Several New Cases Of Flesh Eating Disease Have Been Recently Reported

Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News

Necrotizing Fasciitis is a scary disease that can strike anyone, anywhere

Thursday, May 23, 2019 - Necrotizing Fasciitis is a frightening disease that can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time. Recently the Center for Disease Control uncovered 55 cases of Fournier's gangrene, an insidious form of necrotizing fasciitis that affects the genital area and is linked to diabetic patients that take certain SGLT2 diabetic drugs. Although Fournier's Gangrene is relatively rare, many cases of necrotizing fasciitis are reported every month.

All it takes for a bacterial infection to enter the body is the smallest break in the skin. Recently a young man contracted the flesh-eating disease, necrotizing fasciitis from the prick from a fish hook while on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Health.com, black lesions started to develop on the palm of the fisherman's hand where the fish hook entered after three days of antibiotic treatments. The man described his condition as starting out as little blisters under the skin that continued to expand and then blacken. Once doctors diagnosed the man's condition as the flesh-eating disease they considered preemptively amputating the man's arm if minor surgery to remove the dead tissue failed. Health.com quotes the Center For Disease Control (CDC) as describing the man's condition, "While rare, necrotizing fasciitis can be seriously damaging. Multiple types of bacteria can cause it, and the bacteria can enter the body through any kind of break in the skin, including cuts, burns, insect bites, and puncture wounds (like from a fishing hook to the hand), according to the CDC."

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) normally is treated with debridement of dead tissue and broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics. A hospital stay of around a month is usually required. NF is extremely painful and characterized by the pungent odor of dead, rotting flesh. "If necrotizing fasciitis is left untreated, it can cause sepsis, organ failure, and death." according to Health.com.

Sepsis is often associated with necrotizing fasciitis and is difficult to diagnose. A UK man described how doctors missed the symptoms of the infection developing after a routine trip to his dentist turned into sepsis and eventually required that both of his arms and legs be amputated. Sepsis can also cause "post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, fatigue, decreased cognitive function, anxiety, depression, and insomnia," according to Metro News UK.

In another case of NF recently reported, 32-year old Wayne Atkins almost died from blisters on his feet that developed while hiking in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The hiker's feet developed cracks in the skin allowing bacteria to enter that rapidly escalated into the flesh-eating disease attacking his internal organs. Health.com reports that the man nearly lost his life due to the infection. "Atkins had to be placed in a medically induced coma because his liver, kidney, and lungs were starting to shut down, according to his mother interviewed by WMUR."

Most recently, an Ohio man boating in Florida mistook the flesh-eating disease he contracted to be merely his foot swelling and reddening from sunburn. The man required several surgeries and skin grafts during a grueling 11-day hospital admission, as blood flow stopped in the affected area causing the flesh to rot. The man told CNN that the infection was climbing up his leg at the rate of about one inch per hour and also that he feels lucky to still have his toes and feet and to be alive.

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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.