What is Blood Infection?

When bacteria invades the bloodstream, the condition is termed as 'blood infection'. It is also known as bacteremia. It is considered a life-threatening infection because of the complication it causes - sepsis. What happens with mild infections, the body triggers the release of chemicals into the bloodstream to eliminate the bacteria. This causes inflammation only at the infected site. Once the job is done, the inflammation returns to normal. However, the story is different with bacteremia. Here the body gets so overwhelmed by the presence of bacteria in the blood that its inflammatory reaction to deal with the problem gets exaggerated. And due to this, the inflammation gets so intense that it starts spreading beyond the infected site to the whole body. This immune response is known as sepsis and in most cases, it is known to be a life-threatening condition. As the inflammation progresses, it starts affecting the organs, gradually causing them to shut down. At one stage, the person is said to be in a 'septic shock' - an intense drop in blood pressure, which could be seriously fatal.

Factors Responsible for Blood Infection

Bacteria, and in fact many other pathogens, can gain entry to the bloodstream by means of something as mild as a scraped elbow or a knee, a broken cuticle, etc. Even medical procedures like use of catheters or permanent IV line, or something like a dental tooth brushing, can help bacteria to invade the bloodstream and cause bacteremia and finally, sepsis. Other possible causes may include herpes, urinary tract infection, and certain types of cancer. Blood infection could also be a complication of a surgery.

What are the Symptoms?

Symptoms that may be indicative of an infection of the blood include:

• The temperature of the body may be more than 38.5 degree Celsius, and it may be below than 35 degree Celsius
• Heart beats faster than normal (usually more than 90 beats per minute).
• Urination may decrease or become infrequent
• Nausea/vomiting.
• Diarrhea
• Reduced alertness or increased confusion tend to be the severe signs of this infection.

Treatment Options

Its main motive is to keep the infection developing into sepsis or from preventing sepsis from turning into a life-threatening situation. The immediate step in the treatment is to administer antibiotics. It is delivered intravenously (IV). The treatment starts even before the doctor has been able to identify the specific bacteria that has caused the infection. So that is why, the antibiotics that would be received by the patient, would be equipped with the ability to treat multiple types of bacteria. Once the particular bacterium gets identified, the treatment may switch to a different antibiotic that would specifically target the causal bacteria.

As mentioned before, blood infection tends to cause a severe drop in the blood pressure of the infected person. So to keep this from happening, doctors may make use of medication that would constrict the blood vessels thus, helping to increase the blood pressure. Other medications, as appropriate may also be used.

For some people, blood infection could be caused by a medical device, intravenous lines, and the like. So for them, a surgery to get rid of such sources may be the course of treatment.

What we can conclude from the above explanation is the fact that, it is not the infection that causes the worry, but the immune response of the body leading to sepsis. This, if left untreated immediately, can easily take its toll on the life of the ailing person. So mind the symptoms of blood infection, and start an early diagnosis to ensure a proper treatment.