Septic Arthritis
By Roger Thompson
If you have the misfortune of having bacterial infection in your joint cavity, you will most certainly be suffering from perhaps the most dangerous of all kinds of acute arthritis that is known as septic arthritis. The bacteria spread from a primary site and in most instances it is found right next to the bone or the soft tissue and will spread through patient’s bloodstream. However, such a condition is known to affect only a very miniscule number of people.
However, septic arthritis is more common among patients of rheumatoid arthritis and it affects, it is believed, about thirty to seventy people in a population of a hundred thousand people that are rheumatoid arthritis patients. The factors that can cause septic arthritis are many, and if there is a simultaneous presence of bacterial infection, the chances of affected by septic arthritis are greatly increased.
If you suffer from chronic ailments such as renal failure, cirrhosis, malignancy as well as diabetes then you will be at a greater risk of contracting septic arthritis.It will further increase if your immune system is weak, or if you previously have had immunosuppressive therapy. And, it has been noticed that alcoholics and also those who have been suffering from extended bouts of using intravenous drugs and even drug addicts are at a greater risk of contracting septic arthritis.
What’s worse is that septic arthritis comes on all of a sudden, and its symptoms include extreme pain, inflammation and swollen affected joints, which are also accompanied with chills as well as fever. Sometimes, the joint that has been infected can cause the patient to become immobile. And, if that was not bad enough, septic arthritis can also affect your bigger limbs of which the knee is a prime example.
There are a number of different means used by doctors to diagnose septic arthritis. The use of Gram’s stain may show septic arthritis, and the use of x-rays, radioisotope joint scan as well as determining the amount of white blood count is other means used to diagnose the problem. The most common treatment or therapy used for such a condition is antibiotic therapy which should ideally begin as soon as the symptoms are noticed, and identified. The main aim of such antibiotic therapy is to eliminate the infection, and if a patient is given such treatment within a week of onset of the infection, he or she would be able to recuperate faster than those who are treated a month after the infection has been diagnosed.
For more information check http://www.arthritisreliefhelp.info
has anyone suffered from septic arthritis?
when did you know it was septic arthristis? what form? symptoms? how long to pin point the diagnosis? what form was it?
Does anyone out there have “septic” arthritis?
I think I have septic arthritis ( I had rheumatic fever as a child and have had arthritis pretty much ever since…long complicated story…wont get into everything here.) But im wondering if anyone out there has it..or if you know anyone who has it?
I don’t know anyone or of anyone in my own life that has it besides me….. just wondering what your thoughts are on it…..how you got it (what kind of septic you were) and what your symptoms are…if any different than the usual kind of arthritis’s.
Thank you very very much.
About the Tetracycline make certain you are not having any dairy with it. If you are, this could be the reason that you are not feeling better.
Make sure you are taking the Tetracycline 12 hours apart. You may need to set your alarm clock for this.
By doing this you are keeping a steady amount of the antibiotics in your system.
What is septic arthritis???
I did the symptom checker on webmd.com for my five year old cousins symptoms and I think she may have it. Any comments from you doctors out there?
Well, Septic arthritis is a rather rare but important disease that typically affects monoarticular joints. Septic arthritis is an infection inside a joint that is caused by bacteria. Septic arthritis can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages, but of all the forms of arthritis, septic arthritis is the most aggressive at quickly destroying a joint. Additionally, Septic arthritis causes moderate to severe joint pain that comes on from a few hours to a few days. We refer to this as acute onset. If she has acute onset in one joint and a risk factor of any kind, your doctor must test for septic arthritis. So, basically, a needle is going to be inserted into the joint and synovial fluid removed and sent to the lab. The fluid will be examined under a microscope to look for bacteria. But the most important test is to measure the white blood cell count in the fluid, because an infection in the joint causes the white blood cell count to be extremely high. Her doctor also needs to have an X-ray, because the X-ray will be used to look for any problems in the joint. Her doctor is going to prescribe an antibiotic right away, but antibiotics alone may not get rid of septic arthritis. That is why the fluid in her joint may need to be drained at least once a day to remove the pus. How well your septic arthritis responds to treatment is going to depend on a number of factors. Most important is how soon she got treatment.
DIMA
PGY-I YEAR
Serious problems, please look inside for symptoms.?
Ok the symptoms I have are in order of how badly they affect me, meaning the worst will be up front, dizziness, fever, joint pain (mainly in the right shoulder but will move around a bit to wrists, knees, and hips,) fatigue, high blood pressure, and more migraines and headaches than normal.
The dizziness/confusion will increase when I go outside during the day or when I am around bright lights.
I’ve had a 100 degree fever for 2 weeks now which fever isn’t a symptom I get often, in fact for me its very rare.
Now I also have type 2 diabetes, but my blood sugar isn’t low, in fact its a little high, which might explain the fatigue but none of the other symptoms.
Some of the tests the DR has done include tests for rheumetoid arthritis, and several blood tests, and several blood cultures. I’m not septic, no arthritis or rheumetoid fever, and no lupus, my white blood cell count is completely normal so is pretty much everything else for that matter.
As to surgeries, I’ve had my gall bladder out, and I had heart surgery when I was 5, in fact I still have a heart murmur I do believe.
So what’s wrong with me? I’m at my wits end, because I don’t have insurance, and can’t afford to go to a specialist because I can’t get on welfare because I live with 2 other people. (Which is crap btw.) If anyone has any clue I would appreciate it, thanks in advance.
Septic arthritis case? What do you think?
About 2-3 months ago, I got sick for a few days with cold symptoms, then I started to develop limited joint movement in my neck, knee and right shoulder. (Most prevalent in the neck area, then knee, then shoulder). My right knee is clearly swollen with a build up of synovial fluid.
Symptoms:
-Cold symptoms (fever, nausea, headache) ~2-3 months ago
-Swollen / Inflamed joint(s): Right knee, neck, shoulder, right middle finger; left elbow (onset)
-Recent dandruff? (I have some scalp flaking for some reason…never had this before… using Selsin blue)
Doctor visits:
1st: The initial persistent neck-stiffness symptoms were ignored.
2nd: During the second visit, Naproxen was given for the observable joint inflammation.
The doctor has not made a clear diagnosis yet and had just prescribed Naproxen (he spends an avg. of 5-6 minutes with me…)
Current prescriptions: Naproxen (for reduced inflammation), Tetracycline (for acne)
I am a 195 lb 5’10 male with medium-athletic build. Currently prescribed 2x 500mg of Tetracycline a day. Do you think it is a good idea to up my dosage to 3x, perhaps to fight off the spreading infection (on top of the fact that I’m heavier than the typical adult)
I don’t know a better place to ask questions, perhaps you guys can give me more advice other than “go see a doctor” or perhaps the next time I meet him (in about 3-4 weeks) what should I tell him?
Also, I really want to work out (run/lift) which I cannot when in pain, but with Naproxen, it reduces the pain enough so that I can run and lift, however, I’m worried I may be facilitating joint erosion by doing so. Should I be okay to work out?
Thanks!
D
Thanks, but I am properly following the instructions. I do not take it within 3 hours of eating anything and at least 1 hour before I eat anything.
I guess I will stick with the prescribed 2 pills a day, I’m just curious whether or not my body size is big enough that it may need more.