Man’s Mystery Toothache Turns Into Life-Threatening Illness

Queensland Health A man is sounding the alarm after his straightforward toothache devolved into a life-threatening health emergency.

Luke Woodhouse, 35, recalls experiencing tooth pain during his work shift.

By the afternoon, it was accompanied by a high fever.

While “irritating,” neither symptom felt particularly concerning.

“I didn’t think much of it,” Woodhouse, who had no history of significant medical issues, told Queensland Health .

“I assumed I was coming down with some sort of bug, or some viral illness.” That night, however, he experienced chills and sweated profusely, waking up in soaked sheets.

Woodhouse’s symptoms started on a Thursday, and by Sunday, his chest felt tight, and he experienced a continuous burning sensation in his head.

Woodhouse’s wife, Jennifer, took him to The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, where doctors discovered inflammation around his heart.

“I remember being told that my blood was infected, and shortly afterward the infectious diseases team told me that I had sepsis,” Woodhouse recalled.

“What struck me was how little I understood about sepsis and trying to come to terms [with] the gravity of the situation.” Sepsis happens when the body responds to an infection incorrectly by damaging healthy organs, according to the Mayo Clinic .

Symptoms can include nausea, fever, shivering, diarrhea, shallow breathing, fatigue, and a fast heartbeat.

It can cause extremely serious outcomes, including kidney failure and death.

Woodhouse was diagnosed with infective endocarditis , a life-threatening infection in the heart’s inner lining.

“I was told that the infection had destroyed one of my heart valves, and without surgery, I wouldn’t live much longer,” Woodhouse said.