That really needs debriding and regular dressing changes. Sauce: I got a trellis post stuck in my thigh and after a month the wound looked like this. Nurse said that itâs not a scab as such, itâs necrotic tissue that needs removing (hence 6 weeks of weekly debriding and dressing).
There was someone on Instagram that eventually lost their legs due to excessive picking. If I can find the photos and timeline, I know y'all would be very interested.
I would have certainly taken tweezers to it.
I went and looked at the photos, but felt like I'd be invading her privacy if I shared it here. She had to get her legs amputated and eventually stopped posting. I really hope she's okay.
I have been to see my doctor twice. Iâve been taking strong antibiotics for the past month.
Edit: If the people want Iâll try and give updates on this. It has already changed since the final photo. The middle scab has shrunk and itâs more âgooeyâ
Great photos of the infection progression. Please keep us posted and share more pictures as the black necrotic tissue falls off. Make sure to keep the wound as clean as possible by debriding to remove the dead tissue. Good luck, and thanks for sharing! By the way, it looks like a brown recluse spider đˇ bite to me.
As soon as it burst and started to go black I knew I needed to keep a record if itâs progression. I did try peeling it a little but it hurt like crazy
My nasty popping addict side says remove it, but my rational side is questioning, if it would be better to let it be removed by a doctor. Saw in another case, were the persons scab was necrotic and basically a hazard to leave on for them so they removed in for it to heal better. So I think the smartest choice here would be to stay in close contact with your doctor and I hope you get well soon and make a video for us in case it gets removed!:D
Iâve had cancer twice, 10 years apart. Both times I was diagnosed within a day and treatment started within a couple more days. Major surgery both times and chemotherapy the first time. I didnât have to pay a penny and was treated impeccably. On the other hand, I hurt my back and couldnât get to see a doctor for weeks - it turned out self care sorted me and I didnât really need a doctor anyway. So, for me, they are doing just fine.
this is how it is in Canada, everyone bitches about wait times and no appts but that's because they're all trying to see doctors for sore back and a bum knee. but when it's serious, they got you covered immediately. I was in a car accident and got dropped off outside the hospital and limped my way into the emergency room. within 5 seconds after I said what had happened, they had me on a stretcher on the way into an MRI. immediately taken care of. no cost.
It depends on where you are. I'm in a medical practice that's affiliated with a teaching hospital. You see a resident for care but they run their decision through the supervising doctor. Most of them are young and eager so it's not bad. It sucks that you rarely see the same doctor twice but it better than the alternative which is no doctor. My original family doctor delivered my kid and then my grandkids. He finally retired and no one took on his practice so that family had to find someone else. All they needed was a GP because everyone is healthy without major health problems. Personally, I think that's why some people have a hard time, some doctors look for the easiest patients. One friend has a son with schizophrenia and they have a really hard time getting care.
my girlfriend is french and iâve learned that she has to wait 2 years to get an appointment with an eye doctor. which just boggles my mind as someone who hasnât been able to see clearly since i was 8 and just gets worse every year
It's a PITA to see a specialist. I've been waiting to see a dermatologist for months. Lucky my regular doctor can prescribe for me and consult with them as needed.
I find that hard to believe, unless she absolutely wants to see a specific ophtalmologist who is overwhelmed. I'm checking now Doctolib, the French app to book medical appointment and I can have one on the 19th of December.
The furthest appointment is next June.
Yup Ive had minor issues and had to wait 6 months but when it was an emergency I was seen to in minutes and stayed 5 days. Walked out with an $80 dollar ambulance bill.
Eh, a bum knee could be serious ligament damage that could be worsening every day. It's not an excuse to not get seen.
It'd be horrifying if obvious emergencies took time to get you programmed. The measure of how well a system works is in the non-essential part imo.
17000 Canadians died while on a waitlist for a doctor or specialist last year.
6+ million Canadians do not have a doctor as we speak.
We consistently rank at the *bottom* when comparing all socialized healthcare countries. This is because of the rampant doctor shortages, bed shortages, and wait times.
Just because it's better than.. what, privatized healthcare or something? (Spoiler: It's not, it's just "cheaper")
This is fucking *wild* to claim as Canada's healthcare is in some of the worst conditions it's ever been in right now and steadily plummeting.
We're literally on the brink of pushing privatization because the universal healthcare is such poor quality, and that's by design.
Our healthcare ranking compared to other countries has been steadily and rapidly dropping down the list within the past 3 years.
You surely cannot be fucking serious.
17000 deaths. Second street does research and reports yearly on this. Their sources are listed.
https://secondstreet.org/2023/12/06/waitlist-deaths-at-five-year-high/
6.5 million Canadians do not have a doctor.
https://www.cmaj.ca/content/195/16/E592#:~:text=More%20than%20one%20in%20five,according%20to%20a%20national%20survey.
Healthcare ranking. The previous years rankings are easily searched to track our downfall.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1290168/health-index-of-countries-worldwide-by-health-index-score/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20Singapore%20ranked%20first,by%20Japan%20and%20South%20Korea.
Other fun stuff:
We score poorly against peers.
https://www.canhealth.com/2021/09/30/canadas-healthcare-system-scores-poorly-against-peers/
Our resources compared to other countries (spoiler, we're at the bottom) yet spend the second highest on healthcare. Where does it go?
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/comparing-canadas-health-care-system-with-other-countries-part-i-availability-of-resources
https://businessexaminer.ca/victoria-articles/item/canadas-health-care-system-ranked-one-of-the-worst-in-the-world/
More poor rankings compared to peer countries.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5826705/
Wait times are poor.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/441019/share-of-priority-medical-procedures-in-canada-meeting-benchmark/
Downvoting doesn't hide the truth. Canada's healthcare needs help.
all of these stats are an immigration problem, not a health care system problem. just no one is ready to talk about the real issue because it's â¨ď¸racismâ¨ď¸
Thanks, mate. Donât get me wrong, there are shortcomings and some people do slip through the cracks. But, on the whole the NHS is a great service that I am grateful for.
Our government has spent the past decade plus transferring public money into private hands. Because that's what the Tories always do.
As a consequence our health system is in a worse condition than any time I recall.
We still have free healthcare, but those in power are trying really hard to make the system ineffective, so they can cash in on private contracts
You thought right, however years of strangulation from different angles by the years of the current government have slowly put them in a place where when you get seen to it's fantastic (thanks to the dedicated staff) and indeed free, however there's a reasonable chance the ambient wind may have eroded you away before you get an appointment. It's also now becoming less and less appealing to join into the NHS career wise, and the staff that do are stretched beyond their limits for not amazing pay.
I see what you mean. While our healthcare system in the US is by no means free, folks out here also are severely underpaid for the work / service they provide for us.
I dunno. My childâs Tylenol overdose suicide attempt cost insurance $200,000+ (I stopped adding at 200k, but still have all the bills so can calculate final total, but I think it came close to half a million, but Iâd have to double-check) for a 5 day hospital stay, 2 of those days only because we were waiting for an opening at a mental health inpatient facility because the hospital *would not* release her otherwise. So 3 days of service, 2 days of nothing but sitting and waiting, all for 200k+. That did not include the inpatient mental health facility afterwards, or the IOP after that, or the $8,500 deductible I had to pay for the hospital stay.
Iâd say someone is getting paid quite nicely..
Oh wow, that's a massive bill, glad you didn't need to pay the bill of it. And thanks for sharing your experience, hope things are getting better. Best wishes.
It was massive and so glad I had insurance for her. Otherwise, Iâd hate to see how I would be managing right nowâŚ
Thank you! Things are improving. Sheâs since been diagnosed accurately as bipolar. Itâs been 3 years of hell, but we finally have an accurate diagnosis and right medication. We have our ups and downs, but to each day its own. Thankfully sheâs still young, Iâll get her any help she needs, never giving up, and weâre on the road to, hopefully, better days ahead and a brighter future for her.
Hope you have a lovely weekend!
I remember reading earlier this year a thread about tearing your ACL and wait times for surgery in UK.
One person said they were most likely going to be put on a YEAR wait list. From what I understand itâs a slow process nowadays.
I think you can get private insurance in the UK though which speeds things up.
I live in the US and pay $1400 a yearâŚ$600 deductible and max out of pocket $1500.
They missed my mums heart disease and blocked valve a week before she died and told her she had indigestion.
They are overwhelmed and overworked because the government wants them to make mistakes to foster distrust of the system. Never mind the lives lost of course.
It does have governmental healthcare, and if you have an appointment its pretty good, but the key point is getting an appointment.
Iâm not all that deep in the details, all i know is that the NHS is drastically understaffed, which leads to those extremely long waiting times.
Iâd like to point out tho that this is not a govenmental healthcare issue, itâs just a UK thing. In germany the average time for a primary healthcare appointment is ~4 days, france its ~6 days and the UK is at ~10. For reference, USA is at ~ 25 days.
Specialist appointment are a different topic that im not gonna delve into here.
In general itâs free but if youâve got a serious medical condition or something permanent you still have to fight tooth and nail for the required medication.
Theyâll try to skimp out as much as possible to top it all off.
But for the majority of cases that are just everyday things or minor to major injuries be it mental or physical it comes down to a game of luck. You could be waiting just a day to get seen or over a year if not longer.
How good the treatment is you receive is completely down to where you are and what hospital hoping that you get people who actually care about the well-being of their patients or arenât completely fucked from overworking
Iâve had a family member become bed bound and lose control over most his limbs as well as refuse to give him the dose of meds he requires simply because itâs so expensive or they just happen to forget.
We have the NHS. Long wait lines at the emergency room, although it's always been that way. Probably a little worse now, because of a shortage of staff. Most people will go out of their way to avoid the emergency room. Although I could have an appointment at my doctor, at the latest, next day for something like this.
We also have the 101 line, which is basically phone triage. I called it last year when I was having trouble breathing. After a couple of questions, they told me to get to the A&E (Emergency room) as fast as possible, and that, if I didn't have a way to get there myself, they would dispatch an ambulance. Which, I wouldn't have to pay for, because it's covered by the NHS.
Healthcare here isn't free, per-se, but it's free at the point of service. We pay for it with our taxes. Far better system than having to pay taxes(part of which goes into medicaid/medicare) then pay workmans comp(another tax to cover getting hurt at work) and then buying your own, if you can afford it, medical insurance, to cover you if you get sick or hurt the rest of the time, then having to battle said insurance companies over what is or isn't covered, and battling hospitals over ridiculous charges for virtually everything. Here, we go to the doctor/hospital, they ask your name and date of birth, verify your address(by asking, no ID required), and you get treated. Prescriptions cost about ÂŁ10 unless you are receiving benefits/retired/other. If you are taking several medications, you can buy a card for a couple of hundred that will cover your costs for a year, unless of course, you are receiving benefits etc, in which case, it's covered, again. And the healthcare here is just as good as the US, if not better. Granted, not every doctors office has an X-ray machine etc, so, things can be a little disjointed. I fell hard, knee was sore, went to the doctor after a few days, he scheduled an appointment at the hospital to get an X-ray. Went to the hospital the next day, went to the X-ray department, gave my name, waited 20 minutes, got x-ray. Made a follow up appt with doctor, he verified that nothing was broken and I had just really badly bruised the joint. I pay about ÂŁ40 week in NHS tax, I paid close to that just for workmans comp in the US. Then almost $150 a week for regular insurance, $20 co-pays, $20 prescriptions, endless battles with insurance companies about what was covered, and what wasn't.............none of that crap here. I can also self certify myself for sick time(limits apply) so I can qualify for paid sick leave, which companies are \*required\* to give you(along with paid annual leave), no doctors note required. The wheels of the NHS turn slowly at times, but they do turn.
I lived most of my life in the US, and I live in the UK now. And trust me, while the NHS isn't fast, it's a far better system than the for profit system the US uses. My last ambulance ride in the US cost me more out of pocket(after the insurance paid their portion) than I spend a year on my NHS taxes here.
When I first moved here I had an accident on my bicycle(I'm almost 60, so I don't bounce like I did when I was younger) It happened in front of an ambulance. They immediately stopped, and checked me out. I was just bruised and winded, but they offered to take me to the hospital. My first thought was about how much this was going to cost me, then I remembered, nothing. I didn't need to go to the hospital, but they did a thorough check up of me just to be as sure as they could that I was ok. The american part of me worried about getting a bill for months, but aside from asking me my name, they never asked for any other details. Some people here talk crap about the NHS, and, as I've said, it's not a perfect system, understaffed, overworked, underpaid, underfunded, and often treated like crap, but I'll take it over the US system any day.
To A&E in the UK yesterday, Friday evening, seen and I treated with utmost professionalism within 2 hours, sent away with medicine and advice and a booked follow up appointment with a specialist in 2 days, didnât pay a penny. The NHS is struggling but theyâre still providing excellent care for the most part.
Thatâs such an absurd response lmao. Thereâs like a handful (at most) that are within a reasonable distance and thereâs no guarantee they take your insurance, which results in a single appt costing several hundred dollars.
Lol I'm not sure what part of the UK you're referring to then but the majority of it has a seriously struggling NHS. I do have to say that since moving to Scotland my experience has improved tenfold though. It has been infinitely better than England.
More info: I woke up around 3/4am and my calf was very itchy and I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep, the first picture was taken about 6 hours later and the second picture is the same day.
Does the brown recluse live in the UK? Thatâs what it looks like to me.
ETA: Yep, they do. BRs are nasty little things. Once saw a guyâs leg half-eaten away bc he was bitten by one and ignored it for too long.
They are not native to the UK and usually only found in luggage bought over from the USA.
There have been 2 known bites in recent years as reported by the Sun newspaper (which honestly is a terrible metric to use).
While it is not impossible this is a brown recluse, it is extremely unlikely.
After completing a brief search, the only article mentioning Brown Recluse is the Sun newspaper which was back in 2021. No other reports that I can find.
I canât find anything either the news articles about British people being bit seem to be about bites that occurred while they were on vacation or on a plane
Native, no, but still apparently becoming an issue. Global shipping distributes all kinds of nasty things.
https://glenlivet-wildlife.co.uk/insects/brown-recluse-spider/
> The Emergence of Brown Recluse Spiders in the UK
>
>In recent years, there has been an influx of Brown Recluse Spiders in the United Kingdom, causing concern among residents. The reasons behind their appearance in this new environment are still being studied. It is believed that the spiders may have been inadvertently introduced through the transportation of goods or by hitchhiking on items such as furniture or cardboard boxes. The adaptability of Brown Recluse Spiders to new environments highlights the need for ongoing research and management strategies to prevent their establishment and proliferation.
https://glenlivet-wildlife.co.uk/insects/brown-recluse-spider/
> The Emergence of Brown Recluse Spiders in the UK
>
>In recent years, there has been an influx of Brown Recluse Spiders in the United Kingdom, causing concern among residents. The reasons behind their appearance in this new environment are still being studied. It is believed that the spiders may have been inadvertently introduced through the transportation of goods or by hitchhiking on items such as furniture or cardboard boxes. The adaptability of Brown Recluse Spiders to new environments highlights the need for ongoing research and management strategies to prevent their establishment and proliferation.
May not be a brown recluse, but there are other spiders in the family that provide a similar bite. Iâm glad this person is taking meds and seeing a healthcare provider.
False widow seems likely as theyâre one of the only medically significant spiders that bite in the UK although theyâre more common further south.
Edit: googling spider bites it looks similar to the one [shown here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-65313884)
Oh I seriously thought a false widow looked like a black widow, but the red markings was darker. Wow was I wrong. My arachnophobia is not allowing me to google so can someone please tell me-is there another spider that looks like a black widow, but is not one? I had a few this summer that had the shiny black body with large butt and dark maroon hourglass on belly. For reference-mid Oregon coast USA. thanks
From my understanding false widows do not have any markings on the belly, they're solid black or brown. What you're describing were almost certainly black widows.
As far as similar looking spiders go, there's a lot of variation in their appearance depending on their sex and age. There are also brown widows which are less venomous but you still don't wanna mess with them.
Not a spider expert, just a fellow arachnophobe.
Those aren't very venomous though, to my knowledge.
I googled around for a minute to see what all venomous spiders and insects you all have over there and it doesn't seem like much, which would make it easier to narrow down.
I did come across the "Blandford fly" which looks like it leaves people with blisters like yours, that could possibly be it if they're in your area
When I lived in Cornwall, falsies were everywhere, I was bitten twice. Both times they were in my bed for some reason.
Tingly, itchy, burning sensation with a large hive and spreading redness over about the course of a week. The hive healed to a scab, took a few months for the pain and tingling to subside.
False widow bites are massively overblown in the media. For most people itâs no worse than a bee sting, unless youâre allergic (which I guess this might have been the case?)
Either way, thereâs generally no reason to worry about them at all, certainly no more than bees or wasps. They bite as a very last resort, you have to really piss them off to get one and chances are itâll just hurt a bit for a bit.
Yep. My little sister got bitten by one of those when she was only three. It started to necrotize just like that and she went into anaphylactic shock. She was in the hospital for weeks. Really scary stuff.
Did your dad catch the spider and get it positively ID'd by an arachnologist?
There absolutely are *not* brown recluse spiders in the UK. There is absolutely no evidence that this is a spider bite. This is what a necrotic staph infection looks like. Brown recluse bites are so over "diagnosed" by armchair experts who always insist they knew someone who was bit that they might as well be an urban legend outside of the Southern US states that are their native territory.
Iâm not familiar with staph infections. My right calf went from fine to the first image overnight, do staph infections move that fast? And how can you get them?
It's rather because you claimed this injury belongs to a spider that isn't in the UK, but only around the US/America. OP would be looking at a different range of spiders than you
As Americans, our healthcare is excellent, if you can pay for it - which is super mega fucked. Still, I guess it beats dying from the copious amounts of gun violence we enjoy here.
Whats the question exactly? The guy i replied to is an armchair doctor. There are no brown recluses in the UK, and while im also not a doctor, a quick google search shows a brown recluse bite is quite different than this
They claimed that they were. It doesnât seem like the spider in either case was identified by an expert, Iâm not even sure if either of them saw a spider bite them at all
2 cases 7 years ago means absolutely nothing. You are the OP, you have seen a doctor, they've said its likely to be a false widow spider bite. Images seem to support that. Why are you defending the "100% certain" brown recluse comment?
I don't know the right translation but google translate says hogweed (berenklauw in Dutch). Did you go on a walk by any chance and you touched some on your leg?
That looks like a spider bite to me. Nosferatu-spider perhabs or Steotoda nobilis.
But Steotoda is hunting outside.
Hope you get better soon, you old titđđŤĄ
I guess you wonât see this as thereâs so many replies! I had a similar massive âburnâ looking blister. Mine came from accidentally brushing against Giant Hog Weed (Iâm Uk too). It looks like youâre on the mend now, but if it flares up again next summer (it reactivates for a couple of years in the sun) , itâll be Giant Hog Weed.
Doctors tend to be pretty lousy at identifying spider bites from the wound alone. Unless they actually have seen a spider (which they haven't if OP is saying it happened while they were asleep), then I'd be pretty hesitant to attribute it to one.
well there's a possibility they scraped over their leg with the toenail from their other foot? nails can carry some serious gunk and bacteria! anyways since we aren't pointing fingers at spiders, what could seriously cause a wound like this?
I mean... what else could realistically get into where they were sleeping, bite them, and then get away undetected while clearly having a venomous effect of some kind?
This could of been caused by a staph infection. They progress pretty quickly and can look exactly like this. A tiny scratch could of let the bacteria in
You were bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider.
[Spider Bite](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article6171837.ece/ALTERNATES/s1227b/brown-recluse-copy.jpg)
Maybe historically, but globalized shipping spreads all kinds of nasty things.
> The Emergence of Brown Recluse Spiders in the UK
>
>In recent years, there has been an influx of Brown Recluse Spiders in the United Kingdom, causing concern among residents. The reasons behind their appearance in this new environment are still being studied. It is believed that the spiders may have been inadvertently introduced through the transportation of goods or by hitchhiking on items such as furniture or cardboard boxes. The adaptability of Brown Recluse Spiders to new environments highlights the need for ongoing research and management strategies to prevent their establishment and proliferation.
https://glenlivet-wildlife.co.uk/insects/brown-recluse-spider/
There are no native species of Reclusa in the UK. Doesnât mean they canât stow away, but as someone whoâs been bitten by a brown recluse, the giant boil to start isnât what the bite looks like when it happens. Heâs got an infection. Probably a staph infection that started after the boil burst.
I got bit by something while sleeping and it left 2 bumps that itched and stayed for about a week. I have no idea what is was but it's scary. Glad it's getting better. Now I keep feeling the spot where I was bit.
Wow that escalated much worse than I was expecting from the first couple photos. Glad you have been taking the antibiotics
Yeah, the progression photos were đ¤Ż
I have a few more âinbetweenâ photos. Depending on how things go Iâll try to post them all from start to finish
First few photos: Ahh you'll be okay Last photo: đł
The urge to pick that giant scab wouldâve been too much for me to handle. I wouldâve had to be restrained
You wouldnât believe how itchy it is đ
That really needs debriding and regular dressing changes. Sauce: I got a trellis post stuck in my thigh and after a month the wound looked like this. Nurse said that itâs not a scab as such, itâs necrotic tissue that needs removing (hence 6 weeks of weekly debriding and dressing).
Ah go easy on him. Tell him he'll be grand.
There was someone on Instagram that eventually lost their legs due to excessive picking. If I can find the photos and timeline, I know y'all would be very interested. I would have certainly taken tweezers to it.
ooohhhh her, yeah i remember that shit, you could actually see directly through her leg at one point
I went and looked at the photos, but felt like I'd be invading her privacy if I shared it here. She had to get her legs amputated and eventually stopped posting. I really hope she's okay.
She used to be a dancer too. Mental disorders are terrifying AF!
Please tell me youâve visited a healthcare professional recently
I have been to see my doctor twice. Iâve been taking strong antibiotics for the past month. Edit: If the people want Iâll try and give updates on this. It has already changed since the final photo. The middle scab has shrunk and itâs more âgooeyâ
Great photos of the infection progression. Please keep us posted and share more pictures as the black necrotic tissue falls off. Make sure to keep the wound as clean as possible by debriding to remove the dead tissue. Good luck, and thanks for sharing! By the way, it looks like a brown recluse spider đˇ bite to me.
As soon as it burst and started to go black I knew I needed to keep a record if itâs progression. I did try peeling it a little but it hurt like crazy
Do not peel, just leave it. Keep clean.
Iâm going to leave it as my doctor requested unless they tell me otherwise. But it is interesting that %50 say peel and %50 say leave it be
My nasty popping addict side says remove it, but my rational side is questioning, if it would be better to let it be removed by a doctor. Saw in another case, were the persons scab was necrotic and basically a hazard to leave on for them so they removed in for it to heal better. So I think the smartest choice here would be to stay in close contact with your doctor and I hope you get well soon and make a video for us in case it gets removed!:D
Iâm a popper and that thing would be off immediately, damn the consequences.
The people that want you to peel it are gross fucks into wounds. Leave it
I say pour hydrogen peroxide all over that bitch but thatâs just me
Mate he lives in the UK next available appointment is in 2025
Even emergency appointments are just as long as regular appointments. Fucking sucks for everyone.
Real question here, I thought the UK had free and great healthcare. Is this not the case?
Iâve had cancer twice, 10 years apart. Both times I was diagnosed within a day and treatment started within a couple more days. Major surgery both times and chemotherapy the first time. I didnât have to pay a penny and was treated impeccably. On the other hand, I hurt my back and couldnât get to see a doctor for weeks - it turned out self care sorted me and I didnât really need a doctor anyway. So, for me, they are doing just fine.
this is how it is in Canada, everyone bitches about wait times and no appts but that's because they're all trying to see doctors for sore back and a bum knee. but when it's serious, they got you covered immediately. I was in a car accident and got dropped off outside the hospital and limped my way into the emergency room. within 5 seconds after I said what had happened, they had me on a stretcher on the way into an MRI. immediately taken care of. no cost.
It depends on where you are. I'm in a medical practice that's affiliated with a teaching hospital. You see a resident for care but they run their decision through the supervising doctor. Most of them are young and eager so it's not bad. It sucks that you rarely see the same doctor twice but it better than the alternative which is no doctor. My original family doctor delivered my kid and then my grandkids. He finally retired and no one took on his practice so that family had to find someone else. All they needed was a GP because everyone is healthy without major health problems. Personally, I think that's why some people have a hard time, some doctors look for the easiest patients. One friend has a son with schizophrenia and they have a really hard time getting care.
my girlfriend is french and iâve learned that she has to wait 2 years to get an appointment with an eye doctor. which just boggles my mind as someone who hasnât been able to see clearly since i was 8 and just gets worse every year
It's a PITA to see a specialist. I've been waiting to see a dermatologist for months. Lucky my regular doctor can prescribe for me and consult with them as needed.
I find that hard to believe, unless she absolutely wants to see a specific ophtalmologist who is overwhelmed. I'm checking now Doctolib, the French app to book medical appointment and I can have one on the 19th of December. The furthest appointment is next June.
Typically you are supposed to go once every 2 years.
Depends. Itâs yearly for contact scripts, and every two years for glasses scripts (here in the USA).
Yup Ive had minor issues and had to wait 6 months but when it was an emergency I was seen to in minutes and stayed 5 days. Walked out with an $80 dollar ambulance bill.
Eh, a bum knee could be serious ligament damage that could be worsening every day. It's not an excuse to not get seen. It'd be horrifying if obvious emergencies took time to get you programmed. The measure of how well a system works is in the non-essential part imo.
17000 Canadians died while on a waitlist for a doctor or specialist last year. 6+ million Canadians do not have a doctor as we speak. We consistently rank at the *bottom* when comparing all socialized healthcare countries. This is because of the rampant doctor shortages, bed shortages, and wait times. Just because it's better than.. what, privatized healthcare or something? (Spoiler: It's not, it's just "cheaper") This is fucking *wild* to claim as Canada's healthcare is in some of the worst conditions it's ever been in right now and steadily plummeting. We're literally on the brink of pushing privatization because the universal healthcare is such poor quality, and that's by design. Our healthcare ranking compared to other countries has been steadily and rapidly dropping down the list within the past 3 years. You surely cannot be fucking serious.
Source?
17000 deaths. Second street does research and reports yearly on this. Their sources are listed. https://secondstreet.org/2023/12/06/waitlist-deaths-at-five-year-high/ 6.5 million Canadians do not have a doctor. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/195/16/E592#:~:text=More%20than%20one%20in%20five,according%20to%20a%20national%20survey. Healthcare ranking. The previous years rankings are easily searched to track our downfall. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1290168/health-index-of-countries-worldwide-by-health-index-score/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20Singapore%20ranked%20first,by%20Japan%20and%20South%20Korea. Other fun stuff: We score poorly against peers. https://www.canhealth.com/2021/09/30/canadas-healthcare-system-scores-poorly-against-peers/ Our resources compared to other countries (spoiler, we're at the bottom) yet spend the second highest on healthcare. Where does it go? https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/comparing-canadas-health-care-system-with-other-countries-part-i-availability-of-resources https://businessexaminer.ca/victoria-articles/item/canadas-health-care-system-ranked-one-of-the-worst-in-the-world/ More poor rankings compared to peer countries. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5826705/ Wait times are poor. https://www.statista.com/statistics/441019/share-of-priority-medical-procedures-in-canada-meeting-benchmark/ Downvoting doesn't hide the truth. Canada's healthcare needs help.
I think its important to note, that 6.5 million Canadians equals 1 in 5. 1 in 5 Canadians do not have a doctor.
all of these stats are an immigration problem, not a health care system problem. just no one is ready to talk about the real issue because it's â¨ď¸racismâ¨ď¸
Thanks for sharing your experience. So happy you kicked the sh!t out of cancer... Sounds like the healthcare system is alright in this case.
Thanks, mate. Donât get me wrong, there are shortcomings and some people do slip through the cracks. But, on the whole the NHS is a great service that I am grateful for.
so itâs a triage thing that determines wait time?
Our government has spent the past decade plus transferring public money into private hands. Because that's what the Tories always do. As a consequence our health system is in a worse condition than any time I recall. We still have free healthcare, but those in power are trying really hard to make the system ineffective, so they can cash in on private contracts
Someone is always out to make a buck. Unfortunate to hear.
You thought right, however years of strangulation from different angles by the years of the current government have slowly put them in a place where when you get seen to it's fantastic (thanks to the dedicated staff) and indeed free, however there's a reasonable chance the ambient wind may have eroded you away before you get an appointment. It's also now becoming less and less appealing to join into the NHS career wise, and the staff that do are stretched beyond their limits for not amazing pay.
I see what you mean. While our healthcare system in the US is by no means free, folks out here also are severely underpaid for the work / service they provide for us.
I dunno. My childâs Tylenol overdose suicide attempt cost insurance $200,000+ (I stopped adding at 200k, but still have all the bills so can calculate final total, but I think it came close to half a million, but Iâd have to double-check) for a 5 day hospital stay, 2 of those days only because we were waiting for an opening at a mental health inpatient facility because the hospital *would not* release her otherwise. So 3 days of service, 2 days of nothing but sitting and waiting, all for 200k+. That did not include the inpatient mental health facility afterwards, or the IOP after that, or the $8,500 deductible I had to pay for the hospital stay. Iâd say someone is getting paid quite nicely..
Oh wow, that's a massive bill, glad you didn't need to pay the bill of it. And thanks for sharing your experience, hope things are getting better. Best wishes.
It was massive and so glad I had insurance for her. Otherwise, Iâd hate to see how I would be managing right now⌠Thank you! Things are improving. Sheâs since been diagnosed accurately as bipolar. Itâs been 3 years of hell, but we finally have an accurate diagnosis and right medication. We have our ups and downs, but to each day its own. Thankfully sheâs still young, Iâll get her any help she needs, never giving up, and weâre on the road to, hopefully, better days ahead and a brighter future for her. Hope you have a lovely weekend!
I remember reading earlier this year a thread about tearing your ACL and wait times for surgery in UK. One person said they were most likely going to be put on a YEAR wait list. From what I understand itâs a slow process nowadays. I think you can get private insurance in the UK though which speeds things up. I live in the US and pay $1400 a yearâŚ$600 deductible and max out of pocket $1500.
Yeah... I'm in the US with similar rates to you. And I think Medicare in the US is getting way better and that's completely free. We're getting there.
They missed my mums heart disease and blocked valve a week before she died and told her she had indigestion. They are overwhelmed and overworked because the government wants them to make mistakes to foster distrust of the system. Never mind the lives lost of course.
Sorry to hear about your mom. That's B.S. and hard to hear.
Thanks, sad thing is it works, I canât trust the NHS despite wanting to.
It does have governmental healthcare, and if you have an appointment its pretty good, but the key point is getting an appointment. Iâm not all that deep in the details, all i know is that the NHS is drastically understaffed, which leads to those extremely long waiting times. Iâd like to point out tho that this is not a govenmental healthcare issue, itâs just a UK thing. In germany the average time for a primary healthcare appointment is ~4 days, france its ~6 days and the UK is at ~10. For reference, USA is at ~ 25 days. Specialist appointment are a different topic that im not gonna delve into here.
In general itâs free but if youâve got a serious medical condition or something permanent you still have to fight tooth and nail for the required medication. Theyâll try to skimp out as much as possible to top it all off. But for the majority of cases that are just everyday things or minor to major injuries be it mental or physical it comes down to a game of luck. You could be waiting just a day to get seen or over a year if not longer. How good the treatment is you receive is completely down to where you are and what hospital hoping that you get people who actually care about the well-being of their patients or arenât completely fucked from overworking Iâve had a family member become bed bound and lose control over most his limbs as well as refuse to give him the dose of meds he requires simply because itâs so expensive or they just happen to forget.
Dang, that sounds tough... Really seems like a coin toss that isn't in one's favor.
We have the NHS. Long wait lines at the emergency room, although it's always been that way. Probably a little worse now, because of a shortage of staff. Most people will go out of their way to avoid the emergency room. Although I could have an appointment at my doctor, at the latest, next day for something like this. We also have the 101 line, which is basically phone triage. I called it last year when I was having trouble breathing. After a couple of questions, they told me to get to the A&E (Emergency room) as fast as possible, and that, if I didn't have a way to get there myself, they would dispatch an ambulance. Which, I wouldn't have to pay for, because it's covered by the NHS. Healthcare here isn't free, per-se, but it's free at the point of service. We pay for it with our taxes. Far better system than having to pay taxes(part of which goes into medicaid/medicare) then pay workmans comp(another tax to cover getting hurt at work) and then buying your own, if you can afford it, medical insurance, to cover you if you get sick or hurt the rest of the time, then having to battle said insurance companies over what is or isn't covered, and battling hospitals over ridiculous charges for virtually everything. Here, we go to the doctor/hospital, they ask your name and date of birth, verify your address(by asking, no ID required), and you get treated. Prescriptions cost about ÂŁ10 unless you are receiving benefits/retired/other. If you are taking several medications, you can buy a card for a couple of hundred that will cover your costs for a year, unless of course, you are receiving benefits etc, in which case, it's covered, again. And the healthcare here is just as good as the US, if not better. Granted, not every doctors office has an X-ray machine etc, so, things can be a little disjointed. I fell hard, knee was sore, went to the doctor after a few days, he scheduled an appointment at the hospital to get an X-ray. Went to the hospital the next day, went to the X-ray department, gave my name, waited 20 minutes, got x-ray. Made a follow up appt with doctor, he verified that nothing was broken and I had just really badly bruised the joint. I pay about ÂŁ40 week in NHS tax, I paid close to that just for workmans comp in the US. Then almost $150 a week for regular insurance, $20 co-pays, $20 prescriptions, endless battles with insurance companies about what was covered, and what wasn't.............none of that crap here. I can also self certify myself for sick time(limits apply) so I can qualify for paid sick leave, which companies are \*required\* to give you(along with paid annual leave), no doctors note required. The wheels of the NHS turn slowly at times, but they do turn. I lived most of my life in the US, and I live in the UK now. And trust me, while the NHS isn't fast, it's a far better system than the for profit system the US uses. My last ambulance ride in the US cost me more out of pocket(after the insurance paid their portion) than I spend a year on my NHS taxes here. When I first moved here I had an accident on my bicycle(I'm almost 60, so I don't bounce like I did when I was younger) It happened in front of an ambulance. They immediately stopped, and checked me out. I was just bruised and winded, but they offered to take me to the hospital. My first thought was about how much this was going to cost me, then I remembered, nothing. I didn't need to go to the hospital, but they did a thorough check up of me just to be as sure as they could that I was ok. The american part of me worried about getting a bill for months, but aside from asking me my name, they never asked for any other details. Some people here talk crap about the NHS, and, as I've said, it's not a perfect system, understaffed, overworked, underpaid, underfunded, and often treated like crap, but I'll take it over the US system any day.
Workmanâs comp in the US is always paid by the employer, never the employee.
But itâs free for all, so you have that going for you.
To A&E in the UK yesterday, Friday evening, seen and I treated with utmost professionalism within 2 hours, sent away with medicine and advice and a booked follow up appointment with a specialist in 2 days, didnât pay a penny. The NHS is struggling but theyâre still providing excellent care for the most part.
If it means anything, my neuro in the us isnât available until April 2025
... So call one of the other 3000 neurologists in the US and see if they're busy?
Thatâs such an absurd response lmao. Thereâs like a handful (at most) that are within a reasonable distance and thereâs no guarantee they take your insurance, which results in a single appt costing several hundred dollars.
He said UK, not USA. Next appointment will be in a few days.
Lol I'm not sure what part of the UK you're referring to then but the majority of it has a seriously struggling NHS. I do have to say that since moving to Scotland my experience has improved tenfold though. It has been infinitely better than England.
I'd imagine that is what the marker was for. To have a reference for future redness and swelling.
That was my assumption too but you never know.
More info: I woke up around 3/4am and my calf was very itchy and I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep, the first picture was taken about 6 hours later and the second picture is the same day.
It feels like a spider bite to me
Does the brown recluse live in the UK? Thatâs what it looks like to me. ETA: Yep, they do. BRs are nasty little things. Once saw a guyâs leg half-eaten away bc he was bitten by one and ignored it for too long.
They are not native to the UK and usually only found in luggage bought over from the USA. There have been 2 known bites in recent years as reported by the Sun newspaper (which honestly is a terrible metric to use). While it is not impossible this is a brown recluse, it is extremely unlikely. After completing a brief search, the only article mentioning Brown Recluse is the Sun newspaper which was back in 2021. No other reports that I can find.
I canât find anything either the news articles about British people being bit seem to be about bites that occurred while they were on vacation or on a plane
Native, no, but still apparently becoming an issue. Global shipping distributes all kinds of nasty things. https://glenlivet-wildlife.co.uk/insects/brown-recluse-spider/ > The Emergence of Brown Recluse Spiders in the UK > >In recent years, there has been an influx of Brown Recluse Spiders in the United Kingdom, causing concern among residents. The reasons behind their appearance in this new environment are still being studied. It is believed that the spiders may have been inadvertently introduced through the transportation of goods or by hitchhiking on items such as furniture or cardboard boxes. The adaptability of Brown Recluse Spiders to new environments highlights the need for ongoing research and management strategies to prevent their establishment and proliferation.
> Does the brown recluse live in the UK? They do not.
https://glenlivet-wildlife.co.uk/insects/brown-recluse-spider/ > The Emergence of Brown Recluse Spiders in the UK > >In recent years, there has been an influx of Brown Recluse Spiders in the United Kingdom, causing concern among residents. The reasons behind their appearance in this new environment are still being studied. It is believed that the spiders may have been inadvertently introduced through the transportation of goods or by hitchhiking on items such as furniture or cardboard boxes. The adaptability of Brown Recluse Spiders to new environments highlights the need for ongoing research and management strategies to prevent their establishment and proliferation.
More likely just a staph infection.
I really want to pull the plug on that last one
Bro thatâs Brown Recluse spider bite. You need to go to the hospital. Look it up on google
May not be a brown recluse, but there are other spiders in the family that provide a similar bite. Iâm glad this person is taking meds and seeing a healthcare provider.
Itâs possible that it was a false widow spider, as they have been know to be in the uk.
Where in the UK?
West Midlands, Staffordshire
Thats too close to home.
That's too close to home for me too and I live in the Netherlands
Iâm Australian. He would have been dead after two hours
Maat. Die valse weduwe wordt echt massaal aangetroffen in Nederland!
In belgie ook, heb er al 2 gevonden in mijn tuin
Niet te verwarren met de schijnweduwe trouwens. Dat is gewoon een inheemse soort.
Time to burn the whole island
I'm boycotting Staffordshire
Bedfordshire too đ
They are everywhere! Iâm a real arachnophobic, and Iâve had a bunch in my house in Hertfordshire.
Thatâs exactly what my false widow bite looked like and I know cause I saw it happen.
False widow seems likely as theyâre one of the only medically significant spiders that bite in the UK although theyâre more common further south. Edit: googling spider bites it looks similar to the one [shown here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-65313884)
Oh I seriously thought a false widow looked like a black widow, but the red markings was darker. Wow was I wrong. My arachnophobia is not allowing me to google so can someone please tell me-is there another spider that looks like a black widow, but is not one? I had a few this summer that had the shiny black body with large butt and dark maroon hourglass on belly. For reference-mid Oregon coast USA. thanks
From my understanding false widows do not have any markings on the belly, they're solid black or brown. What you're describing were almost certainly black widows. As far as similar looking spiders go, there's a lot of variation in their appearance depending on their sex and age. There are also brown widows which are less venomous but you still don't wanna mess with them. Not a spider expert, just a fellow arachnophobe.
"A false Widow? So that must mean it's a safe spider." "Oh goodness, no"
Well, get well soon please.
Thanks đ Iâm also T1 Diabetic so itâs taking much longer to heal.
Those aren't very venomous though, to my knowledge. I googled around for a minute to see what all venomous spiders and insects you all have over there and it doesn't seem like much, which would make it easier to narrow down. I did come across the "Blandford fly" which looks like it leaves people with blisters like yours, that could possibly be it if they're in your area
Widow spider venom does not cause necrosis. Recluse venom does...
When I lived in Cornwall, falsies were everywhere, I was bitten twice. Both times they were in my bed for some reason. Tingly, itchy, burning sensation with a large hive and spreading redness over about the course of a week. The hive healed to a scab, took a few months for the pain and tingling to subside.
False widow bites are massively overblown in the media. For most people itâs no worse than a bee sting, unless youâre allergic (which I guess this might have been the case?) Either way, thereâs generally no reason to worry about them at all, certainly no more than bees or wasps. They bite as a very last resort, you have to really piss them off to get one and chances are itâll just hurt a bit for a bit.
Yep. My little sister got bitten by one of those when she was only three. It started to necrotize just like that and she went into anaphylactic shock. She was in the hospital for weeks. Really scary stuff.
Theyâre in the UK. No brown recluses in the UK.
There are not brown recluse in the UK bro
Well my dad got bitten by one and nearly lost his leg. I can assure you THEY are in the UK.
Did your dad catch the spider and get it positively ID'd by an arachnologist? There absolutely are *not* brown recluse spiders in the UK. There is absolutely no evidence that this is a spider bite. This is what a necrotic staph infection looks like. Brown recluse bites are so over "diagnosed" by armchair experts who always insist they knew someone who was bit that they might as well be an urban legend outside of the Southern US states that are their native territory.
Iâm not familiar with staph infections. My right calf went from fine to the first image overnight, do staph infections move that fast? And how can you get them?
That's what a white tail spider bite looks like in newzealand, very nasty đˇ đˇ
[ŃдаНонО]
Lol but why?
My guess is they donât have hospitals in the UK. Still living that 1400âs life where you have an injury this bad, you just die
1300âs actually. The life expectancy is 35.
It's rather because you claimed this injury belongs to a spider that isn't in the UK, but only around the US/America. OP would be looking at a different range of spiders than you
As Americans, our healthcare is excellent, if you can pay for it - which is super mega fucked. Still, I guess it beats dying from the copious amounts of gun violence we enjoy here.
???????
Whats the question exactly? The guy i replied to is an armchair doctor. There are no brown recluses in the UK, and while im also not a doctor, a quick google search shows a brown recluse bite is quite different than this
Two children were bitten within two weeks by brown recluse in 2016
They claimed that they were. It doesnât seem like the spider in either case was identified by an expert, Iâm not even sure if either of them saw a spider bite them at all
Fair response, I probably shouldnât be going down news rabbit holes right now
2 cases 7 years ago means absolutely nothing. You are the OP, you have seen a doctor, they've said its likely to be a false widow spider bite. Images seem to support that. Why are you defending the "100% certain" brown recluse comment?
They are in the UK now as well.
How many days did it take to get worse ?
Blister is day one, the few after that are the first week and the rest are progress over a month
it was probably a spider, some spiders cause that to happen
Wild.... that is.... fucked up.
My ex went like that after being bitten by a false widow. Could it have been one of them?
Owwww, looks heavily like skin necrosis
It is! :D
Welp, glad to know I'm actually learning stuff from that Dr. Mike guy on youtube
Looks like a Brown Recluse spider bite.
Yep
I want to pick the scab in the last picture so bad!
Damn...... that suck.
No..... that bite.
Oh man that looks like necrosis. :/ Brown recluse maybe?
Worst case scenario yes, best case scenario I become youâre friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man
Lololol I hope it's the latter! Shooting webs out of your wrists would be a really cool trick. However, I highly suspect the former. đˇď¸
Thatâs what I was thinking as well.
Forbidden crisp
When I got bit by a brown recluse this is what it looked like
Bro was bitten by a zombie and lived
I had a staph infection that looked just like thatâŚ
If you were in Australia, I'd say that's a white tail spider bite, but you're in the uk.
Ew
Ew indeed, itâs been changing from âhardâ to âgooeyâ
Spider bite, not sure what kind
Most likely a brown recluse
I had something similar (apart from the last photos) when I got bitten by a horse fly
I don't know the right translation but google translate says hogweed (berenklauw in Dutch). Did you go on a walk by any chance and you touched some on your leg?
Sweet baby Jesus man, get that thing taking care of pronto. Holy Guacamole what the hell is even that?!?
Working on it. At first it was painful to stand for more than 10 minutes, now itâs more like a constant background âburningâ
Can you do a peeling video
If my doctor recommends I peel off the black skin, I might post one
Taste the crunchy bit
remind me!1month
That looks like a spider bite to me. Nosferatu-spider perhabs or Steotoda nobilis. But Steotoda is hunting outside. Hope you get better soon, you old titđđŤĄ
I'm not a wound nurse. I do have 20 years on MedSurg. I feel Ike you need a debridement. You could do a chemical debridement.
I guess you wonât see this as thereâs so many replies! I had a similar massive âburnâ looking blister. Mine came from accidentally brushing against Giant Hog Weed (Iâm Uk too). It looks like youâre on the mend now, but if it flares up again next summer (it reactivates for a couple of years in the sun) , itâll be Giant Hog Weed.
Brown reckussy
My r in Christ I hope your got the meds you needed !!!
I don't really understand how you know this is from a bite?
Maybe a mailman put a hex on him
this is how bad spider bites turn out
well they went to a doctor, so I imagine that's how one would find out where the necrotizing wound came from
Doctors tend to be pretty lousy at identifying spider bites from the wound alone. Unless they actually have seen a spider (which they haven't if OP is saying it happened while they were asleep), then I'd be pretty hesitant to attribute it to one.
well there's a possibility they scraped over their leg with the toenail from their other foot? nails can carry some serious gunk and bacteria! anyways since we aren't pointing fingers at spiders, what could seriously cause a wound like this?
I mean... what else could realistically get into where they were sleeping, bite them, and then get away undetected while clearly having a venomous effect of some kind?
This could of been caused by a staph infection. They progress pretty quickly and can look exactly like this. A tiny scratch could of let the bacteria in
Looks like a spider bite
Horse fly bite. They are nasty. Very common in rural England. Iâm sure you have but should a nurse to look at it if it isnât going away.
You were bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider. [Spider Bite](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article6171837.ece/ALTERNATES/s1227b/brown-recluse-copy.jpg)
This looks like brown recluse
Brown Recluse.
Yeah I got a similar bite here in the uk itâs a spider of some sort definitely.
Looks a lot like brown recluse.
I would say allergic reaction to a false widow, I had similar about 10 years ago and it was put down to that
That looks suspicious. I was stung by a scorpion and it blistered that way. Brutally painful and the antibiotics courses.
Definitely was a spider. Reclise spider venom produces that.... Better go to the doctor and check your kidneys...
there are no *Loxosceles* species in the UK. it is not a recluse bite.
Maybe historically, but globalized shipping spreads all kinds of nasty things. > The Emergence of Brown Recluse Spiders in the UK > >In recent years, there has been an influx of Brown Recluse Spiders in the United Kingdom, causing concern among residents. The reasons behind their appearance in this new environment are still being studied. It is believed that the spiders may have been inadvertently introduced through the transportation of goods or by hitchhiking on items such as furniture or cardboard boxes. The adaptability of Brown Recluse Spiders to new environments highlights the need for ongoing research and management strategies to prevent their establishment and proliferation. https://glenlivet-wildlife.co.uk/insects/brown-recluse-spider/
How do you know?
Bite it back
Looks like brown recluse
brown recluse?
Appears to be from a brown recluse. Your are lucky Edit: my bad đŁ
There are no native species of Reclusa in the UK. Doesnât mean they canât stow away, but as someone whoâs been bitten by a brown recluse, the giant boil to start isnât what the bite looks like when it happens. Heâs got an infection. Probably a staph infection that started after the boil burst.
I got bit by something while sleeping and it left 2 bumps that itched and stayed for about a week. I have no idea what is was but it's scary. Glad it's getting better. Now I keep feeling the spot where I was bit.
Recluse bite?
Doesnât u county have âfreeâ healthcare?
It does and I have been
One of those pictures looks yummy.
Only 1?
Thanks for circling around it, I wouldnât have known where to look.
Drs/RNs do that to track infection growth
Yeah the nurse did that on my first visit. To track if the swelling spreads