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(Actual reference Image has been taken from http://www.medscape.com)
I have stared at the ‘Off Topic’ header on KFA for a few months solidly, sometimes I wonder why I even put it there and other times I ponder on what fits its bill here. As you can see not much gets posted under this header, nothing that interests me outside of fishing is deemed worthy. There are a few exceptions to the rule and this one (In particular) is a real dozy of a tale that relates to a family missfortune.
I have a few stepbrothers and sisters from both sides of my family, notably two red head brothers called Nick and Chris. Over the years we have grown quite close, they both share some common ground and interests and both boys get along well with my partner Claire. Recently the younger of the two, 31 year old Nick ended up in hospital; and things took a turn for the worst.
Nick loves MMA (Mixed martial Arts), mainly Kick Boxing and has participated in a local Gym’s Fight Club (Basically training then entering tournament). Nick loves the discipline and my once giant brother turned into a lean, mean fighting machine. The training toned him up and gave him a passion his lifestyle so rightly deserved. I think as a young adult this helped him mature quite a lot, along with the influence of his partner Bridie (Loving nature and ultimate respect, thankyou - ed).
A recent tournament bout brought about some usual swelling of the shin; traditional blocking methods incur massive damage. Nick was heading over to Thailand to develop technique and study the sports heritage but even upon his return the swelling hadn’t subsided. Unable to train in Thailand and feeling bummed he visited a local Sports Doctor at one of Canberra’s hospitals, getting fluid drained from his lower leg and taking the advice of the specialist to avoid training.
Knowing Nick can be quite stubborn I was surprised to hear he was heeding the Doctors advice, in the interim I am sure he was focusing on what was required to commence physical training. Six weeks came and went and his training commenced, albeit for one day only. Saturday’s workout brought intense swelling and pain on Sunday, following bouts of nausea, headaches and fever. By this stage his leg and swollen to immense proportions and he admitted himself to the same hospitals emergency department (Before being transferred to another public service).
Nobody can stipulate what had exactly happened and the Doctors couldn’t diagnose a problem, meanwhile the swelling was killing tissue and infecting his right lower body. After moving Hospitals it was determined Nick had a condition known as Cellulitis, and in his virulent case a extremely aggressive case of Streptococci. Normally associated with sore throats, Scarlet Fever, and other diseases it can affect skin tissues (Mainly in the arms and legs). Things weren’t getting better and the infection started to spread.
He was told he could lose his leg and only the right dose of antibiotics could save him, my once fit brother looked pale, sickly and mentally destroyed. Our family was worried stupid, we rallied around Nick as often as we could and so did his close mates, work colleagues and Gym buddies. We all fought reality as we knew they always gave you the worst case scenario, luckily for Nick things finally started to take a turn for the better (It really was faith and fate, I prayed insilco everyday).
Antibiotics cultured started producing results worthy of cautious celebration, things were still dicey but the outlook provided an exit point. Nick had never really been admitted to hospital and after six operations and a skin graft he was allowed to return home. Constant bed rest is required for a couple of months and the scars on his leg will remind him to take it easy.
My own Initial research shows this severe infection can be traced to wounds, surgical procedures and helth issues. We cant really pinpoint how this happened (Nor can the Hospital staff) but we thank our lucky stars Nick is still with us today. It killed tissue, causing necrosis through his lower leg and amputation was a real possibility and was on the cards for many days. Now the worst is over its good to know that this is preventable if one understands what conditions it can thrive in.
There is no way one can tell this may happen to them, but it pays to understand the consequences of lingering wounds exposed to the constant risk of staph infection. Despite being harmless in most individuals, S. aureus is capable of causing various infections of the skin and other organs. S. aureus infections are common in people with frequent skin injury, particularly if the skin is dry. Staph. skin infections are seen most commonly in pre-pubertal children and certain occupational groups such as healthcare workers. But they may occur for no obvious reason in otherwise healthy individuals.
Most staph infections occur in normal individuals but underlying illness and certain skin diseases increase the risk of infection. These include:
• Severe atopic dermatitis
• Poorly controlled diabetes
• Kidney failure, especially those on dialysis
• Blood disorders such as leukaemia and lymphoma
• Malnutrition
• Low serum iron
• Alcoholism
• Intravenous drug users
• Medication with systemic steroids, retinoids, cytotoxics or immunosuppressives
• Immunoglobulin M deficiency
• Chronic granumomatous disease
• Chediak-Higashi syndrome
• Job's and Wiskott Aldrich syndromes (associations of severe Staphylococcal infection with eczema, raised immunoglobulin E and abnormal white cell function)
For more information on staph infections, please visit (With good fortune):
http://dermnetnz.org/bacterial/staphylococci.html
http://dermnetnz.org/bacterial/cellulitis.html
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1053686-overview
