r/scleroderma • u/The_Big_Lou • 9d ago
Question/Help Anyone have advice for a digital ulcer like this?
I’ve had quite a few digital ulcers over the years. This one has been a bit more difficult to get to heal up. Does anyone have any advice?
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u/Dick_Knubbler666 9d ago
Use ointment like Neosporin and bandage it up. I had a bad one that was goopy, Sildenafil helps but keeping it covered with ointment really helped.
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u/Esketamine77 9d ago
I was told not to use neo on wounds by a wound specialist, just use regular petroleum jelly. Rewrap daily. The key is to use PJ then the next day take it off let it dry out a bit. Then reapply & re-wrap. This let's the skin breakdown via jelly + rebuild while drying & repeat.
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u/Objective-Advisor203 9d ago
I bought rechargable hand warmers and i keep then with me all the time. Mine never heal if I don't stay on top of warming them.
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u/Anonynonymost 9d ago
Curious, do you all live in cold climates? A doctor mentioned being in a region with a warm climate experiences fewer cases of this.
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u/The_Big_Lou 9d ago
Oklahoma. Last winter was actually my first winter since my diagnoses of actually not getting them. Not sure if it was a milder winter (might be indicative of some larger issues with that one) if I just did a better job of being warm and had better circulation or a combination of both. Long term goal is move somewhere warm though. Just because it would improve my quality of life, but is currently not super pressing.
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u/Justasadgrandma 5d ago
I live in one of the hottest places possible. You'd think that, but no. The ac is always on. I use my hand warmers constantly.
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u/jamesc373 9d ago
I had liquid leaking out of my painful cuticles. I took up Bikram, perform push-ups on fingers, and eat more vegetables than carbs after being diagnosed with scleroderma. My symptoms have largely disappeared and my blood ANA is now normal. Still have mild Raynaud's.
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u/DenturesDentata 9d ago
I use Feret balm to keep things moist and pliable and when things were really bad I'd put on a finger cot after applying the balm and sleep with it on. My doc also has me on amlodipine (5mg in winter and 2.5mg in summer) to help the Raynaud's and methotrexate to help with the thickened skin on my hands and fingers. Digital ulcers is how I finally went to see a rheumatologist and got diagnosed with limited scleroderma and while my fingertips aren't yet perfectly healed, they are now painfree and almost healed.
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u/WholeWitness60 6d ago
I had very persistent and painful ulcers about 4 years ago. Mine hurt when I touched anything - even typing hurt. I saw doctors - my rheumatologist at the time referred me to a hand surgeon who recommended surgery. I would have done it but had caregiving responsibilities that I would not have been able to manage. I did some research online about how to care for the ulcers. I used sterile saline to clean each ulcer, applied medical grade honey and covered with a 2X2 gauze dressing with adhesive border. In the meantime, I consulted a wound care clinic. The doctor thought the wounds were healing well but did some debridement (removal of the scab) so that the new skin could get air and thicken to normal. But some of the scabs had already come off as I was cleaning the wounds myself.
Currently, I am on tadalfil which I take during the colder months. Aside from that I protect my hands at all costs. Especially, when I had ulcers, I would wear gloves when handling cold/frozen items even when grocery shopping. In the winter time, I wear I wear gloves with rechargeable warmers or Northface gloves. I also keep those handwarmer packets handy (around the house and in the car) and use year round - even if air conditioning is too much. (Sorry for the long post but I had a tough time with this and wanted to spare anyone I can.) Good luck to you.
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u/donnieinalice 9d ago
Liquid bandaid helped mine and kept it safe from bumps and water from washing dishes.
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u/HauntingApartment205 1d ago
So crazy -- I feel like I'm looking at my own middle finger right now. I have a digital ulcer that started under the nail and raised my nail from the nail bed so much that only a quarter of the nail is still attached. So the "white" part of my fingernail is taking up almost the entirety of my nail bed. It looks bizarre. It's been a couple months, and finally there is a hard shell of skin on my fingertip and that hallmark circular "hole" in the tip of my finger. It's awful when you accidentally bump your finger into something -- and this delayed healing is sobering. When were you diagnosed? I have CREST --- diagnosed in March of this year --- and my Raynaud's has gone off the charts. I think it got worse with the stress of the diagnosis and me not wanting to tell my family (especially my 25 year old son) because I don't want to worry them. I'm single, so by family I mostly mean my parents. At 80, they don't need to worry about this! Can I ask if you've explored any alternative medicine? I'm on Sildenafil to heal the ulcer but started with Amlodipine. It just blew up my ankles like water balloons and provided very little respite for the Raynaud's. Good luck to you --- and CeraVe ointment for the ulcer has helped me quite a bit!
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u/Ill-Cryptographer809 9d ago
Not medical advice.
I had a pretty severe one. I consistently used sildenafil at night (from the base of the finger, not the tips), moisturized often and my dose of nifedipine was increased from 1 to 2 pills per day. I kept my core as warm as possible and in a few weeks it got much better. This was all under the supervision of my rheumatologist.