Diabetic Patients Should Be Vigilant In Watching For The Symptoms Of Fournier's Gangrene, A Flesh-Eating Disease That Can Affect The Genital Region

Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News

Elderly diabetics in nursing home care should be checked immediately for the signs that Fournier's Gangrene may have set in

Friday, January 4, 2019 - There have been 12 reported cases of Fournier's Gangrene affecting people that were taking anti-diabetes medications. The FDA recently issued a warning to diabetic patients to stop taking their diabetes medication immediately if they experienced any of the symptoms attributed to the disease. Elderly diabetic patients under nursing home care or supervision should be particularly concerned. Patients taking the following sodium-glucose transporters (SGLT2)s to control their blood's glucose levels, should check to see if they are taking any of the drugs listed in the FDA warning. Those drugs are canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), empagliflozin (Jardiance), empagliflozin/linagliptin (Glyxambi), empagliflozin/metformin (Synjardy), and dapagliflozin/metformin (Xigduo XR).

In addition to the 12, reported cases of Fournier's Gangrene two more cases may have occurred. A Florida nursing home patient recently died after having his genitals amputated as a result of contracting gangrene while in the care of the home. An Indian man was forced to have his penis amputated after a botched catheter insertion procedure led to the uncontrollable infection. Necrotizing Fasciitis diabetes drug infection lawyers are representing persons and family members of persons having suffered severe genital infections from diabetes drugs may be entitled to significant compensation for the harm and suffering they have experienced.

Flesh-eating diseases are not as uncommon as one may think. Necrotizing Fasciitis is a flesh-eating bacteria which causes rapid tissue death where the only cure is to amputate the limb or appendage that is infected. Hospitals themselves list infection as the most common complication from surgery and if not immediately treated with intravenous antibiotics can escalate to necrosis. Close to 750 cases of necrotizing fasciitis are reported every year with one-quarter of the cases resulting in death. Hospitals report that the bacteria that causes necrosis often enters the body during or just after surgery. Improperly inserting catheters can also lead to this serious infection as was the case recently where a man was forced to have his penis amputated due to a hospital employee's negligence.

Early Warning Signs

Necrotizing fasciitis is caused by the streptococcus bacteria, the same bacteria that is found in strep throat. Webmd.com lists the symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis as occurring almost immediately and include: "increasing pain in the general area of a minor cut, abrasion, or other skin opening, pain that is worse than would be expected from the appearance of the cut or abrasion, redness and warmth around the wound, though symptoms can begin at other areas of the body, flu-like symptoms such as fever of 104c or higher, diarrhea, nausea, fever, dizziness, weakness, and general malaise, and intense thirst due to dehydration."

Escalation to Fournier's Gangrene

Necrotizing fasciitis with the dangers of having a limb amputated is scary enough but this infection can also lead to gangrene, causing permanent and irreversible tissue death. Gangrene has the unmistakeable sight and smell of rotting flesh, the skin turning purple, and painful black blisters. Fournier's gangrene is necrosis of the genital region including the penis where the only known treatment is amputation of the genitals.

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Lawyers for Fournier's Gangrene

OnderLaw, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. The Onder Law Firm has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.