of the original wound is obviously not the case.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how he could heal this faster or, what could be causing this? We don't think that he is a diabetic but his legs have always fallen asleep easily (poor circulation). He is 36 yrs old. He does not exercise or pay too much attention to his overall health and is tall and thin.

Also - possibly noteworthy - several years ago he developed very strangly darkened splotches of pigment on his feet and ankles. Some areas are freckly-looking, others are more splotchy. He does a lot of travelling abroad (India, Malaysia, China) and there is a possibility that he picked something up somewhere as they appeared shortly after coming home from India (but probably not - just throwing it out there for thought).

Also, any of the scars he has on his legs (like from childhood, even) have darkened significantly. He says that those areas, even thought they are not a part of the wound, feel very painful also on the affected leg only.

We are hoping that some of you might have experience orsuggestions for alternate/supplemental approaches to healing this problem.

Thanks so much for any advice that any of you might have!

[MountainMamaGC]

Manuka honey has been very successful for healing skin ulcerations. There is even a study on it. It can kill MRSA infections. I would go to a health store and try that.

Has he had a physical done lately? Routine bloodwork wouldnt hurt.

[Three~Little~Birds]

Thanks for your reply, Lydiah. We are going to look into that honey for sure. He hasn't had a physical in a couple of years - I keep insisting that he go. I think that he will if I make the appointment, though. Thanks!


Anyone else have any thoughts??

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Tea tree oil and colodial silver applied topically might be helpful. My dad is currently dealing with Staph and he is using those with some good results.

[CallMeIshmael]

It sounds as if there's an underlying vascular problem that is making relatively "benign" injuries so slow to heal.

The splotchy discoloration on his legs sounds like the kind of skin changes one gets with chronic venous insufficiency (which is a major cause of non-healing ulcers). The fact that it took compression wrapping to heal a previous ulcer goes along with that (compression wrapping is a treatment for venous stasis ulcers).

He's a little young and thin for "spontaneous" venous insufficiency, though, so it'd definitely be worth having him get checked out to make sure there isn't something else triggering it.

[orangefoot]

This sounds to me like chronic venous insufficiency. Staining on the skin in patches or pin pricks is common in people who have had DVT as the blood fails to move properly and pools under the skin. Recurrent ulceration which heals poorly is also a common post-DVT symptom. Compression helps because it gets the blood moving back up to the heart and is a sign that the valves in the veins aren't working properly.

Is it possible that he had a clot which was undiagnosed? His long haul travel increases his risk if he already had a pre-existing condition like a blood clotting disorder.

I have Protein S Deficiency and had a DVT 7 years ago. I have worn compression every day since as without it I can't stand up for any length of time without pain. So far I have not had any ulcers thank goodness.

My dad also had DVTs and like your dh also had a non-healing ulcer which grew very large after unsuccessful mainstream treatment. He eventually fixed it with homeopathy despite previously being a total unbeliever.

I would look at getting a referral to a haematologist to find out what is going on in his veins and some testing to find out if he has anything like Factor V Leiden which is common and underdiagnosed