Hollywood Squares
Q: Jackie Gleason admits he has never seen them but is absolutely certain that they exist. What are they?
Wally Cox: His toes
Sepsis
Sepsis is a generalized infection that is potentially life-threatening.
One of my brothers seems to be particularly susceptible to sepsis, having had it at least twice. He informed me that there were several patients on "his floor" that had sepsis at least once a year.
Indeed, studies suggest that having had sepsis at least once was a risk factor for future cases of sepsis.
One study guestimated that half of the recurrences were from the same organism and originated from the same location while about half were "new" cases.
According to Mayo Clinic, common points-of-origin for sepsis are:
- Lungs
- Urinary tract
- Digestive system
- Catheter sites
- Breaks in the skin
Lungs
Literature links COPD to increased risk of lung infections. Asthma and the shallow breathing due to a sedentary lifestyle are probably not helpful.
In a pinch, I think putting MERV filters over the air ducts (outlets) in your bedroom and/or running a HEPA filter would be helpful to reduce challenges to your lungs.
Urinary tract
Drinking two liters of water a day is linked to reduced risk of UTIs. One of the surprises of getting older is that our normal, biological triggers like thirst and hunger are not as reliable as they used to be. More than one person has three or four bottles of drinking water they put out in the morning and a timer set to tell them when they need to drink one.
Drinking some amount of cranberry juice is reputed to reduce risk of UTIs.
Avoiding the need for a catheter is linked to reduced risk of UTIs.
Digestive system
Reasonable amounts of fiber and exercise are good for digestion. They keep things from impacting.
Drinking water is also key to staying regular.
Breaks in skin
According to my brother, legs and feet pose a special risk to the "breaks-in-skin" point of origin.
As we get older and start carrying that spare tire around our middle, it gets harder to care for our lower legs and feet. Harder to see. Harder to wash.
As we get older and our circulation diminishes, our feet often feel cold and there is a temptation to wear many pairs of sock which can increase the risk of Athlete's Foot, a fungal infection that can cause cracks in our skin that allow bacteria to take up residence.
Another factor that pops up as we get a little bit older is that we might start wearing compression socks. One more item to change and launder on a regular basis.
Check your feet every day. It is where the rubber hits the road. If you cannot check them then buy a mirror or ask your domestic partner to help.
Soap and LOTS of clean water are your best friend for shallow-wound care. Most people do not need exotic antibiotics or disinfectants.
Comments from the health professionals will be very much appreciated.
Lookup Dr Paul Mariks sepsis cocktail.
ReplyDeletea 24" box fan with a couple of 24" filters is a low budget way to screen some of the crap outta your inside air.
ReplyDelete20" box fan with 20"x 20" filters is much more achievable, based upon my survey of inexpensive and available fans.
DeleteI guessed wrong on the size of my rig.
DeleteMeh. Works, cheap but loud
A couple of other significant risk factors that are quite broad.
ReplyDeleteFirst, diabetes raises the risks for skin integrity (including decreased feeling), also level of control of sugars is an impact variable.
There are a number of reasons why an individual might be immunocompromised. Advanced age. Transplant patients are suppressed immune systems. Cancers & cancer treatment. Other drugs (including steroids as one example) depress the immune system.
(I am a nurse; Don_RN)
DeleteThanks for piping up.
DeleteEspecially for breaks on the skin or cellulitis make your own colloidal silver. Two pieces of silver and three 9 volt batteries and some wire
ReplyDeleteThe elderly (anybody over 60, frankly) go from healthy to septic a lot quicker than the young.
ReplyDeleteAnd they hate to have to get up and pee, because it's such a production, so they don't drink enough water, and get UTIs.
Within as little as two days, you're headed to the ICU with a life-threatening infection, and where you'll potentially be exposed to 20 more bugs you don't have at home.
The best way to live a happy and long life is to keep yourself out of the hospital by not getting jacked up to begin with.
Cranberry juice makes your urine more acidic, and less susceptible to UTIs. Once you have a UTI, nothing works but antibiotics. If your pee reeks or looks cloudy/funky, you've already missed the bus.
Thanks for adding your comments. I expect you see more of those in the Emergency Room that you wish to see. Especially since some of them are preventable.
DeleteSmall corrections of a small rudder and engine throttles does better to control a large cargo ship than emergency efforts and assuming the "Crash Position" at the NYC docks.
DeleteMost sepsis is a multi-system failure of the body's natural defenses (otherwise as a species we'd fail to thrive) but our current medical system seems to wait until it's crash position time before acting.
GOOD Nutrition, feeding the immune systems not feeding the bad bacteria with crap foods.
Hydration, MOST of us are not hydrated enough thus stressing the bodies daily Maintenace until medical intervention is needed.
Simple check for everybody here. It's expected the first pee of the morning be clear and yellow. Starting the morning with a 16 ounce bottle/glass of water along with your morning coffee is a good start. The early morning NEXT pee should be a light yellow. Repeat as needed with water until by noon or so your peeing CLEAR.
To prevent spending all night doing the pee cruise I personally taper off fluids after dinner for the final before dinner pee.
Older folks have less reserve to such abuses of their bodies, mostly from decades of such abuse.
However I notice few seniors that stay active, eat well and have FAMILY support have such sepsis issues until very late in life if ever.
The loss of family support, family dinners (a social spot check of "How Ya Doing") and such makes those often lonely old folks very likely to end up in the ER-Hospital and the death homes (aka senior centers).
The nuclear family has often "Nuked" us as a species in various not so subtle ways as common decency and family concerns and care fall to the wayside.
Getting checked into the hospital for a UTI is a good way to pick up a MRSA infection. When my mom picked up a UTI we could always tell, because her mental acuity would start to suffer, the first sign.
ReplyDeleteThat joke about Jackie Gleason: Years ago I was out on a tavern crawl with a beer-bellied Scotsman mate of mine, and we found ourselves in the Men's Room addressing adjacent urinals. Slightly weaving, he belched and said "Ya know, I haven't seen this thing in years" "Have you tried to Diet?" I asked, after a moment. A look of shock, and then concern flashed across his face. "Why? What color is it now?" he said.
Beware of skin breaks anywhere, for example chafing or rubbing from repeated activities.
ReplyDeleteIf you see a small access form, deal with it immediately (you can do it yourself if you can take the pain). Once you've had one, be really careful keeping that area clean.
UTIs are brutal. At the end of his life my father got several UTIs and we knew he was having trouble when his mental state went down hill as Aggie noted. Normally he was a pleasant but bit confused but with a UTI raging he was paranoid and hostile. Get the bug knocked back down and he was back to normal.
ReplyDeleteI have been fighting to try and heal what started as a crack on the ball of my foot for two and a half years. One problem is the lack of feeling in my foot, not because of diabetes which has been thoroughly checked but from old frost damage and possibility of nerve damage from back surgery. They insisted I should have been screaming in pain to walk on it plus having had steroid shots in my back to deal with other pain. Came to a head in 2020 when I had an infection with swelling on Friday with no appointment until the following week. When I got to the city hospital the surgeon wanted to amputate! Plan B was to open it up and spend three months in a nursing home with 4 times a day antibiotics IV and advanced wound care. I have had several relapses since and which have been nipped in the bud because the podiatrist keeps a prescribed supply of antibiotics on my shelf since we don’t have 24/7 critical care with in a hundred miles. Currently trying to get healed up with twice a day wound care helped by a stump mirror and a plan to surgically alter a deformed toe that is putting pressure on the affected area. The moral is pay attention to small wounds and get your doctor to prescribe antibiotics to have on the shelf for early treatment if 24 hour emergency is not available in your area!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice but Please look into a product called MEDIHONEY. Calcium Alginate Dressing (2"x 2") with Active Leptospermum Honey aka Manuka Honey.
DeleteThis is a medical grade product from Derma Sciences Inc in Toronto.
I purchased it from Amazon on my doctors advice for my leg and foot problems.
Do your own research to see if this may be right for you.
I deal with this every day with my wife. No fun for any one.
ReplyDelete