My father was diagnosed with bacteremia, by culturing the blood for bacteria. His doctor told me that blood analysis might reveal an elevated number of white blood cells. That is why they monitored him closely in every way. Now it is time to start with treatment, so I would like to hear what you have to say about it.
Treatment of bacteremia is most commonly done with antibiotics. They are the mainstay of treatment, and are often begun before positive identification of the bacteria is made. Close observation is required to guard against septic shock, since bacteremia is usually associated with an existing infection elsewhere in the body. That is why finding and treating this infection is an important part of treatment, which means his doctor already started with appropriate treatment. Interesting is to know that bacteremia may cause no symptoms, but may be discovered through a blood test for another condition. In this situation, it may not need to be treated. This is case, except in patients especially at risk for infection. These people are for example those with heart valve defects, or patients with suppressed immune systems. Prompt antibiotic therapy usually succeeds in clearing bacteria from the bloodstream, so you should not be worried about your father. However, you have to know that untreated bacteria in the blood may spread, causing infection of the heart or infection of the covering of the central nervous system.