I have a client who has been telling me for over a year that while she was incarcerated on a minor offense she contracted a staph infection. Due to her having some mental impairments, none of the physicians in our small town will test her. She has described large pockets of infectious material all over her body and even cut one open to see if anything came out. One MD told her the pockets were fat globules. Having been a nurse for over 22 years, I find that to be a substandard answer, however, NOT being an MD, I can't test her for staph. Due to having no money or insurance, no MD will test her, they will only treat her for "life-threatening" conditions such as a heart attack. My thought is that if she's had a staph infection for over a year without treatment, that IS life-threatening.
Any thoughts on what I should tell her to look for or explain to an MD to have her blood tested?
Any help is appreciated.