Injuries update

Every day my injuries feel a little bit better. Getting in and out of bed is easier, I'm sleeping better, and I can move a little bit more easily (though if you watch me you probably wouldn't see it, since I'm still coddling my leg). Nevertheless, there were a few concerns that impelled me to go see the doctor today.

First, my scrapes are still seeping a yellowish fluid, but only in very small amounts. Siobhan wasn't really worried that this was a sign of infection because none of the other signs of infection were present (red lines, heat, and fever, particularly) even a tiny bit, but there was enough concern that it was better to settle it. The doctor confirmed my understand that that's normal for scrapes of this size, it's just serum.

Second, my knee has a fairly large swelling, maybe five inches across and almost an inch deep, surrounding the upper part of the scrapes. I've been icing it fairly regularly, but it hasn't really gone down. It is only a little tender (and kind of numb near the top), and it doesn't significantly impact my mobility, though it does make it a little harder to bend my knee as far. I thought it was a fairly normal repurcussion for the deep tissue damage and would settle on its own with icing, but we wanted to be sure. The doctor says it's full of blood, probably a few tablespoons worth -- in essence, it's a large, deep blood blister -- and that if we drained it, it'd probably fill up again. She did say that while icing has been a good thing up to now, I should stop using ice and switch to warm compresses, to help the blood vessels open up because right now what we need is for my body to reabsorb the blood. She did warn me I'm going to have the swelling for weeks to come.

The only problem I'd been having otherwise is that the bandages have been sticking to the wound and being not only painful to remove, but even while still stuck, making it harder for me to bend my knee because of it pulling on the wound. I tried using a Telfa bandage but even that stuck almost immediately. I asked the doctor about whether a cream like Neosporin would be good, but she said I should stop bandaging entirely and just switch to the cream. Not only does the cream keep the wound clean, more importantly, it keeps it moisturized. This lets the wound avoid drying out so much that it cracks, which causes both pain and reduced mobility. Leaving me without bandages will make it easier for me to move, too.

Only after I got home did I find out that, just to be absolutely sure, she'd like to see me get an X-Ray, so I've got a scheduled visit tomorrow morning. I'm sure it's just to make sure we didn't miss something more serious, but that that's very unlikely.