10 Symptoms of Necrotizing Fasciitis

Necrotizing Fasciitis is a nasty and dangerous disease that is quite uncommon. Doctors identify the A group of the Streptococcus bacteria as the main culprit for it. The condition is treatable, but it can become life-threatening if you avoid visiting a doctor. It’s an infection of the soft tissue, and it causes bundles of it to die away. It attacks the skin, muscles and subcutaneous tissues. Necrotizing fasciitis alters the way your organism functions. Flesh-eating bacteria like that needs immediate medical attention. The symptoms of this disease start out vague and because of this, many people ignore them and don’t realize they’ve been stricken by necrotizing fasciitis. Necrotizing fasciitis can be best combated by visiting a doctor as early as possible.

Redness and swelling of a sustained wound

The usual process when sustaining a wound involves healing and the coagulation of the blood. If you’ve contracted Necrotizing fasciitis somehow, different things might happen. For instance, the site of the infection will become red. Unlike normal redness from shock, in this case, it will spread more and more. Swelling will follow immediately. This symptom is one that comes right away. It is easier to treat the earlier you catch it.

Increased pain sensitivity and pain spreading

In normal cases, the wound or the incision will be painful when touched. The brain is alerting you to pay more attention to the site. Pain usually goes away when the wound begins its normal healing process. When necrotizing fasciitis ensues, the wound becomes more sensitive by the minute. A follow up may even include feeling pain all around the site.

Fever and chills

Fevers are always a clear sign that something is wrong with your body. A higher body temperature signifies a battle against infection. It’s sort of a red alert in your body and should make you realize that the matter at hand is serious. This is also the case with necrotizing fasciitis. A fever for no clear reason should always be a reason to visit a medical specialist. As we all know, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you think you’ve been bitten by a suspicious spider or that you’ve cut yourself, don’t hesitate.

Fatigue

Alongside a higher body temperature, fatigue states that something is not right. If you have slept well, eaten well and nothing else is wrong, a sudden lack of energy is a big problem. It’s a sign that your body is investing all its energy into battling an ongoing infection. A feeling of tiredness indicates a serious infection like necrotizing fasciitis. First, you should assess if there is any reason for the condition.

A formation of blisters

This symptom is a serious side effect of Necrotizing fasciitis. The sheer sight of blisters and ulcers forming is a giant red flag that you should take care of. Without a doubt, run to the doctor as fast as you can because the disease is advancing. At this stage, you have missed all the less serious symptoms. Because of this, you should visit an emergency care. It will help in stopping the disease from spreading further. Necrotizing fasciitis is one of the harder infections to stop from gaining strength.

Skin discoloration

Because your skin is the first line of defense when sustaining a cut, it will suffer first. A change in color is a sign that Necrotizing fasciitis is present and that it started spreading. The colors you want to look for are green, blue or in more serious cases, black. All these changes are clear signs of an infection. Medical help is necessary at this point. It’s likely that you will need many injections of antibiotics. The doctors will place you under 24-7 monitoring, to see if the disease will spread even more.

Necrotic scars

Necrosis is a medical term for tissue decomposition or death of the cells for some reason. It can be normal or abnormal, because of an infection. When suffering from Necrotizing fasciitis, every tissue layer will be under attack. The advancement of the infection stops after putting a halt. This is possible only by taking timely medical interventions. If you’re unlucky or you haven’t noticed the initial symptoms, necrosis will ensue. By allowing the bacteria to spread, dead skin will fall off and leave black scabs. In more severe cases, body parts may need amputation.

Gas formations within the tissue

When the tissue is decomposing, gas forms after bacteria consumes the flesh. You can even feel this if the Necrotizing fasciitis starts advancing from the depth of your body. You will most likely feel a cracking sensation and notice swelling. Something like this is always a cause for immediate medical attention. If you feel this in the further ends of your limbs, it’s likely that amputation may be an option. Gas is a sign of advance decomposing. Do not to ignore it. Often, the disease never reaches this stage.

Pus draining from the infected site

Pus is a liquid formed out of the bodies of dead white blood cells, the leukocytes. If it is present, it’s usually a sign that the body has been defeating an infection. If it’s pouring, that’s bad news. Such an occurrence means the body is losing a battle and too many leukocytes are dying off. A symptom like this has been known to appear in later stages of the infection. Amputation, large doses of antibiotics and surgery are all in play when it comes this far. Again, Necrotizing fasciitis rarely reaches this point but it can be a possiblity.

Septic shock

Septic shock is the endgame and a sign that there is no turning back anymore. The entire blood flow has spoiled, and there is little hope of recovery. It appears only in rare cases where the body has neglects while suffering from an infection. Its characteristics are hallucinations, mumbling, rapid breathing, uncontrolled urination, and others. Deterioration of the body picks up every minute, and you aren’t left with many options at this point.