Omega-3 - Dry Gangrene And Omega-3

Introduction

I play poker weekly with a group of friends, but one of my friends dropped out because of leg problems, in fact, the last time I saw him he was so bad off he had to use two canes to get around. One of our friends called him to see how he was, apparently he has to go to the doctors for vascular surgery on his legs. That was the extent of his discussion, so we really didn't know what caused it or what the condition was classified as.

When I was reading the book, "Lost in Shangri-La - A True Story", by Mitchell Zuckoff, which discusses the struggles of survivors of an airplane crash in New Guinea, the book discussed the survivor's wounds that were developing into gangrene. The author then went on to make a distinction between two types of gangrene, wet gangrene and dry gangrene. I did not even know there were two types of gangrene, I thought there was just one.

The author discussed that wet gangrene attacked human tissue and was usually caused by an infection, and dry gangrene usually affects the legs and feet and is caused by reduced blood circulation. In both cases, surgery is necessary to remove the dead tissue caused by wet gangrene, while in dry gangrene it is necessary to go in and perform vascular surgery on the arteries to improve circulation.

As I read this, I thought that this is exactly the condition my friend has. He is having problems with his legs, he has to have vascular surgery and he also smokes heavily, which is one of the identified causes of dry gangrene.

Preventing Dry Gangrene

People who develop dry gangrene have several other health problems that bring dry gangrene on. Couple of these conditions includes smoking and diabetes.

If you smoke, now is the time to quit before you develop this condition or other health problems caused by smoking.

If you have diabetes, control your blood-sugar levels using the prescribed medication. You should also examine your feet on a frequent-bases for signs of changes in skin color or signs of injury and wearing properly fitted shoes to ensure proper blood circulation.

If you have diabetes, especially Type II, you should consider taking Omega-3 to improve your blood circulations and provide your body with the essential fatty acids.

Conclusion

During my research of dry gangrene, I found there was another type of gangrene called gas gangrene. Unlike dry or wet gangrene, gas gangrene should be treated as a medical emergency since it can spread rapidly through the body.