Author Topic: Father-of-one loses three limbs and half his face to flesh eating bacteria which started as a common cold just FOUR months ago  (Read 2701 times)

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Offline happyg

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Alex Lewis, 34, was forced to have both legs and his left arm amputated
The father-of-one spent a week in a coma after his major organs shut down

Doctors told his partner he had a three per cent chance of survival
He said his three-year-old son's reaction was the most excruciating pain

He now hopes to be able to walk again on prosthetic 'blade runner' legs

By Emma Glanfield


A young father-of-one who came down with a common cold in November has since lost three limbs and skin from his face after it developed into a horrific flesh-eating bug.

Alex Lewis, 34, had to have both of his legs and his left arm amputated after his feet, fingertips, arms, lips, nose and part of his ears turned black.

His major organs shut down and the keen golfer, who has a three-year-old boy called Sam, spent a week in a coma as the deadly bacteria wreaked havoc through his body



Alex Lewis, 34, initially thought he had a common cold but was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with a blood infection which developed into septicaemia and toxic shock syndrome. Doctors said he only had a three per cent chance of survival

The nightmare started only four months ago when Mr Lewis, from Stockbridge, Hampshire, started suffering from a common cold.

However, as his symptoms worsened, medics at Royal County Hospital, in Winchester, Hampshire, soon diagnosed him with blood infection Group A streptococcus - a normally harmless bacteria the body should filter out.

But devastatingly, in Mr Lewis's case it developed into septicaemia and toxic shock syndrome with doctors warning he had only a three per cent chance of survival.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Lewis recalled how he went to bed early one night in November feeling unwell, only to wake at 2am, passing blood in his urine.

His skin turned purple, his eyes dilated and he was rushed to hospital, where staff later told his partner Lucy Townsend, he wouldn't make it.

But he survived and hopes one day to walk again on prosthetic 'blade runner' legs.

Mr Lewis, from Stockbridge, Hampshire, said: ‘In a strange way it is the most amazing thing I have ever lived through.

‘I think nothing but good will come from it. I think you cope because you have to. If you don't, chances are you will probably die.

‘We have all got a resilience within us but it just doesn't get tested. As a family we have been tested in the last four months to the max.

But you have to make the best of the situation, realise what you have got, not what you haven't got.’

Miss Townsend, aged in her early 40s, who owns Michelin Pub of the Year The Greyhound on the Test, in their village, feared the worst after the doctor’s diagnosis.

She said: ‘All his internal organs broke down so he was straight on dialysis.

‘His kidneys were the first to stop. Then his lungs, his kidneys, his heart followed.

‘Everything was shutting down so when we got to intensive care they said “go and say goodbye”, basically.

‘They took me to a room and told me there was a three per cent chance of his survival.
They said if he makes it through the night he will be lucky. It was just so surreal.

‘Hours earlier he had been at home with Sam and now here he was fighting for his life.’

Gangrene set in while Mr Lewis was being treated at Royal County Hospital but against all odds he pulled through and was transferred to Salisbury District Hospital, Wiltshire, where he was told there was only one option to save his life - amputation.

During December and January, he underwent a serious of major operations where surgeons cut off his three limbs and even took muscle from his back to rebuild his dead right arm.

Mr Lewis said his three-year-old son Sam's reaction when he lost his lips was worse than the excruciating pain and the 14inch scar on his back from the operation.
He said: ‘He thought it was chocolate on my face and so when I lost my lips he refused to go near me.

‘He could get his head around the legs and the arm, but then last Saturday he came the closest he's come to me since it happened.



‘I put my arm stump out and touched him and I said, “Look at that” and he said, “No, get off”.


Surgeons cut off his three limbs and even took muscle from his back to rebuild his dead right arm in a series of gruelling operations

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Surgeons cut off his three limbs and even took muscle from his back to rebuild his dead right arm in a series of gruelling operations



‘But then I flexed my bicep even though it was agony and he just fell about laughing, he absolutely loved it.

Doctors now hope he may one day regain feeling in his right hand, after completing the work last month.

He is soon to be transferred to a specialist unit to be fitted with prosthetic limbs and undergo rehabilitation.

Mr Lewis said: ‘I've got no use of my fingers yet, but they hope in time the tendons and muscles will finally work their way through.

‘I may get the use of my thumb and forefinger but otherwise it may be another amputation.

‘The fact I have my hand is amazing.

‘I've learned along the way that all the quadruple amputees I've met through either war or illness say the one thing they'd kill for is a hand.

‘So I was very lucky that surgeons here could save it.’

The keen golfer is focusing on the future, including competing in amputee competitions and walking his labrador Holly again.

He said said: ‘It's a huge game changer.

‘My life will never be the same again, our family life will never be the same again but I feel lucky.

‘I'm lucky to be alive today.

Pictures and more of article at link:
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581574/Father-one-loses-three-limbs-half-face-flesh-eating-bacteria-started-common-cold-just-FOUR-months-ago.html#ixzz2w5NOkNDG
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Offline Rapunzel

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�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

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how did a "common cold" develop into a Group A streptococcus infection?

Offline happyg

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how did a "common cold" develop into a Group A streptococcus infection?

It's weird. I watched a show where the guy had a cut that wasn't deep enough to need stitches, but he lost his leg over it. The only way to stop the flesh eating disease is to cut it off.

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It's weird. I watched a show where the guy had a cut that wasn't deep enough to need stitches, but he lost his leg over it. The only way to stop the flesh eating disease is to cut it off.

How is it picked up?  Where does it come from?  It can't be something that's prevalent in the everyday general environment because people get shallow cuts all the time.  The one place I can think of where it could be present in the environment would be inside a hospital or some clinics.

Offline Rapunzel

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http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=61933

What Is a "Flesh-Eating" Bacterial Infection?
View the Adult Skin Problems Slideshow Pictures
Medical Author:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor:
Jay W. Marks, MD
Medical Editor:
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Read our main article on necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating bacteria and flesh-eating disease »

Media reports have popularized the term "flesh-eating bacteria" to refer to a type of very rare but serious bacterial infection known as necrotizing fasciitis. Necrotizing fasciitis is an infection that starts in the tissues just below the skin and spreads along the flat layers of tissue (known as fascia) that separate different layers of soft tissue, such as muscle and fat. This dangerous infection is most common in the arms, legs, and abdominal wall and is fatal in 30%-40% of cases.

Although necrotizing fasciitis may be caused by an infection with one or more than one bacterium, in most cases the term flesh-eating bacteria has been applied to describe infections caused by the bacterium known as Streptococcus pyogenes. The term flesh-eating has been used because the bacterial infection produces toxins that destroy tissues such as muscles, skin, and fat. Streptococcus pyogenes is a member of the group A streptococci, a group of bacteria that are commonly responsible for mild cases of sore throat (pharyngitis) and skin infections, as well as rare, severe illnesses such as toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis. Most infections with group A streptococci result in mild illness and may not even produce symptoms.

Sometimes, other bacteria or even a combination of different bacteria may produce necrotizing fasciitis. A case was reported in 2012 of a young woman who suffered a zip-lining accident on a river in West Georgia. She contracted an infection with the bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila, which produced a necrotizing infection that resulted in the loss of a leg and part of her abdomen.

The symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis include redness, swelling, and pain in the affected area. Blisters may be seen in the involved area of skin. Fever, nausea, vomiting, and other flulike symptoms are common. Another characteristic of necrotizing fasciitis is that the symptoms develop very rapidly, usually within 24 hours after a wound in the skin has allowed the bacteria to invade the tissues beneath the skin. The pain is described as being more severe than would be expected from the appearance of the wound. Late symptoms can include death (gangrene) of affected areas with scaling, discoloration, or peeling of the skin.

Many of the people who have developed necrotizing fasciitis have been in good health before developing the condition. People with chronic medical conditions (for example diabetes and cancer) or who have weakened immune systems are at an increased risk of developing necrotizing fasciitis. Recent wounds (including surgical incisions) and recent viral infections that cause a rash (such as chickenpox) also confer an increased risk.

Necrotizing fasciitis is treated with antibiotics, and early treatment is critical. Hospitalization, usually with treatment in the intensive-care unit (ICU), is required. Surgery to remove infected fluids and tissue may be necessary, along with medications to treat shock and other potential complications.

REFERENCE:
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline alicewonders

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My father-in-law died from a blood infection he got while he was in the hospital for a heart condition. 
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Thank you for that post Rapunzel, it's very helpful.

Quote
The symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis include redness, swelling, and pain in the affected area. Blisters may be seen in the involved area of skin. Fever, nausea, vomiting, and other flulike symptoms are common.

It sounds like he might have gotten that sort of an infection right off the bat, but that the symptoms were treated as a common cold.  That or perhaps he started off with a sore throat caused by this streptococcus and that somehow turned necrotic.

Is this the sort of thing that also goes by the term blood poisoning?

Offline Rapunzel

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Thank you for that post Rapunzel, it's very helpful.

It sounds like he might have gotten that sort of an infection right off the bat, but that the symptoms were treated as a common cold.  That or perhaps he started off with a sore throat caused by this streptococcus and that somehow turned necrotic.

Is this the sort of thing that also goes by the term blood poisoning?

Similar symptoms but blood poisoning is sepsis/septicemia.....     

http://www.medicinenet.com/sepsis/article.htm

Sepsis (Blood Poisoning)


Sepsis (blood poisoning) facts

    Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening medical condition that's associated with an infection; the infection's signs and symptoms must fulfill a minimum of two criteria of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).

    Blood poisoning is a nonmedical term that usually refers to the medical condition known as sepsis.

    The major SIRS criteria are an increased heart rate, fever, and increased respiratory rate; the young and the elderly may show other early signs and symptoms of sepsis sometimes before exhibiting SIRS criteria.

    The majority of cases of sepsis are due to bacterial infection.

    Sepsis is treated with hospitalization, intravenous antibiotics, and therapy to support any organ dysfunction.

    Prevention of infections and early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis are the best ways to prevent sepsis or reduce the problems sepsis causes.

    The prognosis depends on the severity of sepsis as well as the underlying health status of the patient; in general, the elderly have the worst prognosis.

What is blood poisoning?

Blood poisoning is a nonspecific term used mainly by nonmedical individuals that describes, in the broadest sense, any adverse medical condition(s) due to the presence of any toxic agent in the blood. Usually, the layperson using the term blood poisoning is referring to the medical condition(s) that arise when bacteria or their products (or both) reach the blood. Blood poisoning is not a medical term and does not appear in many medical dictionaries or scientific publications. However, when it is used, the correct medical term that most closely matches its intended meaning is sepsis. Many medical authors consider the terms blood poisoning and sepsis to be interchangeable, but the trend in the medical literature is to use the term sepsis.
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013

What is sepsis?

Sepsis is a potentially dangerous or life-threatening medical condition, found in association with a known or suspected infection (usually caused by but not limited to bacteria) whose signs and symptoms fulfill at least two of the following criteria of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS):

    elevated heart rate (tachycardia) >90 beats per minute at rest

    body temperature either high (>100.4 F or 38 C) or low (<96.8 F or 36 C)

    increased respiratory rate of >20 breaths per minute or a reduced PaCO2 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood level)

    abnormal white blood cell count (>12,000 cells/µL or <4,000 cells/µL or >10% bands [an immature type of white blood cell])

Patients who meet the above criteria have sepsis and are also termed septic. These criteria described above were proposed by several medical societies and may continue to be modified by other medical groups. For example, pediatric groups use the same four criteria listed above but modify the values for each to make the SIRS criteria for children. Other groups want to add criteria, but currently this is the most widely accepted definition.

Terms that are often used in place of sepsis are bacteremia, septicemia, and blood poisoning. However, bacteremia means the presence of bacteria in the blood; this can occur without any of the criteria listed above and should not be confused with sepsis. For example, you can brush your teeth and get bacteremia for a short time and have no SIRS criteria occur. Unfortunately, septicemia has had multiple definitions over time; it has been defined as bacteremia, blood poisoning, bacteremia leading to sepsis, sepsis, and other variations. Although septicemia appears frequently in the medical literature, a reader must be sure which definition the author is using. Some experts suggest the terms blood poisoning and septicemia not be used since they are poorly defined, but it is difficult for the medical community to disregard such terms that have been used for many decades.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013

Why are there so many diseases with "sepsis," "septic," "septicemia," or "blood poisoning" in their name?

Unfortunately, both medical personnel and laypeople have used these terms interchangeably and then linked them to either a particular organism (usually bacterial) that can cause sepsis, to a site in the body in which an infection originates that leads to sepsis, or to a clinical situation that leads to sepsis as described above. For example, meningococcal sepsis, meningococcal septicemia, septic meningitis, and meningococcal blood poisoning can refer to the same entity, an infection of the patient by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis that has spread from the meninges (brain membranes) to the bloodstream, resulting in the patient having at least two of the four criteria outlined above for sepsis. Common examples of a clinical situation used in the same way are puerperal sepsis, puerperal septicemia, puerperal or childbirth blood poisoning, and maternal septicemia postpartum. All four terms represent infection that occurs during the puerperium (time around the delivery of a baby) that leads to sepsis criteria for the patient. The infectious agent is not described when the body site or situation is linked to "sepsis" or the other terms. The following is a short partial list of both organism and organ system (and organ-related) terms that are seen in both the lay and medical literature:

    MRSA sepsis: sepsis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria

    VRE sepsis: sepsis caused by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species of bacteria

    urosepsis: sepsis originating from a urinary tract infection (UTI)

    wound sepsis: sepsis originating from an infection of a wound

    neonatal sepsis or septicemia: sepsis seen in newborns, usually in the first four weeks after birth; sepsis neonatorum means the same as neonatal sepsis

    septic abortion: an abortion due to infection with sepsis in the mother

There are many more examples of linking terms to sepsis (for example, AIDS, tattoo, spider bite). Occasionally, terms like hemorrhagic septicemia are used to describe a symptom (internal bleeding) that occurs with sepsis. The trend in medicine currently is to decrease the use of the terms septicemia and blood poisoning in favor of the terms sepsis or septic, because sepsis is defined most concisely.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013

What causes sepsis?
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The majority of cases of sepsis are due to bacterial infections, some are due to fungal infections, and very few are due to other causes of infection or agents that may cause SIRS. The infectious agents, usually bacteria, begin infecting almost any organ location or implanted device (for example, skin, lung, gastrointestinal tract, surgical site, intravenous catheter, etc.). The infecting agents or their toxins (or both) then spread directly or indirectly into the bloodstream. This allows them to spread to almost any other organ system. SIRS criteria result as the body tries to counteract the damage done by these blood-borne agents.

Common bacterial causes of sepsis are gram-negative bacilli (for example, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, E. corrodens, and Haemophilus influenzae in neonates). Other bacteria also causing sepsis are S. aureus, Streptococcus species, Enterococcus species and Neisseria; however, there are large numbers of bacterial genera that have been known to cause sepsis. Candida species are some of the most frequent fungi that cause sepsis. In general, a person with sepsis can be contagious, so precautions such as hand washing, sterile gloves, masks, and clothing coverage should be considered depending on the patient's infection source.

What are the risk factors for sepsis?

The following groups are at increased risk for sepsis:

    The very young and the elderly are at greatest risk

    People who are very ill due to an infectious agent

    People in an intensive-care unit

    People with weakened or compromised immune systems

    People with devices such as IV catheters, breathing tubes, or other devices

    People with extensive burns

    People with severe trauma

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013

What are the signs or symptoms of sepsis (blood poisoning)?
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The adult patient should have a proven or suspected source of an infection (usually bacterial) and have at least two of the following problems: an elevated heart rate (tachycardia), either a high (fever) or low temperature (hypothermia), rapid breathing (>20 breaths per minute or a reduced PaCO2 level), or a white blood cell count that is either high, low, or composed of >10% band (immature) cells. In most cases, it is fairly easy to ascertain heart rate (count pulse per minute), fever or hypothermia with a thermometer, and to count breaths per minute even at home. It may be more difficult to prove a source of infection, but if the person has symptoms of infection such as productive cough, dysuria, fevers, or a wound with pus, it is fairly easy to suspect that a person with an infection may have sepsis. However, determination of the white blood cell count and PaCO2 is usually done by a lab. In most cases, the definitive diagnosis of sepsis is made by a physician in conjunction with laboratory tests.

Elderly patients have similar symptoms to those stated for adults, but the first apparent symptoms are often confusion along with chills, weakness, possibly faster breathing, and a dusky skin appearance. Pediatric patients (infants, toddlers, and children) also may develop similar symptoms to those in adults, but the most common symptoms are fever and reduced urine output. Children may show signs of lethargy and decreased age-appropriate mental status. Neonatal sepsis (sepsis neonatorum) is suspected in neonates up to 28 days old if the rectal temperature is 100.4 F or higher. Other signs and symptoms for neonatal sepsis include fever in the mother at time of delivery, cloudy or smelly amniotic fluid, abnormal vital signs, seizures, and projectile vomiting.

Some authors consider red lines or red streaks on the skin to be signs of sepsis. However, these streaks are due to local inflammatory changes in either local blood vessels or lymphatic vessels (lymphangitis). The red streaks or lines are worrisome as they usually indicate a spreading infection that can result in sepsis.

Septic shock is a condition in which overwhelming infection causes a dangerous drop in systolic blood pressure (hypotension). Additional symptoms that may accompany the low blood pressure may include cool and pale extremities, dizziness or lightheadedness, low or absent urine output, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, behavioral changes, and low or high body temperature.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013

How is sepsis diagnosed?

Clinically, the patient needs to fit at least two of the SIRS criteria listed above and have a suspected or proven infection. This is a screening tool to help physicians presumptively diagnose sepsis early in the disease process. Definitive diagnosis depends on a positive blood culture for an infectious agent and at least two of the SIRS criteria. However, two subsets of the four criteria depend on lab analysis: white blood cell examinations and PaCO2. These subset criteria, like blood cultures, are measured in clinical laboratories. Researchers are currently investigating other blood tests to diagnose early sepsis.

There are other diagnoses that indicate the severity of the patient's sepsis. Severe sepsis is diagnosed when the septic patient has organ dysfunction (for example, low or no urine flow, altered mental status). Severe sepsis can also include sepsis-induced hypotension (also termed septic shock) when the patient's blood pressure falls.

What is the treatment for sepsis?
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In almost every case of sepsis, patients need to be hospitalized, treated with appropriate intravenous antibiotics, and given therapy to support any organ dysfunction. Sepsis can quickly cause organ damage and death; therapy should not be delayed as statistics suggest as high as a 7% mortality increase per hour if antibiotics are delayed in severe sepsis. Most cases of sepsis are treated in an intensive-care unit (ICU) of the hospital.

Appropriate antibiotics to treat sepsis are combinations of two or three antibiotics given at the same time; most combinations usually include vancomycin to treat many MRSA infections. However, once the infecting organism is isolated, labs can determine which antibiotics are most effective against the organisms, and those antibiotics should be used to treat the patient. In addition to antibiotics, two other major therapeutic interventions, organ-system support and surgery, may be needed. First, if an organ system needs support, the intensive-care unit can often provide it (for example, intubation to support lung function or dialysis to support kidney function). Secondly, surgery may be needed to drain or remove the source of infection. Amputation of extremities has been done to save some patients' lives.

A recent research report may alter a common treatment for septic shock. Because of the low blood pressure seen with septic shock, IV fluid boluses have been used to support the patient's blood pressure. However, a 2011 study in over 3,000 children in Africa with impaired perfusion (shock) showed that the fluid bolus treatments actually increased mortality (death rate) in the children. This surprising result has raised questions about how clinicians can best manage septic shock in the future. For example, in 2004, guidelines were published that "bundled" therapeutic methods (for example, blood cultures, antibiotic therapy, and fluid therapy) to treat sepsis in an initial six-hour period that included fluid boluses. This septic treatment bundle of techniques may need revision or reexamination.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013

What is the prognosis (outcome) with sepsis?

The prognosis of patients with sepsis is related to the severity or stage of sepsis as well as to the underlying health status of the patient. For example, patients with sepsis and no ongoing sign of organ failure at the time of diagnosis have about a 15%-30% chance of death. Patients with severe sepsis or septic shock have a mortality (death) rate of about 40%-60%, with the elderly having the highest death rates. Newborns and pediatric patients with sepsis have about a 9%-36% mortality rate. Investigators have developed a scoring system (MEDS score) based on the patient's symptoms to estimate prognosis.

What are the complications of sepsis?

There are a large number of complications that may occur with sepsis. The complications are related to the type of initial infection (for example, in lung infection [pneumonia] with sepsis, a potential complication could be a need for respiratory support) and the severity of sepsis (for example, septic shock related to a limb infection that could require limb amputation). Consequently, each patient is likely to have the potential for complications related to the source of sepsis; in general, the complications are due to organ dysfunction, damage, or loss. Death is usually due to multiorgan dysfunction (liver, kidney, or lung failure).

Physicians agree that the faster the patient with sepsis is diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis and fewer complications, if any, for the patient.

How can sepsis (blood poisoning) be prevented?

Risk factors that lead to sepsis can be reduced by many methods. Perhaps the most important way to reduce the chance for sepsis is to first prevent any infections. Vaccines, good hygiene, hand washing, and avoiding sources of infection are excellent preventive methods. If infection occurs, immediate treatment of any infection before it has a chance to spread into the blood is likely to prevent sepsis. This is especially important in patients that are at greater risk for infection such as those who have suppressed immune systems, those with cancer, people with diabetes, or elderly patients.

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/11/2013


�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Oceander

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a little overwhelming, but I do appreciate it.

In plain English - 'cause I'm just not that good with medical lingo - what are the basic signs a lame-o like me should watch for that would/should tell me "get thee to a clinic immediately, fool"?

(sorry if I seem a little paranoid here, I am 'cause I get a lot of little nicks and stuff and I'd rather not overlook something).

Offline Rapunzel

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a little overwhelming, but I do appreciate it.

In plain English - 'cause I'm just not that good with medical lingo - what are the basic signs a lame-o like me should watch for that would/should tell me "get thee to a clinic immediately, fool"?

(sorry if I seem a little paranoid here, I am 'cause I get a lot of little nicks and stuff and I'd rather not overlook something).

Well for example MRSA - which can come on suddenly - can look really innocuous on the surface - as in a small pimple, but is normally very painful and when lanced it will spew nasty stuff...... the only hope with MRSA is to be hospitalized and administered IV of one of three antibiotics supposedly work against it...

If you have a wound and it gets red and the red starts to spread and if in addition you feel feverish, develop a sore throat, etc... get thee to the ER...... 

If you are a person who gets cut on rose thorns or rusty wire, etc... and you haven't had one in quite a while  you need a tetanus shot.

You know they now make saline in a spray can anyone can buy at the drug store, a good idea to have saline in the cupboard to clean out cuts and wounds and to help in wound healing.



BTW they also make a saline nasal spray - which is good for colds, and allergies.....

The best defense against all of this is a strong immune system. 
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline alicewonders

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Well for example MRSA - which can come on suddenly - can look really innocuous on the surface - as in a small pimple, but is normally very painful and when lanced it will spew nasty stuff...... the only hope with MRSA is to be hospitalized and administered IV of one of three antibiotics supposedly work against it...

If you have a wound and it gets red and the red starts to spread and if in addition you feel feverish, develop a sore throat, etc... get thee to the ER...... 

If you are a person who gets cut on rose thorns or rusty wire, etc... and you haven't had one in quite a while  you need a tetanus shot.

You know they now make saline in a spray can anyone can buy at the drug store, a good idea to have saline in the cupboard to clean out cuts and wounds and to help in wound healing.



BTW they also make a saline nasal spray - which is good for colds, and allergies.....

The best defense against all of this is a strong immune system.

Thanks Rap.  My brother got MRSA from a spider bite on his back.  A spider bit me on  the foot a couple of years ago, it itched intensely and then spread into a nasty large blob of red blisters.  It scared me so I saw a doctor and she immediately put me on antibiotics.  She said the bad thing about spider bites is that you can get MRSA from them. 
Don't tread on me.   8888madkitty

We told you Trump would win - bigly!

Oceander

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Well for example MRSA - which can come on suddenly - can look really innocuous on the surface - as in a small pimple, but is normally very painful and when lanced it will spew nasty stuff...... the only hope with MRSA is to be hospitalized and administered IV of one of three antibiotics supposedly work against it...

If you have a wound and it gets red and the red starts to spread and if in addition you feel feverish, develop a sore throat, etc... get thee to the ER...... 

If you are a person who gets cut on rose thorns or rusty wire, etc... and you haven't had one in quite a while  you need a tetanus shot.

You know they now make saline in a spray can anyone can buy at the drug store, a good idea to have saline in the cupboard to clean out cuts and wounds and to help in wound healing.



BTW they also make a saline nasal spray - which is good for colds, and allergies.....

The best defense against all of this is a strong immune system. 

I get hang nails that get infected every so often.  I've always squeezed them out, no matter how painful - sometimes lancing them first - used generous amounts of rubbing alcohol to clean them, then used antibiotic ointment and a bandaid to cover them up.  I use either soap and water or rubbing alcohol to clean up little cuts and nicks as well.


Offline katzenjammer

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One of the most fascinating things about that article is the way certain words/phrases are repeated over and over throughout.  It is almost as if it was written for a young child just learning how to read, as a way to help with basic reading comprehension.  I couldn't help but notice it.

Offline Rapunzel

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I get hang nails that get infected every so often.  I've always squeezed them out, no matter how painful - sometimes lancing them first - used generous amounts of rubbing alcohol to clean them, then used antibiotic ointment and a bandaid to cover them up.  I use either soap and water or rubbing alcohol to clean up little cuts and nicks as well.

You might want to consider having a manicure every couple of weeks - seriously, yes men have manicures and pedicures all the time...  I have one big toe with a nail that tries to ingrow and the girl who does my pedicures is absolutely amazing at removing them - painful at times, but I grit it out and it's so much better than the alternative.    But a good nail person would get rid of your hangnails in no time. 
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Oceander

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You might want to consider having a manicure every couple of weeks - seriously, yes men have manicures and pedicures all the time...  I have one big toe with a nail that tries to ingrow and the girl who does my pedicures is absolutely amazing at removing them - painful at times, but I grit it out and it's so much better than the alternative.    But a good nail person would get rid of your hangnails in no time. 

It's mostly just that I get a little bit of skin on the side of the finger come loose and rather than wait 'til I can clip it properly I pull on it (or worse yet, bite on it) and often end up tearing the skin and bringing blood up to the surface.

Offline EC

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You might want to consider having a manicure every couple of weeks - seriously, yes men have manicures and pedicures all the time...  I have one big toe with a nail that tries to ingrow and the girl who does my pedicures is absolutely amazing at removing them - painful at times, but I grit it out and it's so much better than the alternative.    But a good nail person would get rid of your hangnails in no time.

Seconded. Give it a try. It does feel a bit odd the first couple of times someone does it for you, but it does work. The manicurist doesn't just cut the nail - a good one will spend a few sessions reshaping it until it doesn't grow in any more.

I get a pedicure once every three weeks - my toenails tend to grow in and are made of something hard enough to be of interest to NASA!  :laugh: Sure, the salon I go to find it amusing - the clients especially - but it's worth the jokes. No different than going to get your hair cut.
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