Pressure sores are prone to infection. If a pressure sore becomes infected with the aggressive flesh-eating disease called necrotising fasciitis, it must be treated immediately.
Pressure sores
Pressure sores happen when the blood supply to an area of tissue is restricted due to compression.
For example, a hospital patient with limited mobility may find that their heels, buttocks and back are compressed due to the weight of their own body. This will reduce the blood supply to those areas, causing a deficiency in oxygen and a build-up of waste products. In turn, this will cause the tissue to break down, eventually leading to an open wound on the surface of the skin.
Pressure sore infections
When someone has an open wound on their skin, he/she will be particularly vulnerable to infection. This is especially true of hospital patients, elderly people, or people being cared for in a home. This is two reasons:
Firstly, these groups of people usually have a weakened immune system, meaning they will not be able to fight the bacteria that enter their body. Healthy people also have open wounds on their skin, but their bodies send white blood cells to attack bad bacteria, preventing them from getting ill. Those with a compromised immune system will not able to do so, resulting in an infection taking hold.
Secondly, healthcare environments give bacteria the chance to spread very quickly, both across surfaces and from person to person. It is for this reason that infections cause such disruption in hospitals, often causing wards to be temporarily shut while the infection is brought under control.
Pressure sores and necrotising fasciitis
A pressure sore can become infected by any sort of bacteria. Perhaps one of the most dangerous is the bacteria that cause necrotising fasciitis, an aggressive flesh-eating disease.
A pressure sore presents the perfect opportunity for the necrotising fasciitis bacteria to enter the body. Once inside, the bacteria will reproduce extremely quickly, releasing a toxin that breaks down the surrounding tissue. Within a short space of time, the tissue will die, after which is must be surgically removed.
Necrotising fasciitis from a pressure sore
If you have developed necrotising fasciitis from a pressure sore while staying in a healthcare environment, you need to check whether you have been the victim of substandard medical care.
Pressure sores are not supposed to happen in a healthcare setting, so the fact that a patient has developed a sore will be deemed unacceptable. If the pressure sore becomes infected by necrotising fasciitis and this is not immediately recognised and treated, there will be a case of medical negligence.
For more information about claiming for necrotising fasciitis from a pressure sore, get in touch with us today.
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