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Necrotizing fasciitis.
Otherwise known as flesh-eating bacteria.
Diagnosis
Flesh-eating disease can often be
diagnosed based on the way the skin
looks, along with pain in the area and a
fever. This diagnosis can be confirmed by a
variety of tests, such as an X ray or a
computed tomography (CT) scan. A CT
scan is a procedure by which X rays are
directed at a patient's body from various
angles and the set of photographs thus
obtained assembled by a computer
program. This procedure is sometimes
called a computerized axial tomography
(CAT) scan. Samples of tissue under the
skin can also be taken. Analysis of these
samples will tell if the flesh-eating bacteria
are present.
Signs and symptoms of flesh-eating
disease include:
• acute localized pain in the infected area;
• swollen, red, and hot skin;
• blistering;
• grating or crackling sensation felt when
touched;
• fever;
• fast heart beat;
• change in level of
consciousness; and
• low blood pressure.
It starts with pain and reddening at the
sight, followed by turning black. It might
itch a bit and bleedings, pus and drainage
may occur at the site of the infection. If
left untreated, death can occur in less than
a week. It can only occur if an open wound
if left untreated and it gets infected.
Treatment.
Immediately taken to the hospital and
treated with intravenous antibiotics. A
surgeon must be consulted immediately if
it is suspected or diagnosed. The type of
surgeon depends on the area. Patients
with this disease require admission to the
intensive care. Organ failure is common.
You could die in less than a week.
Sometimes oxygen
treatment, combined by pressure is given,
but it requires a special chamber which
most hospitals don't have.
A person can contract the
disease by having an
unhygienic open wound.
Over 70% of cases are recorded in patients
with one of the following clinical situations:
immunosuppression, diabetes,
alcoholism/drug abuse/smoking,
malignancies, and chronic systemic
diseases. It occasionally occurs in people
with an apparently normal general
condition.
The infection begins locally at a site of
trauma, which may be severe (such as the
result of surgery), minor, or even nonapparent. Patients usually complain of
intense pain that may seem excessive
given the external appearance of the skin.
With progression of the disease, often
within hours, tissue becomes swollen.
Diarrhea and vomiting are also common
symptoms.
In the early stages, signs of inflammation
may not be apparent if the bacteria are
deep within the tissue. If they are not
deep, signs of inflammation, such as
redness and swollen or hot skin, develop
very quickly. Skin color may progress to
violet, and blisters may form, with
subsequent necrosis (death) of the
subcutaneous tissues.
The patient will appear to be feverish and
very ill, and if not treated immediately, it
will lead to a certain death.