The human body is a marvel and a mystery. As much as science has learned about it, they still can’t adequately predict which way a medical situation will go. Two people with the same illness or injury can have completely different experiences as they recover.
Your body can recover from a significant amount of trauma, or bacteria can take it down. When a bacterial infection attacks your body, you could recover from it with medication and time, or you could end up in the hospital because the infection progressed into septicemia and possibly sepsis thereafter.
How did you contract septicemia?
When you went in for your surgery, you expected everything to go as planned. Unfortunately, your post-operative stay resulted in you contracting an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection, which is far too commonplace in modern hospitals across the country, including many here in Texas. Since the hallmark of septicemia is the fact that a bacterial infection moves into your bloodstream, it may not surprise you to know that infections in the following parts of the body often lead to this condition:
- Kidney infections
- Lung infections such as pneumonia
- Urinary tract infections
- Abdominal area infections
Of course, these are only common sources. The infection could originate anywhere in your body. Septicemia could turn into sepsis without a swift diagnosis and the proper treatment, which ironically, requires you to stay in the hospital.
How do you know if you have septicemia?
If you have an undiagnosed bacterial infection or suffer from an antibiotic-resistant infection, you could exhibit the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Rapid heart rate
- Chills
- Rapid breathing
The above symptoms could appear soon after your surgical procedure. Septicemia is life threatening, so if you are at home when these symptoms appear, you may want to seek medical attention right away. Without the proper diagnosis and treatment, your symptoms could progress to include the following:
- Reduced urine output
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion
- Inability to think clearly
- Inadequate blood flow
- Red dots on your skin
- Shock
If your doctor fails to give you a proper diagnosis and the right treatment, your septicemia could progress into sepsis and then septic shock. Make no mistake. Your life could be in jeopardy. You could end up spending a significant amount of time in the hospital, perhaps even in the ICU. All of this could happen because the hospital and/or the medical staff responsible for your care failed to do their jobs properly.