Israeli Woman Develops Rare Flesh-Eating Bacterial Infection After Shaving and Using Herbal Remedy

A 40-year-old Israeli woman developed a rare and dangerous bacterial infection known as necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating disease, about a week after shaving and applying an unidentified herbal product provided by an alternative medicine practitioner. The infection, specifically Fournier gangrene affecting the lower body tissues, required her hospitalization for 12 weeks during which she underwent multiple surgeries to remove infected tissue and received intensive antibiotic treatments.

Doctors caution that while it cannot be definitively proven that shaving and the herbal remedy caused the infection, these actions likely contributed by compromising the skin’s natural barrier and introducing bacteria. Cultures from the wound revealed several bacteria including E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae. Despite the severity of the infection, the woman eventually recovered, though she sustained some cosmetic disfigurement and mobility issues due to scarring.

The case, published in the American Journal of Case Reports, highlights that Fournier gangrene, typically more common in men and immunocompromised patients, can also occur in women with no immune deficiencies following minor skin trauma. Dr. Ali Bassi, one of the report’s authors, emphasized that clinicians should consider this diagnosis in patients with rapidly worsening pain and swelling regardless of gender or immune status. The woman received nutritional counseling and rehabilitation, with reconstructive surgery planned for the following year.