Necrotising fasciitis can affect any one of any age, including those who are young and healthy.
Can necrotising fasciitis affect healthy people?
Necrotising fasciitis is a bacterial infection that occurs in the body’s soft tissues. It can appear in any person of any age, although it is unusual for children to suffer the condition.
Some may associate tissue infections with people of poor health, but this is not true of necrotising fasciitis. It can affect people who were previously in excellent health with no pre-existing illnesses or conditions.
There are some factors that increase the risk of necrotising fasciitis developing, such as:
- Diabetes
- Injecting drugs
- Haematological cancer – e.g. leukaemia
- Wounds that puncture the skin, including surgical wounds
- Medical drugs or treatment that suppress the immune system – e.g. chemotherapy
- Chronic hepatitis
However, people who do not have any of these risk factors can get necrotising fasciitis. In fact, around 25% of patients who develop necrotising fasciitis have no pre-existing health conditions or recent trauma.
Therefore necrotising fasciitis can affect healthy people, and people who have no apparent skin trauma through which the bacteria enter the body.
How does necrotising fasciitis happen?
Ordinarily necrotising fasciitis happens when bacteria get into the body through a break in the skin. The bacteria then reproduce, which causes a toxin to be released into the body. This damages the tissue and blood vessels, resulting in oxygen deficiency, a build-up of waste products and tissue breakdown.
Necrotising fasciitis can also arise as a secondary infection, following on from another infection such as an abscess.
But as mentioned above, necrotising fasciitis can happen without any obvious cause. The patient may not recall any recent skin trauma or illness.
How do I know if I have necrotising fasciitis?
It is difficult to know precisely whether you have necrotising fasciitis or not because the symptoms can be vague in the initial stages. It is only when symptoms progress to the critical stage that a soft tissue infection becomes obvious.
Nevertheless, it is important to diagnose and treat necrotising fasciitis in the early stages because this will give the patient the best chance of recovery. Necrotising fasciitis can be lethal if not treated quickly enough.
This means doctors must recognise the early signs without hesitation. These signs include severe pain that has no apparent cause, fever, skin that is red and hot to touch, and skin changes.
Legal advice
If your necrotising fasciitis was not diagnosed and treated in a reasonable amount of time, please get in touch with us for expert legal advice.
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