3 year old wound refuses to heal

Almost 4  years ago  I wennt to my doctor because somethinng uunder my skin was reallyy sore, making it differcult to wear shoes. my doctor sent me off with a prescription for a tube of something. After a short while it came to the surface and quickly became an ulcer about 4" x 4" and it is incredibley painful.
I've had all sorts of treatment but nothing has helped. Now I hace an even worse one on the shin of my other leg where the skin has actually disolved. When the dressing was removed, the skin had become like a gunge and the odour is really offensive. I have just completed my 7th course of antibiotic, each stronger than the previous.
The pain is so bad, it is impossible to sleep at night.
My legs from just below the knee, has become a very dark brown colouur and the skin is constantly peelinng off, in spite of  the fact that I moisturise iit twice a dayy.

PLEASE EXCUSE THE EXTRA LETTERS, IT'S THE KEYBOARD AND NOT MY SPELLING (THANKS).

[e056]

shingles?  MRSA? Diabetes?  If your legs are turning dark and smell, then you are losing the circulation

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Please consult a wound clinic immediately. I’ll come straight to the point. Generally such wounds that do not heal are called non-healing ulcers in medical term. They could be non healing due to underlying infection, low supply of oxygen to the wound that is reducing the healing process, underlying diabetes, or due to underlying dermatitis. Wounds heal slower in smokers or alcoholics who have been drinking for a long time. So these have to be ruled out.
Also diabetes leads peripheral neuropathy, atherosclerosis etc which make wound healing troublesome.You need a culture sensitivity of wound scraping to know what antibiotics will suit the infection. If there is underlying dermatitis, then this needs to be taken care of. If there is severe atherosclerosis preventing blood supply to wound, then this needs to be diagnosed by angiograms. It is better to get this treated at a wound clinic. Wound debridement (cleaning of wound, removing slough, etc) would be required proper dressing at a wound clinic.
Please consult your PCP for primary examination followed by proper referral.
Take care!

[django47]

Dear Sir,
Thank  you for your reply which is very informative. Since I posted on this forum, I had a last minute appointment at hospital.
I know that everythiing you say is absolutely correct, I have lived with the 'ulcer' on my left ankle for nearly 4 years and the pain is unrelenting.  But now I have developed an open wound on my right shin and it is massive. Not many weeks ago I knocked it on step ladder, it broke the skin but it was so small I didn't give it a second thought, just a minute scuff that didn't even bleed. After a short time maybe I knocked it again(not sure) but it was showing blood and was slightly bigger so I put on a dressing, Mepore 7x8cmwhich I had in the medicine cabinet.The idea was to keep the wound clean. But when I decided to channge the dressing, all the skin which was covered up had sort of dissolved into a horrible gunge that came away when I cleaned the wound. I didn't  use any pressure, too painful.Just squeezed out a sponge and let the running water rinse away the dead skin etc.
Thank god my new doctor/surgeon has put me on the list for a procedure which I'm sure your familiar with, VNUS CLOSURE. I know it will not heal the wounds, but it will help to repair the circulation so that the wounds receive the benefits of natures healing process.Which  at the moment is not working due to 'Venous reflux disease' (very bad circulation).. If you want to know more, go to, www.vnus.co.uk. It will explain everything in a language you will understand.
By the way, I am a non smoker and have not touched alcahol (alcohol) for over 20 years.
Thank you  very much for your interest, for years I have been searching for a cure, or if anyone has heard of one. I've been clutching at straws for ages now.