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The result of the latest culture the doctor ran on the open ulcer on my left foot shows that the bacteria present are those that would be there on any open wound. It's pointless to kill them off because they'll just come back anyway and aren't the cause of continuing infection. The doctor decided to stop all antibiotic treatments including the ointment I've been applying for the past few months.
Instead, he wants me to apply salt.
He did apply a white cream while I was in his office. It burned for about five hours. Is that a good sign, a sign it's doing something useful?
Anyway, I've been instructed to boil up a small amount of water, an ounce or so, with more salt than will dissolve, let it cool slightly, dip a gauze pad in it and place the pad over the ulcer until it dries or falls off. I'm supposed to torture myself this way twice daily.
It smarts.
The first pad hurt more than the white cream had but the pain started to diminish shortly after I removed the pad. I had managed to keep the pad in place for over two hours but it never dried up. It simply vanished. Subsequent pads bothered me less and less. The wound is drying up and the swelling is diminishing.
Change is good; it tells us that something is happening. For example, the change in the pain produced by this treatment offers hope that the wound will finally heal after half a year.
Still, I can't help thinking it's like rubbing salt in an open wound.
- Mood:
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