Infections from Hospitals
If you went into the hospital to deliver a baby-with all of your limbs intact, would you expect to leave without those same limbs?
No one expects to come out of a hospital in worse shape than when they went in-especially if they went into the hospital for what would be considered a standard procedure.
In this particular instance, what should have been one of the happier days of this woman's life took a tragic turn. She contracted streptococcus, or flesh-eating bacteria-the description alone is enough to strike terror into any rational human being-and had to have all her limbs amputated in order to save her life.
She is now suing the hospital for malpractice, claiming the hospital failed to catch the early signs of infection. As it developed, and stubbornly resisted treatment, she went into shock, gangrene set in and her kidneys went into failure. The decision by her doctors to amputate was a drastic measure used to save her life.
The hospital denies that the woman contracted the bacteria from their hospital, and that she had received appropriate medical attention.
Streptococcus actually lies dormant in up to 15 percent of the population, so she may have had it before she went in. Known more commonly for causing strep throat, it can also cause meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, and endocarditis (inflammation in the heart).
And while infections do occur all the time in hospitals, it will be an interesting case to watch to see how they could prove it was due to the hospital's negligence.
It's a healthy idea to keep your immune system strong to fight off infections any time, but especially if you know you're going to have to go into a hospital for any sort of procedure. Not only can different medical procedures be stressful on your body-you'll also want to give yourself an amply supplied immune system to fight off any hygiene issues, such as the doctor who forgets to wash his hands!
One of the best strategies for a strong immune system is knowing how to calm your nerves through stress management. Naturally, anyone going into the hospital is going to be under a lot of stress. So if you can learn and practice a few simple relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive relaxation or guided imagery, you'll have a better stay and increase the chances of a good outcome. Otherwise, many scientists and doctors-including myself-are increasingly interested in the immune-boosting power of various well-studied mushrooms (it's called mycomedicine) that have a long history of safe and effective use in Asian cultures. One of my favorite products is called Immune Power from the company New Chapter. It'll boost the activity of one of the most important immune cell types-called natural killer cells-by 300 percent.
But get started early! The ideal would be a month or more before your hospital stay, because it takes some time to get things going.
