FLESH EATING BACTERIA

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Do you remember retro candies like Wax Lips, Ice Cube Chocolates, Bonomo's Turkish Taffy, Candy Cigarettes, Candy Buttons on paper tape, Wax Syrup Bottles, Sky Bars, Zagnut, Necco Wafers, Teaberry Gum or Chick-o-Sticks?

Symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis include fever,
severe pain, and a red painful swelling of the infected
area which spreads quickly (up to 3 cm an hour).
Death can occur in 12 to 24 hours. Persons with
"flesh-eating disease" usually have a lot of pain in the
infected area-they know something is wrong.

The general public remains very safe from this
disease. Although reports in the news have increased
our awareness of this condition, the number of
persons with the disease has not changed over the
last several years. Necrotizing fasciitis caused by
group A strep occurs in about three to seven persons
per 1,000,000 people per year.

Antibiotics are an important part of the treatment of
necrotizing fasciitis. However, since necrotizing
fasciitis results in a loss of blood supply to, and death
of the tissue and muscle in the affected area of the
body, and since the blood takes antibiotics to the
infected site, the effectiveness of antibiotics is
limited. Therefore, the infected and dead tissue must
be removed by surgery or it will affect the person's
ability to recover.

Bill was at a meeting in Missouri City, Texas on April the 29th when something felt weird on his forearm. He stood up from a cloth sofa and went to the restroom to look at his arm. It had a tiny spot that hurt. There was no skin opening at all. That was mid morning and by a little after noon, it was hurting really bad and was a small spot like a bump or bruise. He called me and told me he was miserable and I instructed him to stop at the emergency room on the way home. He stopped at the C. S. Med, and the doctor told him it did not look like a spider bite, gave him antibiotics and sent him away. He bought ice for the way home to put his arm on. Within 2 hours of onset, he was having fever and chills and a lot of pain. The redness was spreading and the bruise look seemed to grow as well.

For the next two days, he lay in bed on ice and was very sick. I finally starting researching staff infections and was really scared and when his fever went to 101, I took him back to the Med. This time they kept him for 12 days. He lost 3 pints of blood from hemolosis in one day and during that time had 5 surgeries in an 8 day period cutting away subcutaneous tissue. The day we were put in I went to talk to a surgeon to ask him to come look. He came over and did his first surgery that night. Bills arm did not bleed when he opened him up. They did take blood cultures but because he had been on antibiotics for two days, nothing would grow, so identifying the bacteria was impossible by then. He was on some of the most potent antibiotics from that point on. An emergency room should always be on the safe side and take blood. I wish they had. In the beginning Bill had developed a horrible rash that took over his whole body which made him miserable. The doctor blamed it on the original antibiotics but later came to think it was a strep infection with toxic shock syndrome which is the bacteria getting into the blood stream. His organs were being affected in negative ways. It was a very scary time and the minimum could have been an arm loss. The wound vac went home with us but was not healing as quickly as it should have so it was removed for skin grafts with the skin from his thigh, very painful but worked. Lots of therapy since and now his tennis elbow has come back with a vengeance. Months leading up to this he had been on prednisone and had two injections in that arm. Now we know that all of that will lower your immune system. We are now scared of injections and are looking at surgery on the elbow. It has been a weird year and I am thankful to the Lord for all of the blessings He has given us and shown us though all of this. I have cut out a lot of details but I hope our story will help someone.
Copyright © 1997-2003 National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation (NNFF)
All Rights Reserved.

On November 2, 2007, he woke up with some minor stiffness in his neck, a headache and a general ill feeling. We took his temperature but it was only 100.5 which is not considered a fever. He took some acetaminophen and went back to ed while the rest of us began preparations fro the family dinner. Around noon he felt up to joining us and tried to eat a little something. A short time later the vomiting started and then the diarrhea both left him weal, so he went back to bed. Later that evening we woke him up and took his temperature again, but still no fever. At this point we decided to move him from his room to the living room where we could keep an closer watch on his condition. It took us about 30 minutes to get him into the living room because he was so tired and kept trying to go back to sleep. When he was finally situated we noticed some swelling on the right side of the neck and an area of approximately 4 inches diameter that was red. Jonathan told us that he had been given hickies there by one of the girls he was with the night before. However, wasn't the red you get from a normal hickie at all.

Jonathan and I arrived at the hospital around 8:15 pm. The triage nurse thought he had meningitis so they gave us a mask and took us back to the Pediatric area for testing and treatment. Once there an IV was started for Jonathan, they had him remove his shirt to put on a gown and it was then we saw the red area had spread down the neck to his clavicle area on the right and partially around the throat. The Doctor marked this area around 9:30 pm (the photo was taken at 11:50 pm). They then advised that it did not appear to be meningitis but something else. They did find minor lacerations on the right side of his neck. It was 10:03 pm when we noticed a drop in his blood pressure. It wasn't bad but it did cause some concern. Since he was asleep they thought that may have been the cause so the nurse took his pressure again with him awake and it was back within normal range. While waiting, his nurse started clemdomicine and drew blood for blood cultures so I knew it would be some time before we were going home. so, I text messaged my husband the updates and let him know what was happening. At 10:08 pm my son advised it was getting hard for him to swallow and it was causing him to cough. I contacted the nurse. At this point they ordered a CT scan to check his airway and to see how the swelling was effecting his breathing. At 10:38 pm the redness had escaped the original line on his chest and had advanced up his right cheek. They started a second antibiotic. It was 11:42 pm when his pulse took a dip to 91/51 and his pulse went up to 118 beats per minute. His nurse consulted with me and we decided that he was looking worse than when he came into the ER. At this point I began taking photos with my camera phone so we could monitor the progression and his coloring. At 11:46 pm the Doctors began an EKG strip on him and advised that we were not going to wait for a transporter to take Jonathan to the CT scan but that his nurse would take him and stay with him until Jonathan returned to the ER.

At 11:56 pm I could hear the nurse telling the radiologist that Jonathan was deteriorating quickly even with the two antibiotics already administered. It was 12:03 am when they began recessitation of my son....At 1:25 am they had him back but his blood pressure was down to 73/40 and he was still not stable. They continued pushing IV fluids into him and started dopamine to get the blood pressure up. By 1:57 am he had received an additional 7,000 cc of IV fluid, at 1:17 am they were inserting an airway to allow him to breath and he had been given a center line in his right thigh which had 3 ports which were all full of IV medications and fluid lines. At 2:15 am he was stable enough to take back to the CT scan to verify the placement of the respirator and airway prior to being moved to the PICU. He was in the OR by 5:30 am on 11/23/007 where they found the necrotizing fasciitious in a pocket next to the vena cava. They removed some tissue, a vein, and some nerves as well as the surface skin. This was the first of his surgeries.

He spent 5 days in the PICU and by the 4th day he had completed 3 surgeries, had maintained his own blood pressure and contracted a secondary infection site, which was treated with injections of antibiotics directly into the infected area. The diagnosis was Staph group "B" +1, Strep group "B" +4 and type 1 Necrotizing Fasciitious.

I have included the photos from the initial photo taken at 11:50 pm on 11/22/2007, the wound after the second surgery, the wound after the 3rd surgery and the final wound photo after closure. He did not need graphs however they did have to pull the skin so tight on the neck area that he cannot hold his head straight. They tell me that in time it will ease and he will look more natural. His wounds aren't a grievous as some of the others you have listed here, however if he had not gotten prompt medical attention he would not have survived the septic shock or the NF. He was lucky, it is 23 stitches in the neck and 5 in the chest. It could have been so much more....

Also, just an update, last night we were back in the ER to have the site drained again and we are currently under an "open wound" treatment where the surgical site is being packed. No return of the NF and no additional damage it was just there was fluid and puss trapped inside the surgical area. We live in Fair Oaks, CA and unlike some of the stories I have read on your site, his NF was detected early and the hospital staff at UC Davis hospital were superb in their and treatment. Last night they brought all of the original team together to work on this wound even though we were in the ER not a regular clinic setting. Copyright © 1997-2003 National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation (NNFF)
All Rights Reserved.

A few years back, I contracted NF, as a tummy tuck, and it went extremely bad. I finally can look at pictures of myself from then. I want to share them with you. I would like to help anyone that I can. A lot of people do not know about people surviving this horrible bacteria. Or about the medical options available. My options were skin graphs or severe disfigurement, which of course I have, but not as bad as it could have been.
I was very lucky.

It was a nightmare dealing with the doctor that did this to me. I say that because of the way he treated me. He was cruel and blamed me for this happening. He did not want me to go to the E.R. to be helped and my Husband had to go to his office and make him come to the hospital. The hospital and staff were very good to me the week I was there. But the doctor that did this to me had a psychiatrist come in my room and watch me daily. Taking notes every time I would moan or cry. Like something was wrong with me mentally. This doctor came with the highest recommendations.

As I was told I would die, I wanted to be home with my two children and wonderful Husband. As I was leaving the hospital, the cleaning ladies were very mean and rude to me. Cussing me as I slowly left the hospital. That is a long story and something I don't want to deal with anymore.

Thank God it has been over three years now, and I have let go of all the anger I had towards them and the doctor. I am thankful for the CDC Doctors and the reconstructive surgeon that I have now. I have trust and appreciation in the medical field and doctors who did save me.

I found a reconstructive surgeon that was willing to try alternative means to help me. The reconstructive surgeon I used tried a new technology on me, because I wanted another option than skin graphs and more horrors. He used the VAC - a vacuum assisted closure machine that helped me to heal, fight more infection and survive.

Thank God for the morphine, the cancer antibiotics and the Vacuum assisted closure machine, which saved my life. Also I am thankful I didn't have to go through skin graphs. I have had one reconstructive surgery and will have another in the near future.

I have a new lease on life. I hope to help and inspire others. Anything I can do on this end, please let me know. My reconstructive surgeon does seminars on this subject using my pictures and story. He has other pictures, which show the progression of my healing with the VAC. If you would like to speak with him, then let me know. Copyright © 1997-2003 National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation (NNFF)
All Rights Reserved

This is my story how Jesus and prayers gave me a second chance to live from NNFF. My name is Vickie McCullough. I live in Dry Prong, Louisiana. My experience started in November 2004 with cramping and no bowel movement and this lasted for three months. I couldn't swallow and started having this horrible pain in my right leg. I continued going back and forth to the emergency room for eight months trying to find out what the problem was. Doctors ran all kinds of tests and kept telling me everything was fine. I was trying to hold on to two jobs working 78 hours a week. My husband passed away 1 1/2 years before this happened so of course when they couldn't find anything they blamed it on stress from that. I knew something was horribly wrong. On July 24, 2005, I couldn't walk and went back to the emergency room where they did emergency surgery and they told my daughters and sister I wouldn't make it through the night. So right away prayers started going up everywhere. I was on a ventilator and didn't even know I was in the world for two weeks. When I woke up I was in ICU where I would stay for three months then I went to a room on the floor where I stayed two months. After this I went to Colorado for my therapy and wound care and stayed in a nursing home for five months. I am now back home in Louisiana with my two wonderful daughters, my two wonderful son-in-laws, and four beautiful grand babies, three girls and a boy. I had 27 surgeries on my right leg. I had to have some grafting done but Jesus is good I still have my leg. I know without Jesus and prayers I would have pasted away that night .I still have a lot of problems from this horrible disease and I will never be the same but there is not a day that goes by that I am not reminded of how precious life is. I want to end my story with a prayer for all the survivors that they will continue to do good and for all the families that have lost a loved one I am sorry and may the Lord give you Strength to go and live in Peace. Copyright © 1997-2003 National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation (NNFF)
All Rights Reserved.

My 8 year old son, Justin, who also has Ehlers Danlos syndrome, contracted the flesh eating bacteria from a bump on a pull out sofa bed. No cut, no scratch, nothing. This bacteria is baffling. He did have flu like symptoms and did develop a reddened swollen area where the initial bump was. He was hospitalized from March 16th to April 13th. He lost a lot of skin on his shin but his outlook is good. I am grateful for this website and the stories during his time in the hospital. It offered hope and comfort to know that there can be a positive outcome and yes, we were scared to death but to know of survivors of this Strep A helped a lot. We really never knew about this disease until it struck close to our home. The website has touched our hearts and each story needs to be heard.
Copyright © 1997-2003 National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation (NNFF)
All Rights Reserved.

Wound care stops a bad situation from becoming worse. It's already bad enough to have an injury, but an infected injury is even worse. A wound infection occurs when harmful bacteria is allowed into the open wound. When bacteria, also known as germs, seep into an open wound, the tissue in the wound is basically attacked. As a result, the wound is unable to properly heal.

A wound doesn't automatically become infected when bacteria is present. A significant amount of bad bacteria must enter the wound before infection occurs. There are many different types of bacteria, and a nasty wound can be infected with numerous types of bacteria all at once. The first threat is from normal, every day bacteria on your skin. While not normally a threat, it can lead to infection when it comes in contact with an open wound. An open wound can also become infected by bacteria in air, water, or dirt. Bacteria from dirty objects, including human teeth and spit, can also cause infection(MOUNTIAN SIDE MEDICAL 2009).

An infected wound is usually easy to spot. A body temperature that's either too high or too low can mean the wound is infected. Sometimes a person with an infected wound will have an abnormally fast heartbeat.

One of the most obvious ways to recognize an infected wound is by its smell or appearance. Blood, pus, or some other type of liquid seeping from the wound is a classic sign of wound infection. The pus or liquid may also have an odd color and a bad smell. This is a sign of a dangerous infection, and it needs immediate wound care.

Infected wounds are usually extremely painful, and they don't heal as quickly as they should. Another sign is swelling that lasts for days. If the swelling has lasted for more than three days, and is hot or warm to the touch, then the wound is more than likely infected.

THE SPREAD OF ALL INFECTIONS CAN GREATLY BE REDUCED BY GOOD HANDWASHING ROUTINES!!!!!!!! AS WELL AS PROPER WOUND CARE AS STATED ABOVE!!!!!!

especially after coughing and sneezing and before preparing foods or eating. Persons with sore throats should be seen by a doctor who can perform tests to find out whether the illness is strep throat. If the test result shows strep throat, the person should stay home from work, school, or day care until 24 hours after taking an antibiotic. All wounds should be kept clean and watched for possible signs of infection such as redness, swelling, drainage, and pain at the wound site. A person with signs of an infected wound, especially if fever occurs, should immediately seek medical care. It is not necessary for all persons exposed to someone with an invasive group A strep infection (i.e. necrotizing fasciitis or strep toxic shock syndrome) to receive antibiotic therapy to prevent infection. However, in certain circumstances, antibiotic therapy may be appropriate. That decision should be made after consulting with your doctor.

In any emergency a family member or you yourself may be cut, burned or suffer other injuries. If you have these basic supplies you are better prepared to help your loved ones when they are hurt. Remember, many injuries are not life threatening and do not require immediate medical attention. Knowing how to treat minor injuries can make a difference in an emergency.Having the following things can help you stop bleeding, prevent infection and assist in decontamination:

-Two pairs of Latex, or other sterile gloves (if you are allergic to Latex).
-Sterile dressings to stop bleeding.
-Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect.
-Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
-Burn ointment to prevent infection.
-Adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes.
-Eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant.
-Thermometer
-Scissors
-Tweezers
-Tube of petroleum jelly or other lubricant
-Aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
-Anti-diarrhea medication
-Antacid (for upset stomach)
-Laxative

* I PERSONALLY LIKE TO HAVE HAND GEL,LYSOL,AND FACE MASKS IN MY KITS AS WELL*

Proper wound care depends on where the wound is located, how serious it is, and whether or not it's already infected. You shouldn't attempt wound care for a serious, life threatening wound on your own. The proper thing to do is get to a hospital right away. But for a less threatening wound, you can perform at home care.

The first step is to clean the wound. Ideally, you'd use a spray or solution specifically created to clean wounds. Antiseptic wound cleanser can be purchased from most pharmacies or over the internet. Wound cleanser removes bacteria from the wounded area, helps remove debris, and allows the wound to be cleaned without scrubbing. But, if you don't have a wound cleanser, rubbing alcohol is also a great disinfectant. If none of that is available, then regular soap and water will have to suffice.

After the wound is clean, you can wrap it in a sterile bandage. Depending on the size of the wound, a band-aid may be enough. Or you may need to use a larger bandage. Some bandages are pre-soaked with medicated ointment, and are also waterproof. The type of bandage you need for your wound care depends on the injury( MOUNTAIN SIDE MEDICAL 2009).