Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection that causes tissue death within hours and has a high mortality rate. Symptoms include a painful red bump, flu-like symptoms, and skin discoloration. Treatment involves surgical removal of infected tissue and antibiotics. Prevention includes good hygiene and disinfecting cuts and scrapes.
Necrotizing fasciitis, commonly known as flesh-eating disease, is a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection of the skin and underlying soft tissue. It is an infection with a rapidly progressing course and a high mortality rate. Surgical removal of infected tissue is often required, and even with antibiotic treatment, amputation may still be required. Mortality rates range from 25% to 73% in the published scientific literature.
Symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis initially present as a small, red bump on the skin that is more painful than a wound its size. The pain may not be localized to the site of infection. It is accompanied by severe flu-like symptoms including high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness and lack of strength. Tissue death begins to occur within hours, with clear signs of inflammation if the infection is not located deep within the tissue. If the infection is allowed to progress untreated, massive tissue death will occur within a few days. Continued infection may manifest as white, blue, or purple skin discoloration accompanied by peeling around the wound, or as deep, black, oozing blisters. At this point the patient may go into toxic shock and lose consciousness.
Necrotizing fasciitis can be caused by a variety of bacteria. Infections can involve one or more species of bacteria at the same site. Two of the species are commonly found in hospitals: Streptococcus pyogenes and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Symptoms are caused by toxins released by infecting bacteria, which activate the immune system so powerfully that it wreaks mass destruction on the tissues around the toxin. As the toxin circulates through the blood, attacks follow.
The prescribed treatment for necrotizing fasciitis, once the infection has been diagnosed as such, is rapid and radical surgical removal of any infected tissue combined with broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment, a procedure in which the patient is placed in a chamber that delivers 100% oxygen to infected tissue under high pressure, may be helpful in patients who have been diagnosed with an infection caused by bacteria that avoid infection. ‘oxygen. While the treatments may seem aggressive, they actually reflect the inability of modern medicine to control this vicious form of infection. Without treatment, death is inevitable.
Even when treatments are successful and the infection is completely removed, the patient will often leave the hospital with scars or deformities. Those who have had their skin or tissue removed will require skin grafts and need to take extra care to prevent further infection while new skin is growing. Amputee must undergo extensive physiotherapy and learn to perform their daily tasks without losing the limb.
While necrotizing fasciitis is a terrible disease, it is relatively rare, with only about 600 cases diagnosed in the United States in 1999. Its symptoms are similar to other less serious diseases, and as a result, necrotizing fasciitis is often misdiagnosed. Since time is of the essence in minimizing the harm inflicted on the patient, it is important that anyone presenting with the first combined symptoms of this disease insists that they be ruled out first. Preventive measures include keeping the skin intact, practicing good hygiene, washing your hands often with soap, and disinfecting any cuts or scrapes. Because many cases of this disease are related to hospital visits, increased vigilance should be maintained during and after a hospital visit.
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