In the article, we consider the symptoms and treatment of blood poisoning.
One of the most dangerous infectious diseases is blood sepsis, the consequences of which can be extremely serious. In medicine, sepsis is also called a blood poisoning. The occurrence of this pathology is due to the development of systemic inflammatory reactions to the infectious pathogen entering the human blood. The aggravation of this situation will be ascertained in the case of an advanced stage of pathology, which can be triggered by the action of toxins, which were formed during the life of certain microorganisms.
Everyone should know the symptoms of blood poisoning.
The onset of sepsis and its causes
The development of sepsis is often due to weakened immunity. The causes of infection can be viral diseases, for example, infectious lesions of the digestive system. The start of this process occurs as a result of the presence of a focus of infection and multiple penetration into the blood of the same dangerous pathogen. Such a pathogen may be staphylococcus, streptococcus, fungus and other parasites. Symptoms of blood poisoning in humans at first are not easy to recognize.
Weakening the body
The chances of sepsis increase many times if the body's defenses are weakened, especially when there are factors that contribute to the suppression of immunity. We are talking about frequent stress and poor ecology. Other factors include the following prerequisites:
- Surgery, which is accompanied by a large loss of blood.
- The development of cancer.
- The presence of AIDS.
- The development of blood diseases.
What symptoms of blood poisoning exist are interesting to many.
Medication
A negative role in the formation of infection is played by the administration of immunosuppressive drugs. First of all, those people who have a history of certain chronic diseases are at increased risk. In this situation, even a harmless ailment can provoke symptoms of blood poisoning, since a weakened body will not be able to cope with an infectious pathogen that begins to multiply actively and develops strong resistance to drugs.
Symptoms of pathology
Signs of sepsis are directly dependent on the form of the disease, and in addition, on the nature of its course and localization of the focus, as well as on the speed of infection. Symptoms of blood poisoning are usually as follows:
- Blanching of the wound site along with the dryness of the affected area.
- Headache and fever up to 40 degrees. In this case, temperature differences are likely during the day.
- The appearance of chills and increased heart rate.
- Dramatic weight loss of the body.
- Lowering the patient's blood pressure.
- The occurrence of shortness of breath along with increased sweating.
- The appearance of thrombosis with swelling.
- The development of lymphadenitis and vesicle rashes on the skin, and in addition, herpes on the lips.
- The appearance of bleeding in the mouth.
- The presence of redness of the eye sclera.
Photos of symptoms of blood poisoning in humans can be shocking. The general condition of patients with sepsis worsens significantly over time. This is due to a malfunction of all internal organs, starting from the kidneys with the heart, ending with the liver, pancreas and spleen. In many situations, there is a malfunction in the normal functioning of the thyroid gland, which affects the entire endocrine system. Against the background of the appearance of sepsis, hepatitis can occur. The disease is often accompanied by impaired stool, and in addition, there are attacks of nausea, loss of appetite and vomiting. Dry tongue is also considered a typical symptom of blood poisoning (the mechanism is shown in the photo below).
Septicopyemia
One of the sepsis variations is septicopyemia, which is characterized by the formation of a purulent abscess on different organs, which, as a rule, is accompanied by intoxication of the body. In the event that the pathology develops without metastatic ulcers, then we will talk about such a pathology as septicemia. Its main feature is the accelerated development with the severity of the general symptoms of blood poisoning.
Forms of blood poisoning
Medical science distinguishes several of the following main forms of sepsis:
- Form of infection through the skin. This form develops as a result of infection in the blood due to minor skin damage, such as, for example, a scratch or pustular formation.
- Gynecological form. This type usually occurs in women during the postpartum period or as a result of abortions.
- The tonsillar form of sepsis can form as a result of the complicated course of tonsillitis or tonsillitis.
- The otogenic form of infection is due to the spread of infection from the ears. The disease can also gain strength in the presence of purulent otitis media.
- The odontogenic form of blood sepsis occurs when an infection of the oral cavity occurs if an active inflammatory process of the gums and teeth develops.
- Cryptogenic form. This diagnosis is made when the focus of inflammation cannot be determined.
Symptoms and causes of blood poisoning we identified. What is this fraught with?
What are the possible consequences?
The consequences of sepsis can lead to the development of an irreversible polysystem process. The appearance of general intoxication of the body along with the above symptoms poses a serious threat to life.
Against the background of the process of blood poisoning, infectious septic shock begins to develop, which is the most serious complication of the disease. The late stage of the shock state begins with the appearance of a clouding of consciousness, which in the end can end in a coma. With such an organism's behavior, the patient's condition can be regarded as critical. Blood pressure in this case will have a rapid tendency to decrease. A patient in this condition will need urgent resuscitation. In the event that no effective measures are taken within an hour, then death may occur immediately.
How to recognize the signs and symptoms of blood poisoning in a timely manner?
Diagnostic measures
Diagnosis of sepsis involves primarily an accurate identification of pathogens that have fallen into the bloodstream, and requires determination of the site of infection. A blood test is done to the patient, while the biomaterial is taken from a vein. In addition, microorganisms are sown. In parallel with this, the degree of sensitivity to antibiotics is determined.
In complicated situations, an emergency study is carried out on the basis of rapid analysis in order to isolate genetic pathogens. Using this method, after an hour and a half, doctors are able to detect a large number of bacteria that caused the first symptoms of blood poisoning.
How is sepsis treated?
The principle of treatment for blood poisoning is to eliminate the infectious focus. After its identification, specialists conduct rehabilitation and surgery. The treatment includes wound treatment using ultrasonic low frequency. For these purposes, antiseptics are successfully used along with proteolytic enzymes.
The relief of manifestations is carried out using antibiotic therapy. Directly, the treatment regimen is selected depending on a particular pathogen. For example, if a staph infection occurs, the use of medications such as Rifampicin and Fusidine is considered appropriate.
The suppression of an aggressive enzyme is carried out by specialists using inhibitory drugs. Further, in relation to the patient, glucose infusion is carried out along with the appointment of various vitamins, immunomodulators and supplements that contain protein. Particular attention is paid to the introduction of vitamin B2, which is involved in metabolic processes and stimulates the immune system.
In some situations, specialists conduct repeated surgical intervention, which involves opening an abscess and ligation of veins. One of the effective methods of treating such an infection is considered a blood transfusion. For this, doctors use blood substitutes, for example, Polyglukin. Good results can be achieved as a result of laser processing. In order to avoid a decrease in the total blood volume, patients are prescribed Polydez.
Further therapeutic treatment is carried out in order to increase the resistance of the body, and in addition, to increase its overall resistance to all infections. In this case, the fundamental method is the adjustment of the patient’s nutrition, in which they add variety to the diet by including vegetables and fruits that contain vitamins, and high-calorie foods are no less important.
What should be done to prevent blood poisoning?
Prevention of blood poisoning is based on the timely elimination of foci of purulent infections that are a source of blood poisoning. Also, as part of the prevention of sepsis, outreach is of no small importance. The aim of this work is to prevent in any way attempts associated with self-medication. It is also extremely important to seek timely medical attention in case of minor injuries that are accompanied by active inflammation. This also includes the implementation of preventive measures aimed at treating carious teeth, and in addition to the treatment of diseases such as tonsillitis and osteomyelitis along with middle ear inflammation, sinusitis and other focal chronic infections.
Alternative treatment
The most common alternative treatment for sepsis is to eat foods that are red. Such foods help cleanse the blood. These include, for example, red beets along with dark grapes, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, red cabbage, bell peppers and red onions. It is also advisable to use the following folk remedies:
- Half a glass of hot milk is poured, a strong fresh tea leaves is added to the container and a third of a teaspoon of salt is added. Next, sprinkle the product with a pinch of chopped dandelion root. The resulting mass is stirred, cooled and drunk twice a day. Treatment is only a week. In the evenings, you can add some more honey.
- Bowel cleansing should be carried out using enemas from salted water. Enemas are given every other day in order to better remove toxins.
- In the framework of first aid, mashed nettle leaves are applied to a festering wound, which helps to stop the infection of the blood.
- In order to prevent the consequences of infection and eliminate its symptoms, doctors recommend using fresh cranberry juice, which should be drunk in the first week in a glass three times a day.
Whatever the case, the most important thing is to detect blood poisoning in time and start treating it with antibiotics without delay. This is especially important for patients with reduced immunity, since they almost do not notice the symptoms of infection in their body.
We examined the symptoms and treatment of blood poisoning.