Her left leg had rotted to her thigh. Unbeknownst to the University of West Georgia grad student, she had contracted necrotizing fasciitis, an aggressive flesh-eating bacterial infection.

Retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith is helping others through the 'taboo' of pain after nearly dying from a leg injury in 2018 ...

Patients will give a history of minor trauma such as contusion, insect bite, frostbite, chronic leg ulcer, or a surgical incision, and present with severe pain and edema to their health care provider.

In advanced stages, STSS can cause necrotizing fasciitis — that is, flesh-eating disease — and even organ failure. Patients are typically prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection ...