Latest news with #ICU
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
She Wanted a Tattoo to Honor Her Late Brother. It Landed Her in the ICU
Quiniece Washburn wanted to honor her late brother after he died of an overdose, as the two were "pretty close" when they were growing up She got a portrait of his face on her leg, "so I knew that he would be with me," but the tattoo became painfully infected, causing her to need treatment in the ICU She's warning others to be careful about the cleanliness of their tattoo shop, as the experience was "traumatizing"A woman who wanted to honor her late brother with a tattoo of his face ended up with a dangerous infection — and a scar where his portrait should be. Quiniece Washburn said she and her brother were 'pretty close' growing up, according to Daily Mail. After her brother died of an overdose, the 36-year-old mom of two shared that she 'wanted to get the tattoo so I knew that he would be with me.' She researched a tattoo artist online and paid $350 for a portrait of her brother on her left calf. But as she told the outlet, she felt a painful, burning sensation while getting inked. When the tattoo artist was finished and wiped the tattoo down — a common practice, as tattoos can ooze blood and ink — Washburn said the tattoo leaked more than what's usually expected. Her tattoo began to form blisters, leaking fluid, she said. 'I could stick a white paper towel on the tattoo and the whole picture would be on it,' she explained. Washburn said it began to cause significant pain. 'When it got worse, I was having to drag my leg to walk, and I was limping. It was a horrible time for me. The pain was traumatizing, and it was upsetting because it was the face of my brother,' she shared. Washburn went to the hospital 10 times for intravenous antibiotics — until her condition grew so severe that she needed to be admitted to the ICU. That's when she was diagnosed with a devastating case of cellulitis. It's a skin infection caused by bacteria that enters the skin through a cut or crack, the Mayo Clinic explains. While there, doctors treated the infection, which she described as 'green infected stuff oozing out of me.' 'The hospital never said it was from dirty products, and I watched [the tattoo artist] unpack my needles, but people say if the [tattoo] gun isn't properly wiped, then that can cause infection,' Washburn, who wonders if 'someone else's fluids may still have been on the gun," explained. Aggressive antibiotic treatment helped clear up the infection, but Washburn said her tribute to her late brother is 'pretty ruined.' 'It has a lot of scar tissue on it and it's cracked. His face doesn't look the same at all, and it's kind of dark. I've been told not to touch it for a year, so I'm going to leave it as it is,' Washburn said. She added that the tattoo artist refunded her money and gave her $200 after learning what had happened. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. She's sharing her ordeal to warn others. 'I'd tell people to watch your tattoo artist and make sure everything is clean,' Washburn told the outlet, calling the experience, 'traumatizing.' Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Horror as toddler missing a kidney is stung 150 times by wasps and is left fighting for his life
A two-year-old boy who is missing a kidney was stung 150 times by wasps and is now fighting for his life in a Georgia hospital. Beckham Reed was playing with his cousins on an electric toy when he hit a nest of yellow jackets, which 'swarmed him head to toe,' a GoFundMe revealed. His parents Mariah and Peyton rushed the little Beckham to the hospital, where he was given morphine and Benadryl and sent home. 'They said his breathing was okay so they didn't need to keep him,' GoFundMe organizer Tiffany Hewatt wrote on the fundraising page. Not even a day later, Beckham was rushed to a different ER after he turned yellow and was diagnosed with multiple organ failure, which affected his heart, liver, and remaining kidney. He was admitted to the ICU at Memorial Savannah Hospital and treated with dialysis, a ventilator, and IV medications to flush out the toxins from the stings. 'Due to his age and size and the amount of stings he had, his little body was unable to handle the amount of toxins in his body,' Hewatt said. On Wednesday, the little boy's hemoglobin tested at 6.8, which is significantly low and can be life-threatening. He received more blood, which the family expected after he underwent dialysis. Hemoglobin transports oxygen in the blood from the lungs to the rest of the body and carries carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be exhaled. Beckham is also being fed via a tube and was recently taken off blood pressure medication. 'We know the dialysis and sedating meds are causing the BP drop. Beckham is waking up more and we know this is good news because he is STRONG and a great kicker,' she said. 'However, we don't want him pulling the vent or other lines so they have to keep adjusting his sedating meds.' Beckham has been slowly improving, but doctors are still trying to get him regulated and he continues to stay on the ventilator. The family is worried his only working kidney won't work, but they won't find out if it will until he comes off dialysis. Beckham is showing signs of infection. Beckham could come off dialysis as early as tomorrow, Hewatt said, but doctors are currently holding off due to worries the two-year-old will pull on his dialysis line. The family started the GoFundMe to help with medical bills.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CalmWave secures $4.4m to expedite market penetration
US-based CalmWave has raised $4.4m in a follow-on funding round to expedite its expansion into the market amid growing demand from hospital systems. The funding was contributed by existing investors, including Bonfire Ventures, Third Prime, Catalyst by Wellstar and Silver Circle. Alarm fatigue in ICUs is a critical issue where the majority of alarms do not require immediate clinical action. CalmWave's solution, the Calm ICU, creates a signal-led critical care environment that filters out non-actionable noise, allowing clinical urgency to stand out. This system is pivotal in aligning hospital teams, technology, and time, thereby enhancing decision-making at the bedside and improving patient care. CalmWave founder and CEO Ophir Ronen said: 'We've done what many believed impossible and shown significant reductions in non-actionable alarms, a key driver of ICU alarm fatigue – and this pre-emptive and oversubscribed round is recognition of this achievement. 'Our pilot with Wellstar demonstrated that our platform is effective at fusing disparate healthcare data silos and using Transparent AI to enable clinicians to reduce non actionable ICU alarms. The demand is clear, and we are scaling our game-changing hospital operations platform to a rapidly growing list of healthcare systems.' The CalmWave Operations Platform employs Transparent AI to provide visibility and comprehension of the data and reasoning behind its recommendations. This empowers care organisations to make data-driven decisions. The platform leverages a hospital's historical and real-time patient data to offer objective suggestions for lessening non-actionable alarms, which, when implemented, can improve the clinical work environment. Built on an AI-first architecture, CalmWave's platform integrates AI into every aspect of its operations, from alarm reduction to clinical workflow optimisation. Third Prime partner Keith Hamlin said: 'We're proud to support CalmWave as they scale a future where the ICU is not just smarter but Calm.' "CalmWave secures $4.4m to expedite market penetration" was originally created and published by Hospital Management, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong woman opens up about life after moment her heart stopped beating
More than a decade ago, Hongkonger Olivia Cheung Lok-man's heart stopped beating for 63 minutes. She was a 19-year-old student at the time and had suffered a fulminant myocarditis attack, a rare and severe illness that can cause heart failure. Cheung, now a 30-year-old art teacher, has since developed the ability to cope with the uncertainties surrounding her condition, thanks to the special care of the medical team at Queen Mary Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). 'I have experienced [near death], I don't think there's anything [my family and I] can't deal with,' she said. Cheung and her doctor spoke to the media on Monday as part of the hospital's work with the Shaw Foundation to offer in-person and online activities to educate the public about intensive care treatments and patients' experiences. Last year, lawmakers passed a legislative amendment that allows terminally ill patients to reject certain treatments, such as undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as the end of their life nears.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Georgia toddler left fighting for life after being stung by yellow jackets over 150 times and suffering organ failure
A Georgia toddler was fighting for his life after getting stung over 150 times by yellow jackets – sending him to the emergency room with multiple organs failing. Two-year-old Beckham Reed was riding an electric side-by-side toy car with his cousins when he hit a yellow jacket nest, according to WJXT and a GoFundMe for his family. The boy was swarmed by the wasps and stung over 150 times. When his parents brought him to the emergency room, he was given morphine and Benadryl and sent home, the fundraiser said. Little Beckham's condition took a turn for the worse less than 24 hours later, when his skin turned yellow, prompting his parents to rush him back to the hospital. Doctors told the family the toddler, who was born with one working kidney, was suffering from multi-organ failure affecting his heart, liver and kidney, according to the fundraiser. Beckham was then transferred to the ICU at Memorial Savannah and put on dialysis, a ventilator and given life-saving IV medications. Due to his age and size – and the sheer amount of stings he sustained – Beckham's body was unable to handle the amount of toxins it was exposed to, the fundraiser said. 'We ask God for healing and patience as the physicians say this will be a slow process. This is not a medical experience that is common,' the GoFundMe said. 'There is no antivenom for yellow jackets so all they can do is support his body while the toxins work their way out. Peyton [his father] is not able to work while they are with Beckham.' Beckham's kidney and liver numbers were starting to improve by Wednesday, according to an update to the fundraiser. 'Beckham is waking up more and we know this is good news because he is STRONG and a great kicker,' the GoFundMe said. 'We know Beckham is a fighter and he is fighting to get better.'
