[Azimuth]

Originally Posted by ChristySD ↗

True that it could be elephantiasis, but the marked difference is the swelling ends exactly at the wrist. In true elephantiasis, the swelling would continue up the arm with a tapering-off effect. Ulcerations are seen on both conditions. In the case of the IV drug user, it is where the user has penetrated the skin with a needle that is rusty, old, infected, etc. Hope this helps.

Good God. Do you know- is there a treatment for this? It looks painful.

Good one Jim. I've found potatoes in my cupboards that look similar.

[mrj119]

Too much jerking off will do that

[jenna_live]

not drug use i think its something else . drugs eat away at you not add anything like in this picture .

[Spiffyfable]

That could make masturbation time a tad more difficult

[twayblade]

What drugs caused this? Oh, nevermind; shoving a syringe full of anything in yourself is stupid to begin with!

[ro4eva]

Originally Posted by twayblade ↗

What drugs caused this? Oh, nevermind; shoving a syringe full of anything in yourself is stupid to begin with!

Tell that to a diabetic who needs to shove a syringe full of insulin into him/her-self daily to survive.

[Sharon]

Oh mercy me

[Konglomo]

Fuck!

I used drugs intravenously for 10 years and never had anything that looked anything like that ever happen. And I used the veins in my hand a lot. Then again, my ritual included vigorously hygienic, and I never caught hepatitis or AIDS either.

I have had friends with horrible abscesses though and swelling, but nothing like that picture. What did the guy do, let his rig fall into dog shit or something like that.

[ChristySD]

Originally Posted by azimuth ↗

Good God. Do you know- is there a treatment for this? It looks painful.

Good one Jim. I've found potatoes in my cupboards that look similar.

Az, fortunately for the patient, there is. I PROMISE I will try to be brief with this one! The level of infection in this pic would probably require a 2-prong approach. #1 is to drain potential abscesses that may be (and look like they are) present. #2 would be to administer I.V. antibiotics over a course of time. Hopefully this person did not contract MRSA, which is an antibiotic-resistant strain of Staph that is particularly nasty. That requires MANY MONTHS of treatment that includes HIGH-powered anti-B's and continual draining, cleaning and packing of the wound site. I had an aunt that contracted MRSA from a surgery to place a permanent colostomy bag. It took me 1.4 years administering treatment to her for it to clear up. That was a BITCh to treat!! As always, I hope this helped.

[ChristySD]

Originally Posted by jenna_live ↗

not drug use i think its something else . drugs eat away at you not add anything like in this picture .

Not trying to contradict you, but IV drug use could MOST CERTAINLY cause what you see in this pic. Using needles to administer drugs can cause the following to the external human body:
*skin ulcers (like the one in the pic)
*cellulitis (bacteria causing skin infection)
*abscesses (pus pockets under the skin)
*Necrotizing Fasciitis (commonly known
as "flesh-eating disease"-caused by bacteria
and eats away at the skin, fat and tissue
covering the muscles)

It is true that many of these "eat away" at the body, but they also cause inflammation, swelling, pus pockets, etc. I totally believe that this is an I.V. drug user's hand in this pic, as I have seen them personally in a medical setting, albeit they were usually worse and more disgusting. Hope this helps clear a few things up.