A microscopic threat to life and limb

It’s a case where real life is scarier than a horror movie!

And while necrotizing fasciitis might not be familiar to you, the more common name will be: flesh-eating bacteria.

It’s a condition that can be caused by a number of different varieties of microbes that trigger a life-threatening infection in the “fascia” of the muscles. That means that losing a foot or leg or arm might be the price you have to pay to stay alive.

But while this was once incredibly rare, we’re now hearing about it more and more, especially during the summer months, when hot weather sends scores of people flocking to the water.

That’s why it’s important not to neglect any kind of wound — no matter how minor – and be able to recognize the symptoms of this insidious infection as soon as possible.

Knowing what to look for

In Carol’s case, it began with a pimple-like sore on her buttock that she first noticed after returning home to Indianapolis from Florida.

As it got larger and extremely painful, she sought medical help, finally being diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, which her husband Richard thought she may have picked up from a hotel hot tub.

But despite emergency surgery and two weeks in intensive care, Carol died. While the “official” cause of her death has not yet been determined, Richard believes that his wife would still be alive if a correct diagnosis had been made sooner.

Debi was one of the lucky ones. She described how this flesh-eating monster began with a small lump on her stomach that moved down to her thigh in just three days. By that time, she was in so much pain that she had to call an ambulance to take her to the ER.

Rushed into emergency surgery, she had to have part of her thigh removed. Even so, she wasn’t completely out of the woods until two more operations and months of rehab.

“They told me that if I had waited just one more day, it could have killed me,” Debi recalled.

Then, there’s Aimee, the young Georgia woman who lost a leg, a foot, and both of her hands six years ago after gashing her leg on rocks in a creek. She went from being an active hiker to needing a motorized wheelchair to get around.

So, it’s obvious that this infection is nothing to make light of. But the big question is how do you know if you’re in danger? Can any cut or skin opening put you at risk?

For one thing, if you have an open wound or sore, resist the temptation to go into a swimming pool, hot tub, freshwater lake, or even the ocean until it looks well healed.

While the risk is higher in locales where water temperatures are warmer, such as taking a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s also occurred in more temperate locales such as Ocean City, Maryland, where a man died of such an infection after going into the ocean with a cut on his leg.

Also, if your immune system is weakened or suppressed, you need to be especially careful, as your risk level is higher.

Signs of exposure to one of these flesh-eating microbes include a cut or scrape that is unusually painful. Also, if the skin around it starts to swell and turn purple or develop blisters, you need to get to an emergency room ASAP, as time is of essence.

Remember, however, that the only way to tell for sure is to have further testing, such as an X-ray, CT scan, or taking a culture (which also will allow your doctor to choose the best antibiotic).

Dr. William Schaffner, an expert in infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, says that all wounds (even blisters!) can be a port of entry for the bacteria that causes necrotizing fasciitis, but the most dangerous types of injuries are puncture wounds that can “provide a track” right into the skin’s deeper layers.

And if the worst should happen, know that a treatment called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (a way to enhance oxygen in the blood that’s used to treat victims of carbon monoxide poisoning) has been found to boost the effectiveness of antibiotics and is an especially valuable treatment for flesh-eating bacteria.

“Husband says wife would be alive if doctors had diagnosed flesh-eating bacteria infection earlier” Kathleen Joyce, May 11, 2018, Fox News, foxnews.com