Piece of plastic in my leg

If it came off the strimmer surely it was ‘dirty’. Has no one tried to remove it?
I think I would go back to the doctor or go the A and E.

I agree with Welshwife, the strimmer plastic must have been dirty when it got under your skin, surely? Best contact your GP or A&E for some advice.

Well the antibiotics will have taken care of any infection if there was any dirt on the piece of plastic As it was a few weeks ago
I know people have lived with bullets still inside them and think of all the screws and nuts and bolts and rods some people have inside but having said that I would make an appointment to speak to the GP and find out what the story is and how safe it is to leave it in situ and what his/her plan is

Poor you, I remember your post about your accident. Surely this is a foreign body? I can imagine a medical opinion for leaving something that would risk your life or other organs if it was almost impossible to remove, but you're not in a war zone. This is a piece of plastic and something that shouldn't be there and is not comfortable if you press it, so might give you future problems or infections? I would think that you need to seek the opinion of your GP, to say the least. Others might not be bothered but it's your leg, your future health etc.,

Thank you...all of you...I will try to get a telephone appointment with GP...to be honest..I'm not happy with it being in my leg...I asked at A&E and the district nurse if they couldn't just give me a local anaesthetic and cut it out...both replied " it's not as simple as that".....????

I suppose it might make its way out eventually. I’d be concerned about the cleanliness aspect, I must admit. Did they try to extract it at any time?

No suedonim...they didnt...just used the 'drawing ' patches to hopefully draw it out...

When I was 16 I cut my hand on a piece of shattered glass, and a small piece went into the wound and I couldn’t get it out ....it was never removed and the doctor said it would be ok I worried at the time that it might ‘travel’ but presumably it hasn’t
Talk it over with your GP

I suppose at this time the NHS don’t want to do any non-essential procedures* so you may have to live with it for the time being. I’d keep a very close eye on it, though, and at the first sign of trouble, I’d get it checked out.

*What we think are simple procedures aren’t necessarily so. I have an overgrown bone on the heel of my foot. It can be painful so I enquired about having it removed. I thought it would just involve an incision, shaving off the extra bone and sewing it up again. But nope! It’s far more complicated, involving plaster casts and a year’s recovery time. All a moot point anyway as no elective surgery is being done.

Snap, SueDonim - a bone spur. Aren't they awful. I had endless non-surgical treatment for mine and eventually it was Acupuncture which took away the pain permanently. But I still feel it's unsightly and affects me buying shoes which fit properly. I almost, but not quite, decided to go to a private Clinic in Sussex some years ago where it can be treated just as you outlined!! I also saw them do it on t.v. The only risk that I had ever heard of (well before then) was the closeness to the Achilles Tendon. I never had the courage but I would think it's all a lot less risky and a more streamlined procedure than 30 years ago.

Good luck with your GP appointment, farview - don't let them dismiss your concerns. You should at least then be on some sort of list for treatment !!

Grandmafrench yes, very painful! I wouldn’t bother if it was for cosmetic reasons but feeling like a red hot wire is being rammed into your heel is excruciating. ? The Dr did mention the possibility of Achilles’ tendon complication but he said he’d never seen it himself.

Grandmafrench & SueDonim, I'm really glad that you've posted about painful bone spurs, I've rarely seen anyone mention them before. I have them on the top of 2 toes on each foot and they "burn" like mad some days. I've another on my clavicle and, whilst that's not painful, it's unsightly. I enquired about having the ones on my toes abraded, some years ago, but I was told that it was out of the question. So acupuncture is a good suggestion that I hadn't considered.

I think you need to make further enquiries, farview but, having said that, we have two family members who had either pins or plates inserted which then worked their way out of their bodies, one a few months later, the other several years later.

DS had a bone spur removed several years ago, Chewbacca, general anaesthetic, time off school and crutches for quite a while followed by a lot of physiotherapy.

...think its because it's off a obviously dirty garden strimmer that worries me...realistically am sure it will be ok...but will speak to doc...nitegodbless

Chewbacca that sounds really painful - 2 toe spurs/osteophytes on each foot. How mean to turn down your request for surgical intervention. It would probably be dealt with as a Day Case (well, these days) and if we don't have proper use of our feet we're going to be a bit of a liability, aren't we. I can see that the NHS has limited funds but when reading about the money wasted on really frivolous stuff.....well, enough said.

I had Acupuncture, as I said, after my very kind Doctor said he could do no more, I had permanent pain when I walked and the same when I put up my feet and rested. My Mum used to outwalk me and I was not sleeping properly because of pain. I tried an Osteopath, tried Shiatsu, consulted a Podiatrist, had special insoles in my shoes. No use. Had only 2 sessions of Acupuncture. Not remotely painful, just a bit weird and a couple of the needles (fine little hairlike things) in my calf caused my leg to fly up off the couch on its own !! Could walk comfortably after the second session. The most important thing is that I have never had heel pain or problems walking since. That was 30 years ago.

It's worth having it done.

That's pretty impressive Grandmafrench and I'm most definitely going to see if my GP can refer me onto an acupuncturist once face to face appointments are back on the agenda. What with burning spurs on my feet and needing 2 TKR ops, I'll be like the bionic woman if when I get it all done!

farview do you have any pins, plates or joint replacements? If so this is a foreign body and not a clean one. Even if you are free from metal I would definitely nag my GP to get it removed.

In normal times my GP surgery runs a minor ops session once a week- does yours?

Oh dear farview. Sorry to hear this is still going on.

I hope your GP will either be able to reassure you that it’s ok to be left to work its way out, or is able to suggest something else.

I’m struggling to understand why it couldn’t have been removed under a local anaesthetic in the hospital.

Did they give you an anti-tetanus vaccination because they should have done if yours was not up- to-date?

I think you need to insist on seeing someone else about this.

ask for a referral to plastic surgeons.
keep a close watch on it.
any sign of swelling, redness, tracking, extra pain: go straight to A&E.
by the way, did it travel through clothing, or were you working with bare legs.

farview, make that call to the doctor this morning. I would not be happy to have a piece of plastic left in my leg.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Yes, you must get it removed. Sadly I have very little faith in District Nurses who seem to think they know everything. I would ask for a second opinion at your GP practice, as I don’t think you can go to A&E when you have had treatment already.