Docs bathe Fla. woman in bleach to kill flesh-eating bacteria
Tammy Cox is being consumed by flesh-eating bacteria. The Florida mother is in a medically induced coma at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where WKMG-TV says doctors are soaking her body in raw bleach in the hope that this will kill the deadly bacteria.
"It just kept eating away at her," Cindy Cox, her sister, said. "So, they kept taking more and more and her whole backside is gone."
No one knows how she contracted the infection, the station says. The prognosis isn't good. One out of four people with necrotizing fasciitis (nek-roe-tie-zing fah-shee-eyetis) doesn't make it. If the bleach works, doctors say Cox will spend six months in the hospital and undergo at least 18 surgeries.
How often are people infected with this bacteria? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were about 600 cases reported in 1999.
WKMG-TV has photos of Cox. (You may find them too graphic.)
We told you in July about the Texas man who became infected with flesh-eating bacteria while swimming off the coast of Texas.
Learn more about flesh-eating bacteria, which causes soft-tissue gangrene, at this site maintained by the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation. The Manitoba health department has a detailed -- and helpful -- factsheet about necrotizing fasciitis. So does Cigna.
3 comments:
Egads, poor lady! no idea where she got these nasties, eh?
Egads, poor lady. No idea where or how she picked up these nasties, eh?
I've seen that done before in the Hospital for a homeless man who was infested by far to many things to treat individually. He also got a nice shave and haircut and was no worse for the wear. Go figure.
UMM..I might add that it was a mild bleach solution in a whirlpool tub and it seemed to work well enough..
Post a Comment