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Home :: Family Health :: Septicaemia Septicaemia - Septicaemia symptom, treatment, causes
Septicaemia is a rapid multiplication of bacteria in the blood, often with release and circulation of bacterial toxins. Septicaemia (also caned blood-poisoning) is most likely in people with IMMUNO DEFICIENCY, especially after surgery. Injecting drug-abusers who use unsterile needles and syringes are also at high risk.
Septicaemia is the presence of bacteria in the blood that may give rise to symptoms. It is commonly referred to as blood poisoning. It usually occurs as a complication of another, usually serious, infection, for example, of the lungs or the kidneys. Bacteria escape from the part of the body they've attacked and get into the bloodstream. The bacteria that find their way into the bloodstream may also come from burns and infected wounds, or from boils and tooth abscesses. Septicaemia is dangerous because once the bacteria get into the bloodstream they can go anywhere they choose, infecting any body organ along the way. They'll attack vital organs such as the lungs or the heart almost instinctively knowing that by doing this they'll put themselves in a more powerful position. Moreover, in the bloodstream the bacteria rapidly multiply, so in a short time there are huge numbers of bacteria available to do the body harm. This makes septicaemia a potentially fatal condition.
Septicaemia is a rapid multiplication of bacteria in the blood, often with release and circulation of bacterial toxins. The human body is host to a range of different bacteria that live harmlessly in various places such as the mouth, skin, bowel and genital tract. However, these bacteria can cause disease if they get into the bloodstream, particularly if a person is unwell or if their immune system isn't strong enough to keep the invading organisms under control. Septicaemia is sometimes associated with meningitis and is called meningococcal septicaemia. The bacteria strains most commonly responsible include Escherichia coli ( E . coli ), Pneumococcus , Klebsiella , Pseudomonas , Staphylococcus and Streptococcus .
Symptoms of Septicaemia
Some common Symptoms of Septicaemia :
- Shivering.
- Sweating.
- Chills.
- High fever.
- Flushing.
Treatment of Septicaemia
- Antibiotics can be used to treat the bacteria, with penicillin being the most common drug used.
- Intravenous antibiotics .
- People who have been in close contact with a person with meningococcal meningitis may also have to be treated with antibiotics such as rifampin or ciprofloxacin.
- If this happens, vaccines may be used, but they only treat two strains of meningococcal meningitis.
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