What to look out for when suffering burn after man needed both legs amputated from touching cooker
A man from Colorado accidentally burnt his thumb on a skillet while cooking dinner during a camping trip last December - but just days later he had lost both his legs.
Having initially thought nothing of it, 40-year-old Max Armstrong's toenails had started turning purple and his legs began to swell up, to the point he was taken to the emergency room.
"The burn on my thumb had become pretty ugly, it had turned black and looked like it was eating away at my thumb," the bloke said.
As he sat down to discuss his symptoms with doctors, the business owner explained that his eyes began 'rolling back in his head' while he started 'talking nonsense'.
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Armstrong was then transported to AdventHealth Porter, which had facilities better suited to his needs, before doctors placed him into an induced coma for six days.
After waking up from the coma and nearly losing his life, the businessman underwent a three-hour operation to have both of his legs amputated two days before Christmas.
Doctors said that he had contracted strep A bacteria, which had gotten into his burn and developed into sepsis.
What is strep A bacteria?
Strep A is a common type of bacteria and 'most infections are mild and easily treated, but some are more serious', the NHS says.
Symptoms are usually flu like, but the health service warns that 'the infection can cause serious problems.'
"This is called invasive group A strep (iGAS)," it adds.
What is sepsis and what signs do you need to look out for?
Sepsis is life threatening and can be difficult to spot.
When the infection enters your body, the bacteria spreads into the bloodstream and causes widespread tissue damage.
For Max, because of the amount of tissue damage, doctors recommend that limb removal surgery was the only option to save his life.
The NHS says that an adult or older child should call 999 or go to A&E if they have any of the following symptoms:
• feeling a sense of confusion
• having slurred speech
• blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin (sometimes this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet)
• a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it
• difficulty breathing
According to Cleveland Clinic, other severe symptoms include:
• Diarrhoea
• Dizziness
• Fever
• Large wounds, blisters or black spots form on your skin
• Nausea or vomiting
• Severe pain that spreads beyond the wound
• Skin swells (puffs up) or is warm to the touch
Max is now in a wheelchair for the rest of his life
Following his ordeal, Max now relies on a wheelchair.
"Initially when I woke up, I thought my legs were still there and then I came to realise that they weren't," he said.
"I felt down my leg and realised that my legs weren't there, I asked the nurse and she confirmed that I had my legs amputated.
"She told me that my family was waiting for me and kept on reminding me of them which anchored me."
You can donate to Max's GoFundMe here.
Anish Vij