The Brief History of Fournier's Gangrene
Fournier's Gangrene is a very rare disease that has shocked physicians and patients for centuries
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 - Fournier's Gangrene was named by Parisian venereologist Jean-Alfred Fournier in late 1800s and was originally called Gangrene of the Scrotum, Dr. Fournier described the condition as "fulminant gangrene of the penis and scrotum in young men." Today the disease can be described as "synergistic necrotizing cellulitis of the perineum." Surgical debridement of dead tissue at the earliest possible time has always been considered to be the most effective treatment. Prior to the most recent outbreak of Fournier's Gangrene caused by SGLT2 blocker drugs, "diabetes mellitus was reported to be present in 20%-70% of patients with FG8 and chronic alcoholism in 25%-50% patients." Being HIV positive has also added to the population of those at risk for Fournier's Gangrene according to Wikipedia.
Fournier's Gangrene usually starts as an infection or cellulitis near the spot where the skin was broken that allows bacteria to enter the bloodstream usually in the perineum region. The warning signs can be significant pain and swelling. Inflamed tissues is a common sign as gas is created by the organisms. As the infection and inflammation progress, it causes patches of necrotic "dead" skin.
Fournier's Gangrene is a deadly disease that affects mostly males. About 2/3 of the cases of Fournier's Gangrene are males over 55, and those with a compromised immune system such as diabetics. Males over 55 were three times more likely to contract Fournier's Gangrene than younger people. Certain diabetes drugs classified as SGLT2 blockers have been linked by the US FDA as causing Fournier's Gangrene. The drugs to watch for are Canagliflozin (Invokana, Invokamet, Invokamet XR), Dapagliflozin (Farxiga, Xigduo XR, Qtern), Empagliflozin (Jardiance, Glyxambi, Synjardy, Synjardy XR), and Ertugliflozin (Steglatro, Segluromet, Steglujan).
Fournier's Gangrene is an extremely rapidly spreading form of flesh-eating disease affecting the perineum or area in between the anus and scrotum in man and anus and vulva in women. The FDA recently identified 12 individuals that contracted Fournier's gangrene and all were taking one of the listed drugs. If you or a loved one are taking any of the diabetes drugs listed above you need to be particularly aware of the early warning signs that you are developing Fournier's. According to Wikipedia, "Initial symptoms of Fournier gangrene include swelling or sudden pain in the scrotum, fever, pallor, and generalized weakness. More marked cases are characterized by a foul odor and purulent discharge (stench of rotting flesh) from the infected tissue. Crepitus has been reported. It begins as a subcutaneous infection. However, necrotic patches soon appear in the overlying skin, which later develops into necrosis." If you have Fournier's and catch it early enough there is a chance that surgical debridement of dead tissue can be kept at a minimum. You will be hospitalized and immediately given full-spectrum antibiotics both intravenously and topically.
There is nothing subtle about the sight of, pain from, or the stench of rotting flesh from Fournier's, not is the treatment complicated. Up to 30% of Fournier's patient that do not catch the disease early enough die and almost all require surgical amputation of a portion of the genitalia.
More Recent Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News:
- Heart Disease Patients May Soon Be Prescribed Farxiga | 7/23/2020
- Diabetic Drug Farxiga Emerges As A Potential Cause of Fournier's Gangrene | 7/20/2020
- Diabetic Drug Companies Fail To Adequately Warn Patients of The Dangers of Developing Fournier's Gangrene | 7/15/2020
- A High Profile Fournier's Gangrene Victim May Serve To Increase Public Awareness | 6/25/2020
- The Flesh-Eating Disease Could Grow Exponentially in Summer of 2020 | 6/16/2020
- AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Web Site Warns Patient About Possible Bacterial Infections | 6/5/2020
- New Fournier's Gangrene Victim Files Lawsuit Against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP | 6/3/2020
- Fornier's Gangrene is Easily Overlooked And Could be Called Complications From the Coronavirus | 5/26/2020
- Diabetic Nursing Home Patients May Be Dying From Fournier's Gangrene | 5/15/2020
- Diabetic Patients Taking SGLT2 Diabetic Drugs Could Be At Risk of Dying from COVID19 | 4/27/2020
- Fournier's Gangrene Looks Like Frostbite Except For Its Location | 4/21/2020
- Fournier's Gangrene More Likely Than Nursing Home Neglect In Patient's Death | 4/9/2020
- Nursing Homes Need To Pay Attention To Diabetic Patients Developing Fournier's Gangrene | 3/31/2020
- New Warning For SGLT2 Diabetes Drugs Include Fournier's Gangrene | 3/19/2020
- Popular Diabetic Drug Companies Are Warned To Alert Diabetic Patients of the Risks of Developing Fournier's Gangrene | 3/12/2020
- Patient's Fournier's Gangrene Can Be Mistaken For Ordinary Nursing Home Neglect | 3/5/2020
- Nursing Home Patients Taking Diabetic Medication Must Be Monitored For Fournier's Gangrene | 2/25/2020
- Simple Necrotizing Fasciitis Can Lead To Gruesome Fournier's Gangrene | 2/7/2020
- Fournier's Gangrene Can Cause Elephantitis of the Scrotum | 2/3/2020
- Diabetic Drugs Linked to Fournier's Gangrene May Treat Heart Conditions | 1/29/2020
- The Annals of Medicine Examines the Relationship Between Certain Diabetic Drugs and Fournier's Gangrene | 1/8/2020
- Diabetic Medications Can Cause Fournier's Gangrene And Other Health-Threatening Conditions | 12/31/2019
- Fournier's Gangrene Can Leave a Survivor Severely Depressed | 12/20/2019
- Woman's Cosmetic Surgery Leads to Flesh-Eating Disease of the Genitals | 12/16/2019
- Women Diagnosed With Orbital Necrotizing Fasciitis | 12/2/2019
- The Flesh-Eating Disease Has Made The News In 2019 | 11/22/2019
- Diabetic Drugs Can Weaken The Immune System Leading To Fournier's Gangrene | 11/11/2019
- SGLT-2 Drug Makers Are Being More Forthcoming About Links To Fournier's Gangrene | 10/31/2019
- Drug Marketers Are Finding Creative Applications For SGLT-2 Drugs Ignoring The Risk of Fournier's Gangrene | 10/24/2019
- Patient Contracts Flesh-Eating Disease While Giving Birth in a New York Hospital | 10/15/2019
- Weakened Immune Systems May Be The Cause of The Outbreak in Flesh-Eating Disease | 10/3/2019
- Fournier's Gangrene Stories Are One More Shocking Than Then The Last | 10/2/2019
- Sodium-Glucose Blocker Drugs and The Flesh-Eating Disease | 9/18/2019
- Diabetic Patients Are At Risk For Developing Fournier's Gangrene Mistaken as The Ordinary Flesh-Eating Disease | 9/2/2019
- SGLT2 Inhibitor Drugs Can Now Include Reducing Heart Disease on Their Labels In Europe | 8/29/2019
- Fournier's Gangrene Can Develop In Elderly Nursing Home Patients | 8/23/2019
- Elderly Diabetic Patients Are At Risk For Fournier's Gangrene | 8/7/2019
- Florida Nursing Home Death May Have Been From Fournier's Gangrene | 8/1/2019
- There is an Outbreak of The Flesh-Eating Disease Along America's Eastern Beaches | 7/23/2019
- Fournier's Gangrene Should Not Be Confused With Everyday Necrotising Fasciitis | 7/11/2019
- Johnson & Johnson Needs To Do More To Alert Diabetics of The Flesh Eating Disease Caused By Invokana | 6/28/2019
- Diabetic Patients Living in Warmers Climates Are More at Risk to Contract Fournier's Gangrene | 6/13/2019
- The Warm Water Gulf of Mexico May Be a Breeding Ground For The Flesh Eating Disease Bacteria | 6/7/2019
- Diabetic Patients in Nursing Homes Are Ground Zero For Fournier's Gangrene | 5/30/2019
- Several New Cases Of Flesh Eating Disease Have Been Recently Reported | 5/23/2019
- Cases Of Fournier's Gangrene Increases From 12 to 55 In The Latest Peer Reviewed Medical Study | 5/13/2019
- People Are Developing The Flesh-Eating Disease In Various Ways | 4/30/2019
- Most Doctors Remain Unaware of Fournier's Gangrene and May Misdiagnose Patients | 4/19/2019
- World Governments Are Expressing Concern That Certain Diabetes Drugs Can Cause Fournier's Gangrene | 4/15/2019
- Diabetic Drugs Can Have Serious Side Effects | 4/2/2019
- Necrotising Fasciitis Effects Everyone From All Walks of Life | 3/29/2019
- Cases of Fourniers Gangrene Are Steadily Increasing Around The World | 3/25/2019
- Global Warming and Climate Change May Be Contributing to Increases In Flesh Eating Diseases | 3/11/2019
- Early Warning Signs That You May Have Fournier's Gangrene or Other Flesh-Eating Disease | 3/6/2019
- Scientists Are Encouraged By Data From Flesh-Eating Disease Studies | 2/25/2019
- FDA and CDC Warn About Flesh-Eating Diseases | 2/18/2019
- Diabetic Drug Warnings Admit to Causing Narcotizing Fasciitis Not Fournier's Gangrene Specifically | 2/11/2019
- Fournier's Gangrene Statistics May Be Greater Than Reported | 2/5/2019
- Diabetic Patients and Others Are At Risk For Fournier's Gangrene | 1/29/2019
- Fournier's Gangrene Frequently Asked Questions | 1/23/2019
- Diabetes Drugs Must Include Fournier's Gangrene Warning | 1/18/2019
- A Nursing Home's Elderly Diabetic Population Most at Risk For Fournier's Gangrene | 1/10/2019
- Diabetic Patients Should Be Vigilant In Watching For The Symptoms Of Fournier's Gangrene, A Flesh-Eating Disease That Can Affect The Genital Region | 1/4/2019
- An Indian Man Has Died of Fournier's Gangrene in a UK Hospital | 12/31/2018
- Pictures of Fournier's Gangrene Are Grotesque and Indescribable | 12/22/2018
- A Florida Nursing Home Patient Death Could be the 13th Case of Fournier's Gangrene | 12/20/2018
- Florida Man Dies From Genital Gangrene Quite Possibly Fournier's Gangrene | 12/15/2018
- The FDA's Fournier's Gangrene Warning is Shocking Diabetes Patients | 12/12/2018
- Drug Websites Carry The Clearest Fournier's Gangrene Amputation Warnings | 12/1/2018
- Recent FDA Warning Alerts Diabetes Patients To Watch For Signs of Genital Flesh-Eating Disease | 11/21/2018
- Diabetes Drugs May Cause Flesh-Eating Disease Affecting The Genitals | 11/1/2018
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.