As I started reading more and more about cellulitis, I came across some write-ups that were really scary and seemed to link cellulitis and death. Now I had learnt that cellulitis is simply a bacterial infection but then for some one to link cellulitis and death seemed far fetched at first. I am a pretty brave person to begin with; I have taken some serious risks in life and in business dealing with potentially dangerous situations from a technical standpoint, but can a little bacterial infection bring down a person to death?
Well, if you get cellulitis infection, better take it seriously. Take all of the precautions that your doctor recommends. Take the medication he gives you, read the dosage instructions and follow them thoroughly. This is not something you want to play with.
If the bacterial infection is not immediately attended to and starts to spread to your blood stream or lymph nodes, you could potentially die from cellulitis. If the infection spreads to your brain, it can cause meningitis. Necrotizing bacterial infection, which is commonly called flesh eating bacteria is a medical emergency that is an infection in the deep layers of the skin. If the bacteria are sufficiently potent and virulent, it can cause sepsis and start affecting the internal organs and thereby cause potential death. Organ failure and sepsis are to be avoided at all possible costs.
When I asked my doctor if I was dying, he said No, absolutely not. He said that I had detected it very early on and was doing all the right things and so I was going to be hale and healthy in no time at all. Good, I told him. I have a lot of living to do and I really need to see all of the wonders of humanity for years to come.
Cellulitis and death
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My Mother died aged 69 due to complications arrising from cellulitis. She had a heart condition and severe rheumatoid arthritis. The medication and her medical conditions certainly didn't help, but when the symptoms of infection appeared and she became ill she refused to go to hospital, until 24 hours later, by which time she was in agony and the site of the infection was brifht red, shiney and swollen. My Mother was in hospital for five weeks and although the infection had gone she was still very ill and receiving blood transfusions. We were called to the hospital in the middle of the night as all her bodsystems were starting to fail and the staff did not know why. She died in the early hours of the morning and was semi concious. This was a huge shock as it was not expected that she would die, eventhough she had been very ill. A post motem was carried out by the hospital where it was found that because of her heart condition the infection had weakened her heart so much that she had died of heart failure. Allthough my Mother had raised risk factors, there was no noticable breaks in her skin, but a car door had accidentally slammed on her leg the day before any symptoms had occured and she had had replacement knee surgery a few years previously (increasing risk) and treatment had been delayed due to my Mothers refusal to go to hospital. We had telephoned the Doctor who on hearing the severity of her symptoms had said that she needed to go to hospital, but my Mother was affraid of hospitals choosing to avoid them at all costs and woul not understand just how serious s skin infection can be if untreated and symptons do not improve, with or without treatment. I feel the delay in treatment may well have caused her death and the hospital not paying enough attention to her pre existing medical conditions.
ReplyDeleteI have just had a text from my friend who is undergoing surgical treatment from accute cellulitis today and wanted to warn everyone to look after their skin and keep it healthy because it is an organ of the body which is so often taken for granted.