'Silently ravaging me': Woman's horror tooth infection leaves her in a coma

Caitlin Alsop, 24, nearly died last year after her wisdom tooth became infected in her gum. Photo / Supplied

Caitlin Alsop was only 23 when she went to bed one night in August last year and felt like she couldn't breathe.

Her aunt rushed her to hospital in a panic, where Alsop wasput into an induced coma for nine days as puzzled doctors investigated her symptoms.

"My 3 symptoms that no GP could detect? A burnt tongue feeling that night, red rash on my face and sleeping constantly," she shared on Facebook.

"Mum was told to prepare for the worst, and the family all came to see me," Alsop told The Courier Mail.

"It was like I'm being strangled alive," Alsop recalled.

Alsop spent nine days in a coma on life support, desperately fighting for her life while around 100 specialists at Gold Coast University Hospital ran countless tests and scans, trying to figure out what was wrong with her, news.com.au reported.

Caitlin was in a coma for nine days. Photo / Supplied

After multiple tests, doctors discovered Alsop had been suffering from a rare life-threatening oral infection called Ludwig's Angina for months. The extremely rare condition – which can occur after a tooth abscess – likely stemmed from Alsop's infected wisdom tooth.

Sufferers are essentially strangled from within as excessive swelling in the mouth and throat obstructs the airway.

"My tongue had turned completely black and my airways were compromised because it was so swollen," Alsop told 7 News.

The rash was caused by sepsis – an infection in the blood.

Leaping into action, doctors worked quickly to remove the infected tooth before placing drains in Alsop's neck to relieve the swelling.

View this post on Instagram

👉 World Sepsis Day 13.09.19. 👈 Today, I decided to recreate that very 📸photo that went all around the world, in honour of World Sepsis Day and the #worldsepsisday photo challenge 🌏. 🙏 The day I took this I had no idea it would reach so many people, or that it was 🚨 SEPSIS that had nearly taken my life, but I knew I was determined to make a difference and I am so grateful to all the people helping us to spread the word about sepsis because that awareness saves lives 💕🙏. 🚑 Sepsis is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY 🚑 ⏰☠ It kills every 3.5 seconds & mortality increases 8% every hour untreated! 👩‍👧‍👧👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Sepsis affects more people each year globally than the total population of Australia and yet 60% of Australians know nothing about it? 🤷‍♀️. It can affect anyone at anytime. Just ask could it be sepsis? 🏥 👉 Spot the signs- S.E.P.S.I.S: 👉Slurred speech/confusion. 👉Extreme shivering/muscle pain. Passing no urine all day. 👉Severe breathlessness. 👉It feels like you're going to die. 👉 Skin mottled or discolored. and SEEK medical assistance!! #sepsis #sepsisawareness #sepsissurvivor #comatoconfidence

A post shared by Caite 💫 Coma to Confidence (@comatoconfidence) on Sep 13, 2019 at 10:26am PDT

"Prior to my hospital admission, I had seen various doctors, and had tests, but no-one had realised a deadly infection was silently ravaging me from the inside out," a shaken Alsop told 7 News.

"I hadn't experienced any pain and I'd always maintained good oral hygiene."

Alsop says the road to recovery has been long and she was left with scars and a permanent lisp from the incident, but insists the traumatic experience changed her.

"I realise how lucky I am to be here," she said.

"It's one of those experiences you never expect to happen, but you have the choice to let it ruin you, or let it build you.

And I've chosen to let it build me."