Underestimated Risks Fingernail chewing can also lead to death

Young Briton was in mortal danger after nails chewing

The chewing of fingernails is widespread. Many people have become accustomed to fingernail chewing especially in stressful situations - but many children also tend to chew their fingernails. However, this is not without danger, as a recent patient case in Great Britain showed. There, a young man was temporarily in mortal danger, because he contracted a sepsis.

Fingernail chewing can be dangerous

Fingernail chewing is common. According to estimates, up to 40 percent of children and around ten percent of adults nibble on their nails. Mostly stress is the reason that the fingers automatically wander to the mouth and be nibbled at it. Sometimes, however, it is also trivial causes such as boredom. The results of nail-biting not only look ugly, they also make it easier for pathogens to play. That also had to be experienced by a young family man from the UK. He almost died because of nail biting.

Patient first thought he was suffering from a flu

According to a report in the British newspaper "The Sun", 28-year-old Luke Hanoman from Birkdale, Southport, is happy to be alive after suffering from sepsis for finger-nail biting.

According to the newspaper, the father of two began to feel uncomfortable after biting the skin on the side of his fingernail.

For a week he had flu-like symptoms as the infection spread through his blood.

Eventually, he was taken to the hospital, where he spent four days under 24-hour observation and was told by the doctors that he "could be happy to be alive.".

Now he is fit again, he wants to work for a better awareness of the symptoms of sepsis.

Dangers of blood poisoning are often underestimated

In Germany, the dangers of blood poisoning are often underestimated.

Sepsis can be characterized by a number of symptoms: fever, malaise, chills, very low blood pressure, high heart rate and fast, shallow breathing are typical signs.

If left untreated, blood pressure drops so much that vital organs such as the heart, lungs and brain are no longer supplied with sufficient oxygen. This can manifest itself in confusion and impaired kidney function.

If several organs are affected, this is called multi-organ failure. "Such a condition is acutely life-threatening and needs to be treated as soon as possible in an intensive care unit," explains dr. Johannes Kalbhenn, Senior Physician Intensive Therapy of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine of the University Hospital Freiburg in a communication.

Teeth away from the fingernail

Luke Hanoman also showed some of the typical symptoms after he had bitten away the skin on the side of a fingernail.

"It hurt a bit, but I did not think anything about it," the 28-year-old told Sun..

"I was at work all week and started getting flu-like symptoms that gradually got worse," the Brit explained.

He suffered from night sweats, chills and hot flashes. Nevertheless, the young man continued to work.

Only when the finger, on which he had rumblabbert rumbling recently, swelled up, he thought that something was wrong.

"I started to get really funny and I could not concentrate."

Raise awareness of sepsis

At the weekend he decided to rest and stayed in bed for a long time. When his mother came to visit to check on his condition, she realized that her son was seriously ill and took him to a clinic, where he was immediately hung on the drip.

By that time, his whole body was already covered in red lines. An indication that the infection on his finger had gone out of control and caused blood poisoning.

The patient was hospitalized for four days and given antibiotics. "It was pretty scary," said the man. He had been close to septic shock.

"The doctors and nurses were really good. They did not tell me how bad it was, they tried not to worry me too much, "said the family man.

"When I felt better, they told me I was lucky to be alive."

Now he wants to sharpen the awareness of blood poisoning: "I had no idea what sepsis was and I had no idea of ​​the symptoms that I had to pay attention to. There has to be much more awareness about it. "

He pointed out how important it is for people to know that they can meet anyone at any age. (Ad)