Infertility is a heart-wrenching, faith-questioning, relationship-testing, life altering experience.

April is Infertility Awareness Month. Whether a friend, a family member, a colleague or yourself
has fought through this difficult fate that MILLIONS of women are fighting day in and day out.
Post this as your status if you or someone you know has walked to hell and back for the chance
to be a MOM.

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Gas Gangrene is defined as the destruction of tissue and develops when the blood supply to an
affected body part is cut off because of various factors such as infection, vascular disease, or
trauma. The Micro-organism structure of the Gangrene is known as Bacilli with spores (Bacillus
which is a rod shaped Bacteria). Gangrene can involve any body part, but the most commonly
affected areas are the extremities (feet, arms, legs, hands). The condition is most often caused by
the bacteria called Clostridium perfringens. However, it also can be caused by streptococcus or
necrotizing fasciitis, leading to the revolting odour emitting infection Gangrene. A few ways to
see the signs of Gangrene are swelling, redness, and warmth of the affected area. Despite the
resemblance of the early stages of the bacteria and many other infections. Gangrene is not one to
“walk off” As the infection spreads throughout the affected area very rapidly. The site of
infection becomes inflamed with a pale to brownish-red and very painful tissue swelling. If you
press on the swollen tissue with your fingers, you may feel gas as a crackly sensation. The edges
of the infected area expand so quickly that changes can be seen over a few minutes. If medical
attention is not applied at first signs of fungal infection than the bacteria will soon go into the
bloodstream affecting many if not all of the internal organs and brain stem leading to death.

About 1 in 5 cases occur without an irritating event –Severe trauma such as surgery or injury- .
Patients who develop this disease in this manner often have underlying blood vessel disease,
diabetes, or colon cancer. If you have been diagnosed with Diabetes you have to be very careful
due to the lack of blood flow to the extremities, specifically the toes where many of times this
infection occurs.

The infection is known to be caused from the lack of blood flow aka lack of Oxygen to the area
on the body, the bacteria Clostridia is an anaerobic bacteria so it thrives in areas with low
concentrations of Oxygen.

Successful therapy requires rapid diagnosis and aggressive early treatment. Any patient in whom
gangrene is suspected should be considered critically ill due to the rapid spread of infection.
Many treatments are available for this infection though many may not be preferred, Such as;
Amputation of limb above the area of infection

High dosages of Anti-Biotics (needed for all treatments)

And one of the not so common ways of treatment which has been mainly used in animals.

Consider hyperbaric oxygen therapy.  

o Clostridia lack superoxide dismutase, making them incapable of surviving in the oxygen-
rich environment created within a hyperbaric chamber. This inhibits clostridial growth,
exotoxin production, and exotoxin binding to host tissues.
o Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may also promote host polymorphonuclear cell function.
o Animal studies have clearly demonstrated a survival advantage when this therapy is
combined with antibiotics and debridement. However, no randomized controlled studies
of humans exist to support this finding.