But the reality is, flesh-eating bacteria doesn’t have to be a threat if you’re careful. Arm yourself with this info to stay safe:
1. Cases Are Pretty Rare, but the Bacteria That Cause Them Aren’t
Necrotizing fasciitis can actually be caused by several different types of bacteria, including specific strains of Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and E. coli, which aren’t all that uncommon for us to come into contact with. Still, getting a flesh-eating disease is pretty rare—a healthy immune system fights off everything form the common cold to more serious infections like this. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flesh-eating diseases are more common in people who have chronic conditions that weaken the immune system, like cancer or diabetes.
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2. A Paper Cut Can Put You at Risk
So can a mosquito bite or a blister from your new summer sandals. These intense bacteria get into your body through open wounds. “If you have an injury, the most important thing you can do reduce your risk is practice good basic hygiene and wound care so that it does not get contaminated with any bacteria,” says Shah. The bacteria behind necrotizing fasciitis tend to like water, so if you have any open wounds (or even a killer sunburn), avoid hitting up the hot tub or jumping in a lake.
3. It’s Not Contagious
According to the CDC, contracting a flesh-eating disease from someone else is super, super rare. Most of the 600 to 700 cases diagnosed in the U.S. every year are random and result from coming into direct contact with the bacteria through a break in the skin. Again, the most important thing you can do is keep the any wounds or sunburns covered and clean.
Photograph courtesy of Journal of Surgical Case Reports
4. It Has Seemingly Harmless Symptoms…at First
We’ve seen the scary photos that show how these infections usually end, but what about early warning signs? According to the CDC, you may start to notice symptoms within a few hours of exposure to the bacteria, but they’re not very aggressive at first. A lot of people with necrotizing fasciitis start with symptoms similar to a pulled muscle (a little pain and soreness or swelling, but around a cut or open wound). Symptoms may progress to red or purplish coloration, ulcers, blisters, or black spots on the skin. Fever, chills, fatigue, and vomiting come next. As stand-alones, all of the early symptoms are easy to chalk up to too much time in the sun, a cold, or overdoing it at beach volleyball. But the key is that they appear in conjunction with a wound. If you think something is off, it’s better to be safe than sorry and check with a doc.
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5. It Needs to Be Treated ASAP
Time is of the essence. Typically, flesh-eating diseases are treated with intense IV antibiotics, but sometimes that’s not enough. “The bacteria infect the fascia, which is a connective tissue membrane that surrounds muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels,” says Shah. “Once the fascia is infected the surrounding tissue is destroyed. So it basically destroys the skin, muscle, and fat tissue.” Antibiotics can help stop the tissue death from spreading, but they can’t reverse it. Once tissue is dead, it has to be removed by surgery, sometimes even going as far as the loss of limbs or life. The bottom line: This is not something to mess with. The sooner you can get treatment, the better chance docs have of getting it under control.