In some persons, the lack of blood flow in them would lead to death of their tissues and this is gangrene which can be a serious life threatening life condition.
It must be noted that gangrene would affect mostly the arms and legs of a person. Sometimes, gangrene can also take place in the muscles or in the organs inside the body.
Who gets affected by gangrene?
Gangrene would occur in those persons who are diabetic, persons with compromised immunity levels and in those with vascular diseases etc.
There are 4 types of gangrene such as dry gangrene, wet gangrene, gas gangrene and internal gangrene.
Dry gangrene:
Extremities like toes and fingers would get affected mostly by this dry gangrene. Here, gangrene would occur due to reduced flow of blood to an area. Those persons who have issues like atherosclerosis, diabetes and PAD or peripheral artery disease would get dry gangrene in them. This dry gangrene would progress slowly and the affected tissue would become dry, dark brownish or blackish coloured. If not treated, it can lead to severe complications also.
Wet gangrene:
This type of gangrene would progress very fast and it would be accompanied by swelling, foul smell etc. Here, the area of the body would get affected by bacteria resulting in tissue death. Wet gangrene would occur mostly in those with injuries, surgical wounds etc. It is noteworthy that wet gangrene could lead to sepsis which is life threatening systemic infection. Mostly, this wet gangrene would be treated by antibiotics or by means of surgery etc. In worse cases, amputation of legs would have to be done.
Gas gangrene:
Clostridium bacteria are responsible for the gas gangrene. Point is that gas gangrene is a deadly form. It is important to mention here that when the bacteria could thrive in an oxygen depleted environment that is especially after a surgery or after traumatic injury etc then gas gangrene would occur. Persons with gas gangrene would show symptoms like severe pain, swelling plus formation of gas bubbles etc under the skin. Gas gangrene could be treated especially by surgical process like removal of dead tissue, administration of oxygen etc
Internal gangrene:
Organs present inside our body such as intestines, gall bladder etc would get affected by internal gangrene. Internal gangrene would occur in us due to blocked blood supply. Normally, internal gangrene would go unnoticed and that would be really dangerous. It can cause symptoms like severe pain, fever, septic shock etc. Treatment for internal gangrene would involve surgical process to restore the blood flow and removal of affected organs to avoid life threatening complications later on.
Reasons for gangrene:
Presence of diabetes:
Blood vessels in us would get damaged due to high levels of blood sugars. This would reduce the blood flow leading to gangrene in us.
Peripheral heart disease or PAD:
Reduced blblood flow can occur due to narrowing of arteries caused by PAD. By this, there are chances of getting gangrene in the extremities.
Frost bites etc:
Tissue damage and restricted blood flow could occur due to extreme cold. Bitter truth is that this might result in dry gangrene if it is not treated properly.
Severe surgeries / injuries etc:
We could get gangrene due to trauma or surgical wounds etc and this could be due to compromised blood supply to the area.
Suppression of Immune system:
Certain persons with weakened immune systems such as those undergoing chemotherapy or those with AIDS etc would be more prone to infections that can lead to gangrene.
Prevention & treatment:
It is worthy to note that by managing underlying health conditions, by maintaining good hygiene etc gangrene in us can be prevented. Early signs of poor blood circulation can be identified by means of regular checkups especially for those with diabetes or with PAD. Various treatments would include surgery, antibiotics, hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the sake of inhibiting bacterial growth.