Gangrene is a necrotic skin infection. Meaning that tissue that is still attached to you is dead and decaying. This often occurs after frostbite, tramatic injury and other conditions such as Diabetes where there is poor circulation causes tissue to die.
Gangrene often has a rotten green/gray color and also includes Gas gangrene, which is caused by a Clostridium perferingens. This soil bacteria can grow at very low temperatures so it often accompanies frostbite. Gas gangrene infections as the name implies, produce gas from the oxygen free [anaerobic] conditions of the dead tissue causing exposure to the surrounding tissue and spreading the infection.
Gangrene is treated with Severe debridement [amputation] and Gas gangrene is 100% fatal if left untreated. [They all are]
2007-01-08 13:25:41
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answer #1
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answered by B 2
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High blood levels of glucose can cause several problems, including frequent urination, excessive thirst, hunger, fatigue, weight loss, and blurry vision. However, because type 2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all. How to treat diabetes naturally https://tr.im/n8mVb
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:
Increased thirst
Increased urination
Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
Fatigue
Nausea
Vomiting
Patients with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:
Increased thirst
Increased urination
Increased appetite
Fatigue
Blurred vision
Slow-healing infections
Impotence in men
If you think you have diabetes i think you should have a checkup and speak with your doctor just in case.
2016-02-15 19:56:54
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answer #2
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answered by ? 3
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Return to Encyclopedia Index G
Gangrene
Definition
Gangrene is the term used to describe the decay or death of an organ or tissue caused by a lack of blood supply. It is a complication resulting from infectious or inflammatory processes, injury, or degenerative changes associated with chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus.
Description
Gangrene may be caused by a variety of chronic diseases and post-traumatic, post-surgical, and spontaneous causes. There are three major types of gangrene: dry, moist, and gas (a type of moist gangrene).
Dry gangrene is a condition that results when one or more arteries become obstructed. In this type of gangrene, the tissue slowly dies, due to receiving little or no blood supply, but does not become infected. The affected area becomes cold and black, begins to dry out and wither, and eventually drops off over a period of weeks or months. Dry gangrene is most common in persons with advanced blockages of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) resulting from diabetes.
Moist gangrene may occur in the toes, feet, or legs after a crushing injury or as a result of some other factor that causes blood flow to the area to suddenly stop. When blood flow ceases, bacteria begin to invade the muscle and thrive, multiplying quickly without interference from the body's immune system.
Gas gangrene, also called myonecrosis, is a type of moist gangrene that is commonly caused by bacterial infection with Clostridium welchii, Cl. perfringes, Cl. septicum, Cl. novyi, Cl. histolyticum, Cl. sporogenes, or other species that are capable of thriving under conditions where there is little oxygen (anaerobic). Once present in tissue, these bacteria produce gasses and poisonous toxins as they grow. Normally inhabiting the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and female genital tract, they often infect thigh amputation wounds, especially in those individuals who have lost control of their bowel functions (incontinence). Gangrene, incontinence, and debility often are combined in patients with diabetes, and it is in the amputation stump of diabetic patients that gas gangrene is often found to occur.
Other causative organisms for moist gangrene include various bacterial strains, including Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. A serious, but rare form of infection with Group A Streptococcus can impede blood flow and, if untreated, can progress to synergistic gangrene, more commonly called necrotizing fasciitis, or infection of the skin and tissues directly beneath the skin.
Chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis, or diseases affecting the blood vessels, such as Buerger's disease or Raynaud's disease, can cause gangrene. Post-traumatic causes of gangrene include compound fractures, burns, and injections given under the skin or in a muscle. Gangrene may occur following surgery, particularly in individuals with diabetes mellitus or other long-term (chronic) disease. In addition, gas gangrene can be also be a complication of dry gangrene or occur spontaneously in association with an underlying cancer.
In the United States, approximately 50% of moist gangrene cases are the result of a severe traumatic injury, and 40% occur following surgery. Car and industrial accidents, crush injuries, and gunshot wounds are the most common traumatic causes. Because of prompt surgical management of wounds with the removal of dead tissue, the incidence of gangrene from trauma has significantly diminished. Surgeries involving the bile ducts or intestine are the most frequent procedures causing gangrene. Approximately two-thirds of cases affect the extremities, and the remaining one-third involve the abdominal wall.
Symptoms
Areas of either dry or moist gangrene are initially characterized by a red line on the skin that marks the border of the affected tissues. As tissues begin to die, dry gangrene may cause some pain in the early stages or may go unnoticed, especially in the elderly or in those individuals with diminished sensation to the affected area. Initially, the area becomes cold, numb, and pale before later changing in color to brown, then black. This dead tissue will gradually separate from the healthy tissue and fall off.
Moist gangrene and gas gangrene are distinctly different. Gas gangrene does not involve the skin as much, but usually only the muscle. In moist or gas gangrene, there is a sensation
2007-01-09 05:40:32
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answer #4
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answered by dee_ann 6
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