Wound Infection

General or Other | General Practice | Wound Infection (Disease)


Description

After an injury caused an opening in the skin or after surgery, the wound can become infected. Infection can range from minor to severe, depending on the cause and how quickly is identified and treated.

Symptoms of a wound infection: swelling, discoloration and damage surrounding tissues; hot skin, inflamed around wound; high temperature; lowering blood pressure; tachycardia. Necrotizing subcutaneous infection is caused by bacteria that infect the injured tissue. The main symptoms are swelling, discoloration and death of surrounding tissues. The skin around the wound becomes hot, swollen, sensitive and red. If the infection gets worse, fade and skin necrosis may occur. Sometimes, necrotizing subcutaneous infection refers to infection with flesh-eating bacteria.

The skin around the wound becomes pale due to fluid that collects under it. Later, it produces a watery liquid, foul smelling, reddish-brown color. Tissue changes color from pale to dark, and very discolored as the infection worsens. Untreated, leads to stupor, delirium, coma and death.

Causes and Risk factors

Anything that decreases your bodys ability to heal wounds may put you at risk for a wound infection: diseases (diabetes, cancer, or liver, kidney or lung conditions slow healing), foreign objects, poor blood supply to the wound, repeated trauma (injury to a healing wound may increase your risk of an infection, and delay healing), weak immune system.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Appropriate antibiotic to detect infection, the doctor will take a sample from the wound for culture to identify the bacteria present in the tissue.

Skin wounds should be thoroughly cleaned as soon as possible to reduce the risk of infection and scarring, facilitating healing. The wound must be opened carefully so that all infected tissues can be removed. A single intervention is not usually sufficient to remove all dead tissue. A second surgery is often necessary. If the infection affects an arm or a leg, amputation may be necessary. Gangrene is defined as infected tissue death. The infection produces a sudden pain, swelling around the wound, moderate increase in temperature, low blood pressure and tachycardia.

Treatment consists of gas gangrene intravenous penicillin. Surgical removal of infected tissue is essential and often requires removal and surrounding tissues. A skin abscess resulting from a bacterial infection produces a painful collection of pus on the skin. Sometimes the lymph nodes become swollen and fever may occur. ...