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Oregon Teen Loses Legs to Mystery Illness
By LAUREN BROWNE, M.D.
Dec. 7, 2012
An Oregon teen has lost both her legs to a mysterious infection, leaving doctors searching for answers.
Tabitha Schulke, an 18-year-old woman who wanted to devote her future to helping others as a missionary, is now fighting for her life in the critical care unit of a Portland Hospital.
The teen first started feeling ill on Thanksgiving morning, when she came down with flu-like symptoms, but in a strange turn of events, she quickly developed gangrene on her feet.
...
Doctors still do not know what exactly has transformed Schulke from a healthy-appearing young teen into a critically ill patient fighting for her life.
Signs point to toxic shock syndrome, a disease with a 50 percent chance of survival caused by certain types of Staphylococcus bacteria. The syndrome can often initially look like a flu infection, but can quickly worsen with high fevers, dangerously low blood pressure and organ failure.
The rare condition is sometimes seen after superficial skin wounds become infected or when cloth is packed in the nose to stop a common nosebleed. And about half of all cases occur in menstruating women or women using barrier contraceptive devices, according to the New York City Bureau of Communicable Disease.
"I recommend that women use pads," said Dr. Philip Tierno, an expert on toxic shock syndrome and director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University's Langone Medical Center. "Or use tampons from the health food stores that are 100 percent pure cotton."
...
Full text:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/oregon-teen-loses-legs-mystery-illness/story?id=17906108
By LAUREN BROWNE, M.D.
Dec. 7, 2012
An Oregon teen has lost both her legs to a mysterious infection, leaving doctors searching for answers.
Tabitha Schulke, an 18-year-old woman who wanted to devote her future to helping others as a missionary, is now fighting for her life in the critical care unit of a Portland Hospital.
The teen first started feeling ill on Thanksgiving morning, when she came down with flu-like symptoms, but in a strange turn of events, she quickly developed gangrene on her feet.
...
Doctors still do not know what exactly has transformed Schulke from a healthy-appearing young teen into a critically ill patient fighting for her life.
Signs point to toxic shock syndrome, a disease with a 50 percent chance of survival caused by certain types of Staphylococcus bacteria. The syndrome can often initially look like a flu infection, but can quickly worsen with high fevers, dangerously low blood pressure and organ failure.
The rare condition is sometimes seen after superficial skin wounds become infected or when cloth is packed in the nose to stop a common nosebleed. And about half of all cases occur in menstruating women or women using barrier contraceptive devices, according to the New York City Bureau of Communicable Disease.
"I recommend that women use pads," said Dr. Philip Tierno, an expert on toxic shock syndrome and director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University's Langone Medical Center. "Or use tampons from the health food stores that are 100 percent pure cotton."
...
Full text:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/oregon-teen-loses-legs-mystery-illness/story?id=17906108
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