The first time I got an abscess, it was as big as a golf ball. It was right at my elbow, right at the spot where most people begin shooting up. I am shitting, it was as big as a golf ball.
It was one of the most painful things that I have ever experienced. I was not sure what to do about it at first, so I really did not do anything. Like every junky in denial, I just hoped it would go away if I ignored it. But, it just kept getting bigger and bigger. It hurt so bad that I could not even move my arm.
Finally, I went to a doctor. You should have seen how horrified he was when he looked at it. He was pretty cool, though. He did not touch it. At the time, I thought he was just being sensitive because it was obvious how bad it hurt. Now that I look back on it, he was probably afraid of catching something. He did prescribe me ativan as well as antibiotics. Ativan was to help me get off the drugs...lotta good that did.
After I finally went to the doctor, I was thinking I might die from the excruciating pain. I got an incredibly high fever. I remember taking a bath, praying to Damballah to take this burden away from me, to take this poison out of me. I was so insane from fever, that I started hallucinating. I was speaking in tongues. I saw people that were not there, and it culminated with the arrival of a snake. To this day, I believe those visions were much, much more than just the hallucinations from the fever.
The next day, the fever broke. And just a few minutes later the abscess erupted. The pressure was released, and the pain just melted away. So much pus came out of it, that you could ring it out of the t-shirt I had wrapped around the wound. It is turning my stomach just to think about it.
After that, (and several other less severe abscesses) I became somewhat of an expert on the treatment of an abscess. The key is to catch it early. You have to have had one to know that pain as soon as you feel it. The best thing to do is take a washrag and drench it in hot, hot water. Put it on the abscess just before you are going to bed. Next wrap a heating pad around the washrag and hence the abscess. Tie the heating pad on so that both the heating pad and the rag stay in place all night. And just go to sleep.
When you wake up in the morning...it is usually gone. This is the best way to treat an abscess that is from shooting up intravenous drugs. Heat...never ice!! Trust me, it works.
Thank you..just got my first and hopefully last one. Im going to take your advice. Not gunna be shooting into that arm anytime soon.
ReplyDeletecan anyone tell me what the VERY early symptoms are of an abscess? how would i know that i have one almost as soon as i get it? started shooting only a couple months ago and i get really worried sometimes, perhaps because i read about this type of stuff all the time, but i feel the more knowledge i have about it the better..
Delete@Anonymous...First of all, it generally happens when you miss, and you can tell you miss because the skin may bulge up right after shooting, plus when you miss...you do not get the rush like usual. Within hours of missing (sometimes sooner) the skin will be red, and very hot to touch. It is often a little swollen, too. I always knew it was going to abscess when it got really hot...if you touch the red area where you missed, the skin actually feels like it is burning up when you put you hand on it, like a fever, per say. Also, after that, it will start to hurt. If you let it go, the pain gets really bad. My advice...each time you think you may get one, (red, swelling, hot, pain...any one of these symptoms...) then go ahead and use the heating pad and epsom salt rag. It can't hurt. Just soak a rag in hot water, put epsom salts on it, fold it over, and wrap the heating pad around that when you sleep.
ReplyDeletethanks so much! i also wanted to know, does an abscess sometimes form a few days after or does it always form that day? also, the other day when shooting i pulledback and noticed i wasnt in so i just took it out, and a minute later a small dark bruise formed in that spot. the bruise is still there, but the middle of it is much lighter then the outer part. i was worried that this was an abscess, but im thinking now that it may just be because theres scar tissue in that spot. any thoughts?
Deletei forget another thing i wanted to ask..i read on a blog someone said they put a hot washrag over their injection site everytime they use, even if they dont miss, since ive read that ive done the same almost everytime as well, do you think this is a good thing to do? also, ive noticed most of the time right after shooting there will almost always be a very small bump at the injection site. ive heard that this is just from puncturing the skin, and your skins way of trying to protect itself, and is extremely common and nothing to worry about. is this true? i know im askin a lot of questions..sorry about that. i just feel its better to know these things then to sit and worry about it.
Delete@Anonymous, an abscess actually will take a day or two to form, but it will be hot that day, possibly. It will hurt before the abscess itself really gets going. The small dark bruise that formed when you missed, is where the blood vessel was broken. When the needle pierces all the way through the vessel, it releases blood, and that is where the bruise forms. A bruise is generally just from the broken vessel, and often not an indicator of an abscess. (Although, you can get an abscess after a bruise, but generally, the bruise will simply go away.) I have never heard of anyone putting the washrag over it after every time they shoot, but it sure makes sense to me! The Epsom Salts really draw out the infection. So, go ahead and use the hot rag every time, and if it still starts to hurt...then add the Epsom Salts. I generally got the rag really hot, and put the Epsom Salts inside a fold of the rag. Epsom Salts are very cheap (like a dollar!), and you only need a little bit, so it is a good investment. The small bump at the injection site may be nothing to worry about...it just depends on what it looks like. A very small bump, almost like a bug bite, is probably just the skin protecting itself. The kind of bump that I would worry about is one that rises as you are injecting, and it is not generally "small," like a bug bite, but more the size of a dime or nickel and it rises up at least a centimeter. It is from a pocket of drugs being under the skin, rather than in the vein, or even in the muscle. If you see it rising, while you are pushing the plunger, then it is probably a miss. Stop. Pull it out and try again. (I used to have a friend who would always say, 'Push the button!' when she would get that, and she would push on it and push on it, thinking it would actually get her higher...needless to say, she suffered quite a few abscesses.) Please do not ever apologize for asking too many questions, especially when it is concerning your health. And let me know if you have anymore! I hope that I have helped some. I would not worry about the bruise too much, but if any injection site starts to hurt...be sure to soak it with the rag and Epsom Salts. When an abscess starts, it hurts. And if you do not do anything, it starts to hurt BAD! You will know, because it will be EXTREMELY PAINFUL. The first one I got, I got a fever so high that I was hallucinating. It was the size of a freaking baseball! A swollen baseball sized lump on my arm...and it hurt so bad, I could not even move my arm. Once it burst (and believe me, enough pus came out that it soaked a t-shirt all the way through, so wet I could ring the shirt out!) but once it burst, the pain went away. The fever went away shortly after that, too. A doctor prescribed me antibiotics for it, too. But, after that one (and one more actually) I figured out how to recognize them and treat them before they ever became painful, or swollen, or bursting. It will start to hurt, deep inside, almost, way before it gets bad. So, if it begins to hurt...then definitely uses the Epsom Salts.
ReplyDeletethank you so much! honestly that was probably more helpful then the about 30 blog sites and everything else that i've been reading!
DeleteHow do I get an absess?? From missing right? Or from poking the same spot..?? Is that possible to get one just frm poking the same spot? Or does it just happen when I miss??
ReplyDeleteAnon, you can get one from using the same spot over and over, to do that it really leaves the body open to infection, as you have an open sore that you are re-introducing bacteria, too. One from missing could be a lot deeper inside, so it might swell more...but you can get them either way....
ReplyDeleteAbsecess on foot right now.....hurts SOOOO. bad ...what to do?....hospital?
ReplyDeleteHey, I was reading all these posts & I dont believe I have an abcess, but there is a lump the size of a dime. I read that may be the drug under the skin? Its been about 4 or 5 days & im a wreck because im too scared to go to the hospital incase they call the cops. Please help! What do I do???
ReplyDeleteDude they aint going to call the cops on you thats not what hospitals do, i overdosed and they camr into the apartment filled with drugs and just took me out and ignored everything else going on.go get yourself help for that abcess before you lose a limb
DeleteI have a question, are there other types of lumps or bumps you can get that arent an abcsess? I have a site but its not burning but i can tell its really swollen and it is very red, the red takes up my whole arm... but not hot at all.. my vien feels swollen and grizzelly, what do you think...i was shooting welbutrin christy121082@gmail.com im scared to go to the hospital for everyone will know i used again. also a single mom fearing judgment can you help
ReplyDeleteI am also a heroin addict (unfortunately) I have the sme thing going on right now on my forarm, a little smaller than a golf ball and it hurts so bad!! is been 6 days and I dont know if i should go to the dr or not. Im going to try your remedy here before I do.
ReplyDeleteThanks So much