Father contracts deadly infection after biting his nails
A father-of-two is “lucky to be alive” after he contracted sepsis from biting his nails.
Luke Hanoman, 28, from Southport, UK, nearly died after dismissing his flu-like symptoms for two weeks, oblivious to the infection running through his body.
The warehouse operator had developed sepsis after biting the skin down the side of his nail, culminating in four days under 24-hour medical supervision where told he was fortunate to have survived.
Sepsis is a life threatening illness that kills 5,000 Australians annually and occurs when the body’s response to infection injures its tissues and organs.
Mr Hanoman began developing a fever, was having cold sweats and severe shaking but refrained from seek medical help.
It was only until his finger began to swell considerably and his mother found him uncharacteristically sleeping in one day that he was rushed to hospital.
“I was close to septic shock. They told me I was lucky to be alive,” he revealed to The Mirror.
“Eventually they got to the infection in my finger and all of this puss came out.”
Mr Hanonman, who has two sons aged five and six, revealed he never knew such an innocuous habit could have such drastic consequences.
“I used to bite my nails all the time. It was a nervous thing. And one day I bit the skin down the side of my nail. It hurt a bit but I didn’t think anything of it.”
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Mr Hanoman made a full recovery after his visit to hospital in July last year and now wants to use his ordeal to raise awareness of sepsis for those, like himself before his diagnosis, who know nothing about the illness.
He has warned others not to ignore similar symptoms to his, saying his decision to push on working and wait for his illness to pass could have cost him his life.
His employer, Chemist-4-U.com, has decided to back his efforts and has organised an Awareness Day as well as a JustGiving page for sepsis victims.
