Blood Infection Causes

Blood infection can be described as poisoning of the blood. It occurs due to the presence of bacteria in the blood. Medically, blood infection is known as sepsis or septicemia. Septicemia is one such health condition that can cause a septic shock, which is actually life threatening. When the presence of bacteria in the blood is in a small amount, the immune system is strong enough to destroy them. However, bacteria can multiply at a rapid pace when the immune system is in a weak condition. It does not mean that healthy people do not suffer from blood infection. In a healthy condition, blood infection causes include the prolonged stay of bacteria inside the body.

Causes of Blood Infection

Though the most common cause of blood infection is bacteria, it can also happen because of other different microbes like virus, fungi, etc. The bacteria gets into our body due to some unsanitary habits like improper hand washing or from unsterilized equipments in the hospital. Sometimes, infections caused by virus or fungi in the organs can get spread into the blood stream and increase the level of toxins in the blood. This happens in cases of lung infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTI), ruptured appendix, cellulitis, meningitis, etc. Infection in the blood can also occur after some organ transplant surgery as these patients becomes weak due to strong medications. People who have suffered severe burns or injuries may get a blood infection as well.

Usually, people who have a weak immune system suffer from blood infection. It can happen because of some illness like cancer, AIDS, etc. Medical treatment like chemotherapy on cancer patients or administering steroids for a prolonged period of time increases the possibility of this kind of infection.

Babies who are less than one year old can also develop a blood infection if they have some common infection like fever and is not treated on time with proper medication. This is due to the fact that at such a young age, their immunity is not developed enough to withstand any bacterial infection. And, it is not very easy to diagnose blood infection in the babies.

The immune system of an elderly people becomes weaker with increase in age. As a result, they are at a greater risk of blood infections. Among them, those that are suffering from diabetes have higher chances of getting blood infection.

Symptoms and Treatment of Blood Infection

The signs and symptoms of patients suffering from blood infection depends upon the severity of the infection and underlying blood infection causes. Some of the commonly observed blood infection symptoms are high fever with shivering in the body, swelling of the joints accompanied by pain, low blood pressure, skin rashes, etc. In some cases, disorientation and confusion has also been observed. Blood infection is diagnosed with the help of physical examination of the patient and studying the medical history. It is followed by several other tests like blood culture, urine culture, X-rays, CT scan, etc., to confirm the infections. If a patient is diagnosed with blood infection, then the treatment is carried out in an intensive care unit (ICU). Such patients are put on oxygen to prevent respiratory organs failure. In the initial stage of treatment, some antibiotics are administered to the patient intravenously that can kill different types of bacteria. Then the doctors identify the bacteria with the help of blood culture and then the antibiotic that can destroy the specific microbe is given.

Thus, identifying the blood infection causes is vital for the treatment of the problem. Due to the increase in use of antibiotics for the purpose of treating diseases caused by different types of viruses have made many bacteria resistant towards antibiotic medicines. So, the treatment of blood infection has become tougher in certain cases.