Infective endocarditis: beware piercing!

Followers of piercing, attention to stringent hygiene measures that must accompany deed relating to a piercing, because the risk of infective endocarditis is real and sometimes deadly, as reported by the radio station France Inter, noting the death a girl of 19 years with no medical history.
In fact, if used wrong equipment disinfected or not disinfected properly, the risk of endocarditis from one piercing can be important.

Infective endocarditis is an inflammation of the endocardium and heart valves due to infection by bacteria (streptococci, staphylococci ...) or fungi (Candida albicans), which are introduced into the bloodstream via a simple skin or mucosal breach.

Secondary endocarditis a piercing takes an acute form and occurs most often in healthy valves. It is manifested by a sudden fever and chills, a septicemic condition or signs of left heart failure (acute pulmonary edema resulting in a collection of fluid in the lung tissue).

This is a serious life-threatening illness because of the risk of cardiac and extracardiac complications. Hence the need to quickly check if a sudden onset of fever waning of a piercing. Hospitalization is common and requires medical treatment, in fact, a combination of high-dose antibiotics, active in germ isolated by blood (blood) and prescribed for 4 to 6 weeks to avoid recurrence. The administration is intravenous.

Surgical treatment may be necessary in case of valvular (with a major leak) or constitution rapid heart failure.

The piercing can also cause other serious infectious complications such as viral hepatitis B or C.