Patient story: „I couldn’t have imagined at the beginning that the positive effect of the plasma would go so far.“
At the age of 21, Uschi – now 60 – had a serious accident which she only just survived. Her lower left leg was severed 99% of the way below the knee and then dramatically reattached. Many operations were necessary. A miracle for Uschi. And yet she was left with restrictions that will remain with her for the rest of her life. These include permanently wearing a shoe lift and a compression stocking as well as regular visits to a manual lymph drainage centre. Unfortunately, there are also frequent, poorly healing wounds on the operated leg due to the damaged lymphatic system after the operation.
The mother of two grown-up children lives in the countryside with her husband and two cats, eats a vegan diet and has always abstained from alcohol and nicotine. She is particularly passionate about her large, largely wild and natural garden. She loves nature, is enthusiastic about handicrafts and is a passionate motorbike rider. All in all, Uschi is an optimistic, happy woman.
But there are moments that cloud her everyday life. Whenever the smallest of injuries tear open the thin skin of the scar tissue, inflammation develops or even germs take hold. „I remember – to name just one example – the bite of a blackfly,“ reports Uschi. „The particularly thin skin on my leg was probably a particularly attractive, easily penetrable victim for them. Within a very short space of time, this area developed into a wound that the doctor treating me at the time thought had been bitten by a sharp dog. I can’t believe what that looked like! The fact that this deep flesh wound also turned blue really scared me!“ It took more than six months before the wound was halfway closed again.
There were countless of these serious, painful wounds, some of which lasted for several years and restricted Uschi’s quality of life enormously. Fear and shame, especially in public, are enormous. There is always the worry that the wound will become soaked, that other people might discover the wound or that there will be no opportunity to change the dressing. Uschi explains: „You somehow feel dirty. I was no stranger to gloomy thoughts at times like this. The idea of being an even greater burden on your family and husband makes death seem very friendly at some point! And I know that many people who have to endure such wounds feel the same way.“
In addition, there are constant antibiotic treatments with the fear that even antibiotics will no longer be effective at some point. Various types of bandages, gels and other dressings have been tried on her to help her wounds heal. In addition to all the wound problems, she also has dry, flaky and cracked skin, for which she has been recommended everything from simple skin care creams to permanent cortisone ointment.
How PlasmaDerm helped Uschi
A small fold of skin, approx. 2 cm long, caused by scar tissue has been Uschi’s problem area for years. For years, it has repeatedly been an entry point for bacteria. Until now, the wound could only be treated sterilely, but not closed. Uschi’s attention was drawn to PlasmaDerm by an article in a medical journal. Uschi has now been using PlasmaDerm for several months. „I couldn’t have imagined at the beginning that the positive effect of the plasma would go so far,“ says Uschi. The wound is now closed and Uschi is also treating the surrounding tissue with PlasmaDerm so that the thin scarred skin on her leg is no longer dry and blue in colour. Uschi does not need any more creams at the moment, the skin is a pleasant pink colour and feels better. Uschi will always be careful not to injure herself or get any wounds. „But if I do, I can now make sure it doesn’t get that bad in the first place.“ I hope that cold plasma will become part of the wound treatments that you can get from your doctor or that you can get prescribed by your doctor. It would save so much pain, worry and anxiety.“
The 4 most important criteria that prompted Uschi to test and then purchase the plasma device: Prevention, self-help, control and support.
PlasmaDerm therapy is offered in clinics, doctors‘ surgeries and wound centres. The therapy is prescribed by your doctor. As an innovative product, PlasmaDerm is not yet in general use.
reimbursement by health insurance companies. However, PlasmaDerm therapy can be reimbursed by statutory and private health insurers and employers‘ liability insurance associations after careful examination in individual cases. Wound patients then receive a PlasmaDerm loan device and the necessary consumables for the therapy period of two months. Of course, PlasmaDerm treatment can be carried out at any time at the patient’s own expense, as in the case of Uschi .
Uschi would like to inform other sufferers and advises them to share their experiences, talk about it and be patient, but also to pursue new impulses.
[Editor’s note: @Uschi, thank you so much for your open, trusting feedback and the courage and desire to publish your story to make others aware of the issue].
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