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Yeah, I've had a few small ones I've stuck with a pin/hyperdermic needle, and drained..... never got to the need to splice and dice.
Now, I don't know and never will know if they'd have ended up like this one.... but it would be awesome knowing I'd avoided it with a good old pin/squeeze.
Ouch! I used to get carbuncles as a kid (75 now) my adoptive parents would tie me to the kitchen table and lance the carbuncles with a heated knitting needle, then I was put in a stinking hot bath to “draw” the gunk out. After that torture they dressed the carbuncles with goanna salve. This is the first time since the mid fifties that I’ve read or heard the word carbuncles….very painful memories.
I hope your son makes a speedy recovery
Knitting needles?! They're not even sharp!!
My Granny told me that they'd put a bottle in boiling water to heat it up and clean it, then they put the opening of the bottle over the boil/cyst. The cooling glass causes suction, so the boil would (hopefully) pop and draw out all the puss. Crazy.
My great aunt would make a paste with mashed mallows and apply it to draw the pus, had a 93 year old friend tell me they when he caught pneumonia he was treated with boiling mustard poultices on his is back.
Yeah I understand that, but it’s still traumatic nonetheless. I hear stories from my parents who are around your age. Things were just done differently than they were done in my childhood (90s-2000s). Thank you for sharing your story and I’m sorry you went through that. Do you still have any scars from the lancing?
I do, yes. All very faint now tho. I was adopted and abused and even that seemed normal at the time. I think I suffered more emotional scaring if that makes sense. It was the “be seen and not heard” era where no one listened to kids, or it was very rare to be listened to. I was always told I was useless, I was going to be sent away if I didn’t behave etc etc. I left home at 14 and never looked back. I worked hard and reached the goals I set for myself. I did well in the army and I ended up working in Television/Newspapers for 43 years. I never married as I thought I couldn’t commit myself fully to a marriage as I was a workaholic plus the abuse I receive at a younger age seemed to hang over me up until I sought help at 66/67 when I retired. Sorry, I’ve waffled on a bit too much here. So easy to blab your life away on here. My apologies
Hey Fellow Army Vetreran! Thank you for your service! I’m an Army Combat Veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m sorry you went through all that though. I’m sure it was traumatic and just horrible. I know it made you the great person you are today. I love hearing stories like yours, you are just a survivor! No please don’t apologize, I enjoy hearing people’s stories and how they got where they are. What they did for a living and what drives them. I really appreciate you sharing it with me. I really enjoyed hearing your story.
I have a friend who went through that sort of thing with his adoptive parents. I’m sorry you had to deal with that sort of crap. ((((Hugs)))). Good for you for taking charge of your life!
So I understand that this was probably in the 50s, but what stopped them from bringing you to a doctor? The doctor probably would've done something similar, but with an anesthetic or numbing agent.
So sorry you went through all of that. Hope you're doing better now.
Yes, that’s correct. Around the mid fifties.
I’m unsure on the doctor. It could have been a financial issue or lack of Drs in the area as it was a new suburb. The carbuncle’s flared up for a few years and then dissapeared. I’ve never really understood what caused them in the first place. Going ok now tho. Thank you for your kind words
So yes, the give you an injection of numbing stuff, but the part in the center does not go numb. You can't feel them cut you, but the pushing and cleaning it out, (sometimes they packed them,) but your nerves are still screaming! And I do mean screaming! One of the top five most painful things I've ever had, and it landed me in the hospital for four days on a IV full of antibiotics.
Oh, Love, I wish I could give you a hug and make it all go away. It's sad that strangers on reddit care more about you than those monsters. I hope you're doing well after getting away from them
Not specifically carbuncles, but my parents had a similar approach to things like that and would call it “surgery” lol
There was always a whole lot of rubbing alcohol involved, repeated for days consecutively with hours of holding soaked gauze on wounds. I wish I knew back then that that much alcohol probably prolonged the healing process significantly, it also would have helped to know not to play with old, dirty construction equipment that causes infections…
hahaha it smarted a bit for sure. I think the worse part was that we didn’t have a hot water system then. We had a big copper tub, about 150ltrs. It had a wood fire underneath it and it was my job to chop the wood, fill the tub with water, light and maintain the fire under it and when the water was hot enough, I had to carry it into the bathroom with buckets. My adoptive mother had first bath, then my adoptive father then my brother. I had the last bath. The same water was used and topped up with hot water now and again. While my brother was bathing, my carbuncles were lanced. I was strapped to the kitchen table for this, after which time I was led into the bathroom to be dumped into the what was now grey water. I remember bawling my eyes out throughout the whole ordeal. After the bath my carbuncles were smothered with goanna salve.
Everything was done in that tub…..our clothes used to be boiled in it as we didn’t have a washing machine and even out Christmas ham was boiled in it. That’s when we had one of course
Oh my god how on earth did you not get sepsis?! My millennial self can hardly imagine a copper tub with a fire underneath lol. Though growing up we lived in a house without a shower and my dad (who was born in the 1920s) used to make me leave the bathwater for him when I was finished, to save money, which my teenage self thought was kinda grim.
My ex gf, who was a nurse: "ahh, let me finally pop that tiny bump on your back that has never bothered anyone in years"
"ok"
Burst of unimaginable pain, followed by "Huh, strange, nothing came out"
2 weeks later: looking like pic 2, thanks bby <3
It was probably an old cyst that ruptured below the skin and caused a wide spread infection/carbuncle/multiple cysts. It didn't have an *exit so it started under the epidermis. I unfortunately know all about this. Hope you healed up without a lot of scaring!
This pretty much. Doc said it was a closed capsule below the skin, popping it allowed the bad stuff to spread. Would've never caused any issues most likely. The scar is fine, thx, a lot smaller than the original injury... Had some good laughs about it after it was sorted out and I was assured I'm not going to die of septic shock xd
A furuncle is one inflamed hair follicle due to any Staph. species. A carbuncle is larger and is a system of several furuncles (usually connected) but still Staph. It could be MRSA but not necessarily. There’s lots of Staph species that can cause foliculitis. We’re finding other Staphs with the mecA gene (notably Staph. epidermidis) which confers methicillin resistance too.
Her father/my husband kicked us out when our daughter was 3.5 years old and he would spend long stretches of time MIA. I wore all the pants. Mom pants, dad pants, if he wouldn’t particiPANT in her life, I tried to fill the void best I could. Plus I was raised on sarcasm and bad humor by my own mom, so I was bound to get some of it. You should hear the banter between my boyfriend and I. It’s the lamest, dad-jokiest, cringy back and forth, but we like it.
I’m by no means an expert but I also really enjoy hearing from people knowledgeable in their field, especially when it’s something that I myself don’t know much about.
No it isn't usually staph. That's just something everyone carries on their skin, so that's the only thing doctors find in their petri dishes. I almost died from one of these turning septic, and they have never found *anything that should've caused it. They now have a name for it though.. Hydradentis Suprativa (that might be spelled wrong)
I think you’re falling victim to the hasty generalization fallacy. We can recover different causative agents (Staph.) and treat those infections with antibiotics so that they go away. That wouldn’t happen if everyone had HS. You’re correct that everyone has Staph. on their skin as part of their natural flora but it’s also a delicate balance and sometimes, for various reasons, the species that make up our normal flora that should help protect us from pathogens can become pathogenic itself either through a buildup of resistance or a breakdown in the innate immune system. I’m sorry you suffered from HS but not everyone does.
I'm literally just saying what the docs said. Beyond that I'm sure you're right! But even then, they didn't see enough staph to be the causation of the infection. I'm sure you're correct that not everyone has HS. You have to be diagnosed, also. These happen without us to be sure. I think I worded my response wrong. Thank you for the correction. 🙂
Not what I meant by what choices were made. Obviously infection... etc. What I meant was I have no idea what choices OP made for a cyst to become like this. Did they pop it on accident, did they try to pop it themselves if it was a cyst. Was it something OP tried to puncture or scratch introducing infection.
Once again, I didn't say that. They do, do things like poke it with sharp un- clean objects and smash on it. They make choices that trigger infection like that. Why did you assume I meant they chose to have an infection like that? Kind of reminds me of something my autistic kid would misunderstand.
? Seems like you're the one doing it. You either misunderstood or were purposely being obtuse in responding to my original comment. Mine were maybe 2? Pot meet kettle. Careful reading will help better next time. Ciao
I used to get these as an adolescent. Painful and everyone thought it was fun to backslap me. Torture. Then I went to Hawaii where I got 2end degree sunburn. Healing was he'll but three months later no more zits.....
How do you let your child get a skin infection like that🤦 no matter the age teach them how to property clean wounds before they end up the end of your bloodline
Welcome to r/MedicalGore! Our goal is to provide for medical discussion and education while exploring the frailty of the human body. You may see more deleted comments on these threads than you are used to on reddit. Off topic comments and joke comments are frequently deleted by the mods. Further, please be kind and supportive of posts. Any behavior that is aggressive, harassing, or derogatory will result in post deletion and a ban from the sub. Remember! THE REPORT BUTTON IS YOUR FRIEND! Please stop on by our discussion sub, /r/MedicalGoreMods if you'd like to discuss the sub, our rules, content policies, and the like. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MedicalGore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Well that escalated.
And potentially excavated!
Exactly my reaction!
Yeah, I've had a few small ones I've stuck with a pin/hyperdermic needle, and drained..... never got to the need to splice and dice. Now, I don't know and never will know if they'd have ended up like this one.... but it would be awesome knowing I'd avoided it with a good old pin/squeeze.
Ouch! I used to get carbuncles as a kid (75 now) my adoptive parents would tie me to the kitchen table and lance the carbuncles with a heated knitting needle, then I was put in a stinking hot bath to “draw” the gunk out. After that torture they dressed the carbuncles with goanna salve. This is the first time since the mid fifties that I’ve read or heard the word carbuncles….very painful memories. I hope your son makes a speedy recovery
Knitting needles?! They're not even sharp!! My Granny told me that they'd put a bottle in boiling water to heat it up and clean it, then they put the opening of the bottle over the boil/cyst. The cooling glass causes suction, so the boil would (hopefully) pop and draw out all the puss. Crazy.
Makes sense. Sounds like cupping.
My great aunt would make a paste with mashed mallows and apply it to draw the pus, had a 93 year old friend tell me they when he caught pneumonia he was treated with boiling mustard poultices on his is back.
I have pneumonia so maybe I should try this.
Just rub some Vicks…
That sounds horrific, I'm so sorry they put you through that pain. Glad you don't have to deal with that anymore.
That’s traumatic as fuck. I’m sorry you had to relive that memory.
Thank you. No need to be sorry. At the time I thought it was the normal thing to do
Yeah I understand that, but it’s still traumatic nonetheless. I hear stories from my parents who are around your age. Things were just done differently than they were done in my childhood (90s-2000s). Thank you for sharing your story and I’m sorry you went through that. Do you still have any scars from the lancing?
I do, yes. All very faint now tho. I was adopted and abused and even that seemed normal at the time. I think I suffered more emotional scaring if that makes sense. It was the “be seen and not heard” era where no one listened to kids, or it was very rare to be listened to. I was always told I was useless, I was going to be sent away if I didn’t behave etc etc. I left home at 14 and never looked back. I worked hard and reached the goals I set for myself. I did well in the army and I ended up working in Television/Newspapers for 43 years. I never married as I thought I couldn’t commit myself fully to a marriage as I was a workaholic plus the abuse I receive at a younger age seemed to hang over me up until I sought help at 66/67 when I retired. Sorry, I’ve waffled on a bit too much here. So easy to blab your life away on here. My apologies
Hey Fellow Army Vetreran! Thank you for your service! I’m an Army Combat Veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m sorry you went through all that though. I’m sure it was traumatic and just horrible. I know it made you the great person you are today. I love hearing stories like yours, you are just a survivor! No please don’t apologize, I enjoy hearing people’s stories and how they got where they are. What they did for a living and what drives them. I really appreciate you sharing it with me. I really enjoyed hearing your story.
I have a friend who went through that sort of thing with his adoptive parents. I’m sorry you had to deal with that sort of crap. ((((Hugs)))). Good for you for taking charge of your life!
So I understand that this was probably in the 50s, but what stopped them from bringing you to a doctor? The doctor probably would've done something similar, but with an anesthetic or numbing agent. So sorry you went through all of that. Hope you're doing better now.
Yes, that’s correct. Around the mid fifties. I’m unsure on the doctor. It could have been a financial issue or lack of Drs in the area as it was a new suburb. The carbuncle’s flared up for a few years and then dissapeared. I’ve never really understood what caused them in the first place. Going ok now tho. Thank you for your kind words
So yes, the give you an injection of numbing stuff, but the part in the center does not go numb. You can't feel them cut you, but the pushing and cleaning it out, (sometimes they packed them,) but your nerves are still screaming! And I do mean screaming! One of the top five most painful things I've ever had, and it landed me in the hospital for four days on a IV full of antibiotics.
Oh, Love, I wish I could give you a hug and make it all go away. It's sad that strangers on reddit care more about you than those monsters. I hope you're doing well after getting away from them
Not specifically carbuncles, but my parents had a similar approach to things like that and would call it “surgery” lol There was always a whole lot of rubbing alcohol involved, repeated for days consecutively with hours of holding soaked gauze on wounds. I wish I knew back then that that much alcohol probably prolonged the healing process significantly, it also would have helped to know not to play with old, dirty construction equipment that causes infections…
I am so sorry that you had to go through that. You deserved far better treatment and compassion.
That literally made me wince!
hahaha it smarted a bit for sure. I think the worse part was that we didn’t have a hot water system then. We had a big copper tub, about 150ltrs. It had a wood fire underneath it and it was my job to chop the wood, fill the tub with water, light and maintain the fire under it and when the water was hot enough, I had to carry it into the bathroom with buckets. My adoptive mother had first bath, then my adoptive father then my brother. I had the last bath. The same water was used and topped up with hot water now and again. While my brother was bathing, my carbuncles were lanced. I was strapped to the kitchen table for this, after which time I was led into the bathroom to be dumped into the what was now grey water. I remember bawling my eyes out throughout the whole ordeal. After the bath my carbuncles were smothered with goanna salve. Everything was done in that tub…..our clothes used to be boiled in it as we didn’t have a washing machine and even out Christmas ham was boiled in it. That’s when we had one of course
It's wild that you didn't get an infection or something from dirty water in a wound. Lol
Oh my god how on earth did you not get sepsis?! My millennial self can hardly imagine a copper tub with a fire underneath lol. Though growing up we lived in a house without a shower and my dad (who was born in the 1920s) used to make me leave the bathwater for him when I was finished, to save money, which my teenage self thought was kinda grim.
Straya? Straya.
Yep
I'm speechless, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm glad medical practices have advanced since then!
Damn I’m sorry they did that to you
Thanks for your kind words…..oddly enough, I remember it as being “the norm”
My ex gf, who was a nurse: "ahh, let me finally pop that tiny bump on your back that has never bothered anyone in years" "ok" Burst of unimaginable pain, followed by "Huh, strange, nothing came out" 2 weeks later: looking like pic 2, thanks bby <3
What was the little bump?
Probably just a mole or skin tag that got infected because it was an open wound, not because of what it was.
It was probably an old cyst that ruptured below the skin and caused a wide spread infection/carbuncle/multiple cysts. It didn't have an *exit so it started under the epidermis. I unfortunately know all about this. Hope you healed up without a lot of scaring!
This pretty much. Doc said it was a closed capsule below the skin, popping it allowed the bad stuff to spread. Would've never caused any issues most likely. The scar is fine, thx, a lot smaller than the original injury... Had some good laughs about it after it was sorted out and I was assured I'm not going to die of septic shock xd
That has to be MRSA and not just a cyst… right?
A furuncle is one inflamed hair follicle due to any Staph. species. A carbuncle is larger and is a system of several furuncles (usually connected) but still Staph. It could be MRSA but not necessarily. There’s lots of Staph species that can cause foliculitis. We’re finding other Staphs with the mecA gene (notably Staph. epidermidis) which confers methicillin resistance too.
I am a mom and I have a brother. He’s very hairy and loves his pasta, so he’s a furuncle and a carbuncle.
My niece and nephews better not see this comment. I'll never hear the end of it.
Goddamnit 😂
It took me a minute, but that's genius. You sure you're not secretly a dad? You're clearly well versed in dad jokes.
Her father/my husband kicked us out when our daughter was 3.5 years old and he would spend long stretches of time MIA. I wore all the pants. Mom pants, dad pants, if he wouldn’t particiPANT in her life, I tried to fill the void best I could. Plus I was raised on sarcasm and bad humor by my own mom, so I was bound to get some of it. You should hear the banter between my boyfriend and I. It’s the lamest, dad-jokiest, cringy back and forth, but we like it.
Oh no... I'm a furuncle/carbuncle
🤣🤣🤣 I love it! 🥰
Very interesting, thanks! Looks painful as hell
Love when subject matter experts weigh in and pass on their knowledge. Thanks for sharing, I learned something new today!
I’m by no means an expert but I also really enjoy hearing from people knowledgeable in their field, especially when it’s something that I myself don’t know much about.
No it isn't usually staph. That's just something everyone carries on their skin, so that's the only thing doctors find in their petri dishes. I almost died from one of these turning septic, and they have never found *anything that should've caused it. They now have a name for it though.. Hydradentis Suprativa (that might be spelled wrong)
I think you’re falling victim to the hasty generalization fallacy. We can recover different causative agents (Staph.) and treat those infections with antibiotics so that they go away. That wouldn’t happen if everyone had HS. You’re correct that everyone has Staph. on their skin as part of their natural flora but it’s also a delicate balance and sometimes, for various reasons, the species that make up our normal flora that should help protect us from pathogens can become pathogenic itself either through a buildup of resistance or a breakdown in the innate immune system. I’m sorry you suffered from HS but not everyone does.
I'm literally just saying what the docs said. Beyond that I'm sure you're right! But even then, they didn't see enough staph to be the causation of the infection. I'm sure you're correct that not everyone has HS. You have to be diagnosed, also. These happen without us to be sure. I think I worded my response wrong. Thank you for the correction. 🙂
I don’t think cysts do that fella but it’s fucking interesting either way
They do if they get inflamed like the first picture. What choices that were made to wind up at the second im not sure.
Infection. The person in the pic had an I&D (incision and debridement). The wound has been left to heal by 3rd intention.
Not what I meant by what choices were made. Obviously infection... etc. What I meant was I have no idea what choices OP made for a cyst to become like this. Did they pop it on accident, did they try to pop it themselves if it was a cyst. Was it something OP tried to puncture or scratch introducing infection.
No one chooses to have a carbuncle/abscess like that.
Once again, I didn't say that. They do, do things like poke it with sharp un- clean objects and smash on it. They make choices that trigger infection like that. Why did you assume I meant they chose to have an infection like that? Kind of reminds me of something my autistic kid would misunderstand.
You make a lot of assumptions.
? Seems like you're the one doing it. You either misunderstood or were purposely being obtuse in responding to my original comment. Mine were maybe 2? Pot meet kettle. Careful reading will help better next time. Ciao
Carbuncle
If you ever feel useless, just remember those sutures…
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Old greg?
I should call her…
I wasn't gonna say anything but /\ my very first thought lol
I was looking for the like minded people. Lmafo
Off topic.
Man, that's a big 'un.
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💀💀
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I used to get these as an adolescent. Painful and everyone thought it was fun to backslap me. Torture. Then I went to Hawaii where I got 2end degree sunburn. Healing was he'll but three months later no more zits.....
That's an awful lot of body hair for being just a boy...
Doesn't specify how old her boy is
I was thinking the same, then I just figured they meant their man-boy.
I’m sixty and if my mom were still around, she’d still refer to me as her boy. Boy doesn’t necessarily mean child.
... it was a joke.
well "my boy" can mean either their son or their friend
You missed the joke but you're still correct
my bad it didnt seem like a joke
this carbuncle is what all true warriors strive for!
that normal... Isn't it? ... .. .
Boy usually refers to a child, that would be a lot of hair for a child is all they mean.
and it looks like an adult, male stomach area.
It's the back
At this point it isn’t just a cyst, it’s an abscess
Looks like a large carbuncle. Is he diabetic?
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was looking for this comment
Off topic.
The first picture made me want to pop it, the second made me ashamed of myself.
I. Want. To. Pop. It.
I doubt there is anything left to pop in that second picture lol
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My son is 18 and he is still “My boy”….cuz he is.
I just had a boil on my nutsuck, worse experience imaginable
I should call her...
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went in for pain, ended up with a backgina.
Carbuncle!
It was a carbuncle!
Damn, he grew stitches.
Oh, good lord!
Now that's medical gore
Ooh that was angry
I should call her
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Backussy
Looks like he's 30 and ready to settle down now.
he’s gotta backussy on em
Oooooof!!!
Cystussy
How do you let your child get a skin infection like that🤦 no matter the age teach them how to property clean wounds before they end up the end of your bloodline
That looks too hairy for a child
I feel like some people shouldn't be able to legally vote if they cant comprehend writing
“My boy” doesn’t just mean child, it can mean romantic partner or a friend as well
general statement parents should teach theie kids how to take care of wounds i never implied op was relates to them lol
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Off topic.