An elderly person with occlusive arterial disease presents with shriveled skin over the affected part. This part is brown or black in colour and gives a foul smelling odour. The condition is DRY GANGRENE.
There is a distinct bright red line of demarcation that appears between the living and the dead tissue, and dry gangrene, which is most frequently seen in elderly diabetics, buerger’s disease, raynaud’s disease, embolism, ligation, injury to a vessel, frostbite, oracid or alkali burns, develops as a result of the gradual deprivation of arterial blood supply.
Symptoms
Skin-related gangrene symptoms and signs include:
Depending on the type of gangrene you have, your skin may become pale, blue, purple, black, bronze, or red in color.
Increasing the size of an area of skin or developing fluid-filled blisters
Skin damage and health can be distinguished with ease
Pain that comes on suddenly, then numbness comes after that.
A sore that is leaking an offensive-smelling discharge
skin that is hairless, shiny, or thin
the sensation of having cool or cold skin
Low blood pressure
Temperature may be lower than the typical 98.6 F (37 C) but there is a chance of fever.
Rapid heart rate
Lightheadedness
Shortness of breath
Confusion
Causes
Hand- and foot-gangreneOpen pop-up dialogue box
Various factors, including those listed below, can lead to gangrene:
- Lack of blood supply.Without a sufficient blood supply, cells can’t survive, and your tissue deteriorates. Your blood supplies oxygen, nutrients to feed your cells, and immune system components like antibodies to fend off infections.
- Infection.For an extended period of time, unchecked bacterial growth can lead to infection, which can kill your tissue and result in gangrene.
- Trauma.Traumatic wounds, such as those from gunshots or the crushing trauma of car accidents, can allow bacteria to enter tissues deep within the body, where they can then infect those tissues and lead to gangrene.
Types of gangrene
Dry gangrene.The most common causes of dry gangrene are diabetes and arterial blood vessel disease, which are both characterized by dry, shriveled skin that can range in color from brown to purplish blue or black.
Wet gangrene.Wet gangrene is characterized by swelling, blistering, and a wet appearance and is referred to as occurring in tissues that have a bacterial infection.
Wet gangrene is a serious condition that needs to be treated right away because it spreads quickly and can be fatal. It can appear after a severe burn, frostbite, or other injury and frequently happens in diabetics who inadvertently hurt a toe or foot.
Gas gangrene.The surface of your skin may initially seem normal if you have gas gangrene, which typically affects deep muscle tissue.
You may notice a bubbly appearance to your skin as the condition worsens, a change in color from pale to gray or purplish red, and a crackling sound when you press on the affected skin due to the gas within the tissue.
Similar to wet gangrene, gas gangrene is a potentially fatal condition that is most frequently brought on by infection with the Clostridium perfringens bacterium, which appears in a wound or injury that has lost its blood supply following surgery or an injury.
Internal gangrene.Internal gangrene is a type of gangrene that impacts one or more of your internal organs, such as your intestines, gallbladder, or appendix. This type of gangrene happens when blood flow to an internal organ is obstructed, such as when your intestines bulge through a weak spot of muscle in your abdomen (hernia) and twist.
Internal gangrene, if untreated, can be fatal and may result in fever and excruciating pain.
Fournier’s gangrene.Men are more frequently affected by Fournier’s gangrene, but women can also get it. Fournier’s gangrene affects the genital organs and causes genital pain, tenderness, redness, and swelling. It typically develops as a result of an infection in the genital area or urinary tract.
Progressive bacterial synergistic gangrene (Meleney’s gangrene).Painful skin lesions start to appear one to two weeks after surgery when this uncommon form of gangrene develops.
Risk factors
You are more likely to get gangrene if a number of things happen, such as:
- Diabetes.High blood sugar levels can eventually damage blood vessels, decreasing or interrupting blood flow to a part of your body. If you have diabetes, your body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone insulin (which helps your cells take up blood sugar) or is resistant to its effects.
- Blood vessel disease.Blood clots and atherosclerosis, which harden and narrow your arteries, can both prevent blood from reaching a particular part of your body.
- Severe injury or surgery.You are more likely to develop gangrene if you experience any kind of trauma to your skin and underlying tissue, such as from an injury or frostbite, especially if you also have a condition that affects the blood flow to the injured area.
- Smoking.Gangrene is more likely to occur in smokers.
- Obesity.Obesity frequently goes hand in hand with diabetes and vascular disease, but just carrying extra weight can put stress on your arteries, reducing blood flow and raising your risk of infection and inadequate wound healing.
- Immunosuppression.Your body’s capacity to fight off an infection is compromised if you have HIV, are receiving chemotherapy, or are undergoing radiation therapy.
- Medications or drugs that are injected.The injection of some prescription drugs and illicit substances has occasionally been found to result in gangrene-causing bacterial infections.
Complications
When there is extensive tissue death from gangrene, a body part, like your foot, may need to be amputated or scarred, depending on the severity of the condition.
If untreated, gangrene caused by a bacterial infection may be fatal. It can quickly spread to other organs.
Prevention
You can lessen your risk of getting gangrene by following these recommendations:
- Care for your diabetes.Ask your doctor to examine your hands and feet at least once a year, check your hands and feet daily for cuts, sores, and infection symptoms like redness, swelling, or drainage, and try to keep your blood sugar levels under control if you have diabetes.
- Lose weight.The pressure on your arteries caused by extra weight not only increases your risk of developing diabetes but also increases your risk of infection and slows the healing of wounds.
- Don’t use tobacco.Your blood vessels may become damaged if you smoke cigarettes on a regular basis.
- Help prevent infections.While they are healing, make an effort to keep any open wounds clean and dry by washing them with mild soap and water.
- Watch out when the temperature drops.Because frostbite reduces blood flow to the affected area, it can result in gangrene. If you notice that any area of your skin has turned pale, hard, cold, or numb after being exposed to cold temperatures for an extended period of time, call your doctor.
Homoeopathic Treatment:
A healthy diet, blood sugar management, pain relief, and heart care should all be provided to the patient.
Drying off the affected area, elevating it to lessen pain, avoiding hot fomentation or warmth, shielding it from local pressure, and keeping the wound clean by scraping off any slough and trimming any nails are all important ways to care for an injury.
Secale cornutumis a fungus known as ergot of rye, which contracts the muscles of the blood and causes it to become thin, foetid, watery, and black, oozing continuously. The skin becomes shriveled, numb, mottled, and dusky with a blue tinge. Dry gangrene slowly develops, with bloody blisters. The varicose ulcers are foul and indolent with a burning sensation that is better by
AnthracinumIt causes boils, malignant ulcers, abscesses, and buboes, where there is a purulent focus, as well as great restlessness with debility, depression, and pain in limbs. It is an anthrax nosode, which is very valuable in the treatment of malignant disease or septic inflammations of connective or cellular tissues.
Arsenicum albumThe skin is dry, shriveled, like parchment, and the eruptions are dry, rough, scaly, and worse cold. It causes inveterate neuralgias and multiple neuritis, as well as great anxiety, exhaustion, and restlessness, with nocturnal aggravation.
Phosphorusis a treatment for hemorrhagic diathesis because the blood loses its ability to clot; the pains are typically burning in nature; the patient has a marked thirst for cold water; the ulcers bleed easily at the slightest touch; the larger ulcers are surrounded by smaller ones; and the skin burns while the patient is restless.
Lachesis mutussmall wounds bleed easily, capillaries are dilated, and it has the bluish-purple appearance of boils and ulcers; dark blister with black edges.
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