The nursing home called me today to inform me Dad has a blister in between his nipples on his chest. He had scratched it and it bled. They cleaned it out and put sterile bandages on it...
My unanswered question to her was, HOW IN THE HECK DID HE GET A BLISTER ON HIS CHEST!?
She had no clue.
My sister in law emailed me after I sent out the email to the family about the call. She told me her Dad, who had Alzheimer's, had some auto immune disorder called Bullous Pemphigoid Blisters, which can only be diagnosed if a biopsy is done on the blister.
I called the nurse back and asked if she had checked his entire body for more blisters. She assured me they had, and will continue to keep an eye on him. If took me two hours before she finally called me back. Talk about exasperating!!!
Any of you wonderful nurses out there, following me, ever heard of that?
6 comments:
I certainly have! We had a patient with that, but from what I know of it, it's not common on the trunk. It usually is on the hands and feet, and usually has several blisters. It's also quite rare.
What come to my mind is Shingles - it often starts with just one blister and can be in that area. If it is that, more blisters appear in a relatively short time.
We have also had people get blisters just from having something pressed against them, which would be unusual in that area, or being irritated by some soap, cream or something like that.
I wouldn't be too concerned at this point. Hopefully it's just one and will heal quickly!
That sounds like something you definitely want them to keep an eye on. I am not a nurse and I have never heard of Bullous Pemphigoid Blisters, but I hope it is not an ongoing problem for him.
Frustrating that you have to wait and wonder about things, and seems like we always imagine the worst while we are waiting.
I'm hoping that it was an isolated blister and there aren't anymore that surface. Good that you are on top of his care.
Yikes always something to worry about--but Mari sounds like she knows what she's talking about!
Sorry to hear that about your dad. I hope the reason is mild and not a great cause for concern. I can tell you that I have two friends who work in nursing homes, one is a nurses assistant and the other is an LPN, and have spent a lot of time in one with my aunt when she was first admitted. There are days when the demands on nurses is unbelievably exasperating and I can say she was probably not avoiding returning your call without good cause. But stay involved with your dad's caretakers because patients who have a family member who is involved in their care ultimately receive the best care from the nurses also. Sad but true.
goodness sake!! I have never heard of that!! hope he doesn't get anymore!!
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