What Causes Blood Poisoning?
In most cases of blood poisoning, the root cause is bacterial infection in blood (bacteremia). Also, other pathogenic organisms, like virus and fungi, contribute to blood infection causes in some cases. Initially, infection takes place in the skin, wounds, gum or other body parts, which later spread to bloodstream. Once the blood is infected, the pathogen and its secreted toxins are spread to internal organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc., and result in a wide range of symptoms.
Symptoms of Blood Poisoning
There are three stages of sepsis or blood poisoning, which are categorized with respect to pathogenic invasion in the host. Uncomplicated sepsis is resulted due to common infections of the wounds, cold and flu. The second stage is severe sepsis, wherein the hypersensitive reaction of body's immune system impairs the normal functioning of vital organs. An untreated severe sepsis may worsen to septic shock, the third stage of sepsis. The notable blood poisoning symptoms are listed below:
- Running high temperature on all a sudden
- Chills and abnormally low temperature
- Nauseated feeling
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Rapid heart rate
- Increased respiratory rate
Diagnosis of blood poisoning is done with the help of blood culture method. Of course, the doctor will strictly examine the physical symptoms for suspected blood infection. With severe infection, inflammation of body parts and blood clots are obvious signs due to action of body's defense mechanism. The treatment guide for blood poisoning is entirely based on how serious is the sepsis condition. In case of early diagnosis, blood poisoning treatment can be proceeded at home with a full course of prescription antibiotics.
If uncomplicated blood poisoning is left treated, it progresses to severe sepsis and finally, septic shock. These serious forms of blood poisoning are medical emergencies, and patients diagnosed with the same are admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). The objective is to support the vital organ functions, say normal breathing and heart pumping, while the bacterial infection is treated completely. For such cases, blood poisoning drugs are antibiotics delivered intravenously. This intravenous treatment distributes the medication quickly, and shows improvement signs within a short time.
Blood poisoning medication is usually a combination of two or more antibiotics, given for 7 - 10 days. The logic is to give broad spectrum drugs for various bacterial strains. By the time, causal strain is identified, more specific antibiotic medication is prescribed for blood poisoning treatment. The most concerning issue with untreated severe sepsis is high risk of organ damage within a short time. For delayed antibiotic treatment, it is found that the rate of mortality is increased by about 7 percent per hour. In addition to this antibacterial therapy, organ support (e.g. kidney dialysis and intubation, mechanical ventalation) and surgical approaches to remove infection may be directed for the patient.
By the time, patients with severe sepsis and septic shock are hospitalized, the vital organs are no longer functioning normally, as they should. Thus, chances of complications are very high, and their survival rate is reduced. As per statistics, the mortality rate of these patients is about 40 percent or more. In a nutshell, a good prognosis of blood poisoning is expected, if diagnosis is made in initial stages and correct treatment is followed without wasting time. In such cases, the pathogenic invasion is stopped, before it gets spread to vital organs. Above all, the general health of the patients matters a lot in achieving prompt recovery from blood infections.
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