Teen Had His Legs, Fingers Amputated After Eating Bad Leftover Food

While eating leftover food would usually lead to an upset stomach or short-term illness, a teenager in New England had much more than this. Hours after eating leftover food from a restaurant, a 19-year-old was admitted to the hospital with multiple organ failure.

According to a report by People, the 19-year-old’s case was documented in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2021 but has recently gone viral after it was fictionally portrayed in a YouTube video. 

This Is What Happened

About 20 hours after eating leftover rice, chicken, and noodles from a restaurant, a 19-year-old boy was admitted to the hospital. He developed abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting followed by worsening chills, muscle aches, shortness of breath, headaches, neck stiffness, blurry vision, and weakness. He had begun developing purplish patches on his face, chest, abdomen, arms, and legs. Developing purple patches is usually not a common reaction to eating leftover food. Thus, his friend brought him to the hospital.

“Multiple episodes of emesis occurred, with vomitus that was either bilious or red-brown. The abdominal pain and vomiting were followed by the development of chills, generalized weakness, progressively worsening diffuse myalgias, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, neck stiffness, and blurry vision,” said the New England Journal of Medicine.

At the hospital, the teen’s condition continued to worsen. Soon he was transferred to another hospital where he was treated for shock and multiple organ failure. Blood and urine tests revealed that he was diagnosed with meningococcal purpura fulminan disease. It’s a rare complication that comes with septic shock.

Amputation Of Legs & Fingers

Purpura fulminans can develop seven to ten days after a bacterial infection in the blood. It leads to the formation of blood clots throughout the body. These blood clots can block circulation to different areas of skin, resulting in purplish areas of skin death. The dead skin then grows in size, forming lesions called purpura. These clots can also block blood circulation to arms, legs, feet, toes, and fingers. The lack of oxygen leads to tissue death. Moreover, the clots can cut off blood flow to the major organs as well such as the liver, lungs, heart, and kidneys. Eventually, the entire blood circulatory system collapses.

Following his deteriorating health conditions, doctors had to amputate both of his legs below the knees and different parts of his fingers. Fortunately, he survived and has been recovering from this near-death experience.

The case report by the New England Journal of Medicine mentioned that the leftovers may have been contaminated with Neisseria Meningitidis. It’s a deadly bacteria that leads to a life-threatening emergency.

Precautionary Measures For Leftover Food

Experts have warned against the dangers of storing food inappropriately. Therefore, one should always take some precautionary measures while handling, storing, and eating leftover food. Some key precautions include wrapping it in airtight containers, refrigerating it, and heating it before consumption.