Shock

Sbock is a dangerous pbysical condition in which the flow of blood throughout the body is drastically reduced, causing weakness, confusion, or loss of consciousness. It can result from many kinds of serious injuries and illnesses. If shock is not treated quickly, a person can suffer permanent organ damage and die.

What Is Shock?

"I studied for days, but I failed the test. I'm in shock," says one teenager to another.

In everyday speech, the use of the word "shock" is common and sometimes even enjoyable. People line up to see horror movies because they want to be shocked. They want to feel an emotional jolt from seeing something sudden, surprising, and scary. Their hearts may beat a little faster for a moment, but when the movie ends, they are as healthy as before.

This kind of emotional shock has nothing to do with the medical condition called shock. Shock in the medical sense can also be sudden, surprising, and scary, but it is a specific physical condition that is extremely serious.

Shock occurs when the amount of blood reaching the brain and other parts of the body drops sharply. In other words, it occurs when the blood pressure falls very low. Because the blood carries oxygen needed by every cell in the body, the drop in blood flow deprives the cells of oxygen. The brain, the biggest user of oxygen, is affected, and the person becomes confused or dazed or may lose consciousness. As cells struggle to function without enough oxygen, many chemical processes  in  the body are disrupted. Organs, including the lungs, kidneys, liver, and heart, start to fail. Unless the blood flow is restored quickly, the damage may be fatal.

What Causes Shock?

Shock has underlying causes. Often, a case of shock involves two or all three of these types of underlying problems. They are as follows:

* The bloodstream does not contain enough fluid. This kind of shock is called hypovolemic (hy-po-vo-LEEM-ik) shock. Its causes include heavy bleeding from an injury, such as a gunshot wound or wounds suffered in a car crash, or from severe bleeding due to a medical condition, such as an aortic aneurysm or bleeding stomach ulcers.

It can also result if a person loses large amounts of fluids other than blood. This situation can occur, for instance, if a person has severe vomiting and diarrhea or has experienced bad burns over a large part of the body.

* The blood vessels dilate (expand) too much, which causes the blood pressure (the pressure within the blood vessels) to become so low that it cannot push along enough blood to reach vital tissues. The most common example of this kind of shock is septic (SEP-tik) shock, which results from a severe bacterial infection.

* The heart fails to pump the blood strongly enough, which is called cardiogenic (kar-dee-o-GEN-ik) shock. It can result from many heart problems, including a heart attack, an abnormal heart rhythm, a blood clot in the heart, or a buildup of fluid around the heart that presses on the organ. Severe damage to a heart valve can also cause cardiogenic shock.

What Is Septic Shock?

Septic shock occurs when a person becomes infected with bacteria that get into the bloodstream and produce a dangerous level of toxins (poisons). Even when treated, it is sometimes fatal.

It is most common among hospitalized people who have recently had surgery or who have had drainage tubes, breathing tubes, or other devices inserted into their body. Such devices increase the chances that bacteria will get into the bloodstream.

Other people at risk for septic shock are those with weakened immune systems, including those who have diabetes, cirrhosis, leukemia, or AIDS. Newborns and pregnant women are also at risk.

Toxic shock syndrome is a form of septic shock that experts originally linked to the use of certain tampons.