Necrotizing Fasciitis (Flesh-Eating Bacteria): Home Treatment

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Home Treatment

A person with necrotizing fasciitis needs prompt medical attention in a hospital. Seek medical treatment immediately if you develop symptoms of this illness. Approximately 30% of those who develop necrotizing fasciitis will not survive the infection.¹ Early treatment is critical for successful recovery.

Prevention

Most people will not get necrotizing fasciitis. You generally do not have to worry about getting the disease, because the bacteria that cause the disease usually do not cause infection unless they enter the body through a cut or other break in the skin.

In very rare cases, the bacteria can be spread from one person to another through close contact such as kissing. People who live or sleep in the same household as an infected person or who have direct contact with the mouth, nose, or pus from a wound of someone with necrotizing fasciitis have a greater risk of becoming infected.

If you have been in close personal contact with someone who develops necrotizing fasciitis, there is a small chance that your doctor may recommend that you take an antibiotic medicine to help reduce your chances of getting an infection. ³ If you do develop any symptoms of an infection after being in close contact with someone who has necrotizing fasciitis, see your doctor right away.

Most people who get necrotizing fasciitis are in good health before they become infected. You can lower your risk of infection if you:

• Wash your hands often.
• Keep all wounds clean. This includes cuts, scrapes, burns, sores caused by chickenpox or shingles, insect or animal bites, and surgical wounds.
• Watch for signs of infection, such as increased pain, swelling, pus, heat, or redness near the wound or fever of or higher with no other obvious cause. If signs of infection appear, seek medical attention promptly.
• If you recently strained a muscle or sprained a joint and develop fever, chills, and severe pain, seek medical care immediately. These may be signs of deep soft tissue infection.
• If you have severe pain, swelling, and fever, do not treat yourself with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen. If you have developed a soft tissue infection, these drugs may temporarily reduce the symptoms without treating the infection and may delay how quickly you seek proper medical care.

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Last updated:	November 01, 2005
Author:	Colleen Cronin
Reviewed By:	Renée M. Crichlow, MD - Family Medicine, Dennis L. Stevens, MD, PhD - Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Lisa Shaw