What Is Osteomyelitis?

The word, Osteo means bone. Myelo means bone marrow and Itis means inflammation.

It is pronounced as Os-tee-oh-my-uh-lie-tus. It is most often caused by the Staphlococcus bacterium.

It can be very serious. The reason is that your red blood cells are manufactured within your bone marrow.

Red blood cells carry the necessary oxygen to all the cells in your body.

Infections can rapidly travel through your bloodstream or spread from nearby tissue into a bone, often within just a few hours.

Infections can also begin in the bone itself, if trauma exposes your bone to pathogens (disease causing organisms).

The long bones of your body, such as your leg and upper arm bones, as well as your spine and pelvis are most commonly affected by bone infections.

This bone infection often occurs in children as an acute (short term) condition. In adults, it may occur as either acute and chronic (long term) form.

It can be successfully treated today, but was once considered incurable.

It is still a serious condition requiring aggressive treatment to prevent spread of your infection and to save the affected bone.

Osteomyelitis is an inflammation due to myelosuppression (bone marrow supression, also called depression). When the bone marrow becomes "depressed", it is unable to produce enough blood cells.

The reason for early treatment is because the bone marrow is where your body makes red blood cells. Red blood cells are where oxygen attaches and is distributed to your entire body.

Myelosuppression leads to a severe deficiency of red blood cells which can cause a serious form of anemia called aplastic anemia.

Myelosuppression can also cause a deficiency of white blood cells (leukocytes) Leuko means white. Cytes means cells. The medical term for this is leukopenia. Penia means an abnormally low number.

Thus, the body has an abnormally low number of white blood cells. White blood cells are the body's mechanism to fight infection and other pathogenic invaders such as bacteria and viruses.

Persons with leukopenia are defenseless against infection and it is possible that they might die from something as simple as a common cold because their immune system has been compromised.

Myelosuppression (depressed bone marrow) may also produce inadequate numbers of platelets, the medical term for which is thrombocytes, creating thrombocytopenia.

A thrombocytopenic person is at high risk for hemorrhage.

This can be a very serious condition. If you have any of the symptoms listed below following a surgery or trauma wound, seek medical assistance immediately.

Signs and symptoms depend on whether the condition is acute, lasting several months or less, or chronic, lasting several months to years.

Signs and Symptoms of Acute Osteomyelitis Include:

• Fever that may be abrupt


• Irritability or lethargy in young children


• Pain in the area of the infection


• Swelling, warmth and redness over the area of the infection

Signs and symptoms of Chronic Osteomyelitis:

• Warmth, swelling and redness over the area of the infection


• Pain or tenderness in the affected area


• Chronic fatigue


• Drainage from an open wound near the area of the infection


• Fever, sometimes

There may be no signs and symptoms or they are difficult to distinguish from other problems. For example, this bone infection of the hip, spine or pelvis may have few signs and symptoms.

Osteomyelitis that occurs after a broken bone (fracture) or deep wound may cause pain and swelling that you may attribute to your injury, not an infection.

It occurs when an infection develops in a bone or spreads to a bone from another area of your body. It' is caused by bacteria or fungi. The infected bone may deteriorate and form a pocket (abscess) of pus in response to the infection.

This may block blood supply to the bone. In chronic cases, the loss of blood supply may lead to death of the bone.

Your bones are usually resistant to infection. In order for bone infection to occur, a situation that makes your bones vulnerable must be present.

For example, trauma to your bone, such as a fracture, or to the soft tissue around your bone, such as a puncture wound, gives infections a route to enter your bone or nearby tissue.

This disease can often occur as a complication of bone fractures or hip or knee replacement surgeries.

You may also be vulnerable to infection if you have a condition that weakens your body's ability to fight an infection, such as HIV, diabetes or sickle cell anemia.

There are also many drugs and procedures, such as radiation, which will depress bone marrow. Persons exposed to these therapies must be closely monitored for symptoms of myelosuppression.

See your doctor if you experience worsening bone pain along with signs and symptoms of an infection, such as fever and chills.

If you're at risk of infection because of a medical condition or recent surgery or injury, see your doctor right away if you notice signs and symptoms of an infection.

Your doctor may order a combination of tests and procedures to diagnose and determine what type of infection you have including: blood tests, x-rays, other imaging procedures such as MRI and CT, and bone biopsy.

Bone Surgery: Doctors treat chronic cases with surgery and antibiotics. In acute cases in children or vertebral osteomyelitis, surgery isn't always necessary.

There are different types of surgeries depending on what bone is infected. Surgery may include:

• Draining the infected area


• Removing diseased bone and tissue


• Restoring blood flow to the bone


• Removing any foreign objects

Antibiotics: If your doctor suspects you have chronic osteomyelitis, he or she works to determine exactly what microorganism is causing the infection before prescribing antibiotics.

Your doctor uses a bone biopsy or a piece of bone removed during surgical treatment to determine what is causing the infection.

Once the bacterium or fungus causing your infection has been identified and you've undergone surgery, if necessary, your doctor selects the antibiotic most likely to be effective in fighting your particular type of infection.

Antibiotics are administered most often through a vein in your arm (intravenously) or, in some cases, they can be taken orally.

You typically take antibiotics for four to six weeks, or even longer. In some cases, you may need to take antibiotics for the rest of your life.

Side Effects of Antibiotics: Antibiotics carry a risk of side effects, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Allergic reactions also can occur. Talk to your doctor about the side effects to expect from your specific medication.

If you're undergoing treatment for osteomyelitis, take care of your body and increase antioxidants in your diet to strengthen your immune system so that your body has a better chance to fight the infection and heal.

For example:

• Stop Smoking. If you smoke, quit.

  Smoking puts you at a high risk for many diseases and conditions. Smoking also slows blood flow to the outer limbs, (your hands and feet), making it even more difficult for your body to heal and fight infections.

• Eat a Variety of fresh, uncooked, fruits and vegetables. Give your body the support it needs to fight infection by eating a healthy antioxidant-rich diet with a variety of raw fruits and vegetables.


• Take Natural Supplements Daily: Help your body build its immune system to fight infections and diseases, but don't over-supplement with pills.

  Raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables contain not only more antioxidants than you can purchase (and safely take) in pill form, but these antioxidants are more readily usable by your body than those found in pills or capsules.

  
  
  

• Work To Get Control Over Your Health. If you have diabetes or another disease or condition that affects your ability to fight infections, follow your doctor's instructions and make lifestyle modifications to help you better control your condition such as increasing your antioxidants.

  Even if your osteomyelitis is controlled, continue following your doctor's instructions closely. This may help prevent this bone marrow infection from returning in the future.

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