Necrotizing Fasciitis - "Flesh eating disease"

It has all the makings of a great news story: people losing limbs to a flesh-eating bacteria or disease. It's scary and it's attention getting, but what exactly is it and should you be afraid of it?

Sadly, right now, a young woman in Georgia, Aimee Copeland is fighting for her life after she contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a bacteria called streptococcus pyogenes. PubMedHealth describes it well: "The bacteria begins to grow and release harmful substances (toxins) that kill tissue and affect blood flow to the area." Often, the only way to stop the spread is to amputate the affected limb. If it occurs in a part of the body, like the belly, then major surgery to remove surrounding tissue may be needed.

The rare infection can cause a lot of damage to the immediate area. The bacteria destroy the muscles, skin, and underlying tissue. However, it is not the "flesh eating bacteria" that causes all the extra problems, which can result in organ damage and amputations of other limbs. This is sepsis - the body tries to fight the infection but goes into overdrive (SepsisAlliance.org).

Since Aimee's accident, we've heard of another young woman in South Carolina, Luna Kuykendall, who developed the same infection after delivering her twins. Since this is a rare infection, to hear of two so close together is shocking and this is likely why it is such news.

Is it something you should be afraid of? Since necrotizing fasciitis is rare, no, it's generally not something to be worried about. But that being said, infections of any kind should be taken seriously. Any wound should be cleaned thoroughly and monitored for signs of infection (redness, increased pain, discharge from the wound) and prompt medical attention is needed if there are any signs.

If you're not convinced, check out FacesOfSepsis.org, where you will find many stories of people whose sepsis resulted from a simple infection.

‘Godfather of Go-Go,' Chuck Brown, Dies of Sepsis

You may not recognize the name, but you've likely heard the music that Chuck Brown helped make popular. The 75-year-old helped get people up and dancing with his percussive music style.

Mr. Brown  had been hospitalized with pneumonia and died of sepsis, reported his manager Tom Goldfogle. (How Can You Die of Pneumonia? Bernie Mac Did)

Sepsis kills one American every 2 minutes, but so few people have ever heard of it. To learn more about sepsis, please visit SepsisAlliance.org.

Chuck Brown dies: The ‘Godfather of Go-Go’ was 75

We're Part of the 2012 Blogathon!

Keeping up a blog can be tough when life gets busy. I often have great ideas to put on this blog but then I get side tracked and I figure I'll come back and do it later. Unfortunately, "later" will become "never" much of the time.

The thing is - this is a popular blog even though it's not updated regularly. I check my stats and I get a good number of visitors every single day. This blog has raised my profile as a health writer and not only have clients found me through the blog, I have helped many people with some of the information I've posted.

So, because I know my poor blog has been neglected and I keep saying I'll be better at posting, I have decided to join the 2012 Blogathon. I committed to writing a blog post a day from today until May 31st. Hopefully, the topics I choose will be interesting and entertaining and my poor blog will no longer feel left out of my writing life.

Many of my regular readers know that I am particularly passionate about a few specific healthcare topics. One is sepsis, a disease that kills over 700 people PER DAY in the United States. Yes, per day. Sepsis Alliance is one of my clients. Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of the death of the founder's daughter. Erin Flatley was only 23 years old - the age of my daughter now. Erin went in to the hospital for minor elective surgery. She died of sepsis five days later.

There are even higher numbers of people who get sepsis and live - but are left with severe life-altering after effects, such as limb amputations, organ dysfunction, post traumatic stress disorder, and more.

In 2011, we instituted Sepsis Awareness Month, to be held every September. This year, the Global Sepsis Alliance has declared September 13th to be World Sepsis Day. This is a huge opportunity to help raise more awareness of this horrible illness. If you would like to watch a video on the impact of sepsis, Sepsis: Emergency is quite powerful.

Want to learn more? Dr. James O'Brien was interviewed on BlogTalkRadio. Listen to how he describes what sepsis is, what can happen with it, and how it could be treated:

Listen to internet radio with Boomer and The Babe on Blog Talk Radio

Now, is there anything in particular you would like me to talk about? Are there any health topics that are concerning you? There is so much in the news these days from issues about autism to childhood obesity.

Diabetes "Hotspots" in the US

An interesting study has identified 10 states as being hotspots for type 2 diabetes. They are:

1. California:  6.6 million people with diabetes;
   
2. Texas:  5.5 million;
   
3. Florida: 4.2 million;
   
4. New York:  2.9 million;
   
5. Ohio:  2.1 million;
   
6. Illinois: 2 million;
   
7. Georgia: 2 million;
   
8. Pennsylvania: 1.9 million;
   
9. North Carolina: 1.9 million; and
   
10. Michigan: 1.6 million.

The sad and frustrating thing for healthcare professionals is that many cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable. Unlike type 1 diabetes, which often, but not always, begins in childhood, type 2 diabetes can result from being overweight and inactive.

According to the CDC, type 2 diabetes (previously called adult-onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes) accounts for 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Let me repeat that: 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases.

The American Diabetes Association reports: In 2007, diabetes was listed as the underlying cause on 71,382 death certificates and was listed as a contributing factor on an additional 160,022 death certificates. This means that diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths.

Diabetes is more than just a disease that affects your blood sugar. High blood sugar levels affect your whole body drastically. Having diabetes increases your risk of developing heart disease, nerve pain (particularly in your feet) and inability to fight infection. Having diabetes can lead to an often fatal illness called sepsis. Diabetes can cause kidney disease, too.

The cost of diabetes is enormous. From the financial aspect of dealing with the supplies to manage the disease, to the lost days of work. Diabetes affects the community as a whole.

Are you at risk for diabetes? Take the ADA Risk Test to find out.