To be scared of Sepsis?

[bananaplease]

It seems to be in the news so much that people are dying from this and it happens without people realising.

Is it a new thing? I don't remember hearing about it much before, but that might just be the increased power of social media/news apps etc.

I might stop reading the news. It's so depressing.

[ChickenPaws]

Yes it’s always been around.

With the unreliable emergency healthcare provision we have now, your guess is as good as mine as to whether you’d be successfully treated if you did develop systemic infection. Not to mention antibiotic resistance.

[NewYearNewMe18]

Do you actually know what sepsis is? It's the bodys reaction to fighting an infection. You don't catch it, you develop it from an infected wound..

So I would have thought your AIBU would be 'should I be afraid of paper cuts turning manky'

[bananaplease]

Yes I know what it is - sorry I was posting and rushing, maybe it didn't come across as clear.

I guess what I mean is that it is scary that you could get a paper cut and die.

[Butterball17]

Sepsis is what used to be known as blood poisoning and has been around for years though does seem more prevalent within the media at the moment and does seem scary though we can’t be frightened about
everything in life.

[NorthernLurker]

I work in the NHS as a manager. I haven't seen any paper cut fatalities but I did once come across somebody with a infected fingernail that put them in icu with multi organ failure. They made it though. It's not unreasonable to recognise the dangers of sepsis. Don't dwell on it though.

[MrsOH2004]

My Mum is just recovering from it, it's bloody scary, doctor diagnosed her with flu to begin with, after a couple of days she got gradually worse and was in hospital for 5 days.

[Fairylea]

It terrifies me. But then I have autoimmune problems so when I get an infection it can turn very nasty. I’m just recovering from a really bad chest infection that has gone on for 3 weeks now and I’ve had 3 different lots of antibiotics and a chest x ray (that thankfully came back clear). I have felt so very unwell though and due to my other issues (Addison’s, thyroid etc) I ended up ringing 111 and they wanted to send an ambulance for me (which I refused and got myself to a and e and was given different antibiotics etc etc). Every time I get an infection I worry it will quickly turn to sepsis. I do have a lot of health anxiety though- mainly because I do have health problems!

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Yes I'm worried.

Without antibiotics I believe I might be dead.

[NeilPetark]

It’s always been around but the awareness surrounding sepsis at the minute is massive, as it should be.

[thelastredwinegum]

The more it's in the media the better, if people know what to look for the quicker they can get treatment and hopefully make a full recovery.


This is a good book about it www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Half-Heartbeats-Amanda-Prowse-ebook/dp/B00ZFSOFIA?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[missyB1]

Yes we all need to be aware of it and the symptoms but pointless being scared all the time. Although I am scared of getting ill at all at the moment as our hospitals are in crisis.

[donajimena]

Knowledge is power. All you can do is be vigilant. I'm not minimising your fear. I'm very anxious about health but I try and calm myself because I am aware of complications.

[thelastredwinegum]

Sepsis is responsible for more deaths in the UK than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined. So why is so little known about it?

sepsistrust.org

[polarpercy]

I had sepsis caused by pneumonia. I was lucky that I had an amazing GP who sent me straight to hospital, phoning ahead to tell them I was being brought in. My local hospital also had a think sepsis poster and were focusing on 15 minutes from being admitted to being on a drip. I had early stage organ failure but I just thought I felt really ill!

One of the symptoms the sepsis trust mentioning is feeling like you will die. And it is odd and hard to explain but before giving in and calling the GP for an urgent appointment I had this feeling.

[musicmix]

I'm scared of it too. Dh died of it last year :(. We thought he just had flu. He'd been ill for a long time and was in and out of hospital for many many years. He used to say the only thing that scared him was sepsis.

[agedknees]

My dm died of sepsis. Was admitted to hospital with painful arthritis and chest infection. Somehow the chest infection got forgotten.

No antibiotics all the time she was in MAU. 4 days as an inpatient she had a respiratory arrest, had a bronchoscope, brain scan which they said was a bleed but turned out to be bacterial meningitis caused by sepsis.

She got the treatment she needed then, but it was too late.

This was 16 years ago. Hope other people get better care.

[polarpercy]

I hope I haven't come across as flippant. I realise I was so lucky with my GP and I've read cases since where people have died having presented with infections and been sent home.

For a long-time after having sepsis I was very weak and run-down. I also really struggled whenever me, husband or daughter got ill as I was convinced it would turn into sepsis. It does stay with you.

[Quartz2208]

Sepsis has always been around (the word itself comes from ancient greek) and has always been a killer.

Its highlighted now because its the most preventable cause of death - i.e. early treatment results in a cure that is why its in the media - knowing the symptoms mean early treatment means survival.

DS had it but was lucky in that he had a non blanching rash early on, it appear whilst at OOH next to A&E and within 15 minutes of being at A&E the 24 hour antibiotic was in (via a 30 minute IV). The hospital were definitely on edge though having recently lost a child patient (known to us) to it so they acted very quickly. Looking at how ill he was though you could tell. Funnily enough he tends to get treated now very quickly as its on his medical record

[pickleface]

I developed sepsis during a nasty kidney infection. I had no idea wtf was wrong with me. I knew I felt like shit when it hurt to breathe and I passed out. Apparently my BP was so low they didn't know how I was still (semi) conscious.

Every time my kidney aches again I'm tempted to leg it to a&e as I'm super aware at it now. Thank god for strong fucking antibiotics!

[Rockandrollwithit]

My newborn DS developed it after having surgery on the second day of his life. Thankfully it was very mild and he was already on antibiotics as a precaution so there were no ill effects and it was classed as 'resolved' within a few days. But it was terrifying.

YANBU.

[Eeeeek2]

I nearly died of it after having my dc, in fact if I’d gone home when they wanted me to rather than staying in for breastfeeding support it probably would of been fatal. I dropped very rapidly and a scene from a hospital drama played out just as my dh walked in

6 days of one on one nursing, attached to lots of machines, a new heart murmur and shed load of multiple antibiotics later I made it through. I bloody scared of it happening again.

[Quartz2208]

same polarpercy - DS got in at 3 in the June - by the end of the year I had been back to A&E 4 times panicking each time he got sick (tonsillitis, chest infection, unknown virus and Hand Foot and Month). The first two times he went downhill in the evening the other two via the GP. He was so run down he just got everything so badly

[gwenneh]

My MIL died of it; I think we're right to be worried.

[itsbetterthanabox]

Does the new MEN ACWY vaccine help prevent it?
It’s only offered to under 25’s it seems though.

[Chienrouge]

I’m worried about it, because I had it (following mastitis). I was in intensive care for 3 days. I had PTSD afterwards. 2 years on I’m still completely floored by any virus/infection, and when anyone in my family gets ill I’m petrified it will develop into sepsis. I never had any form of health anxiety before having it.
My diagnosis and treatment was fantastic though. I went to the walk in centre with mastitis, and within 5 mins of being triaged by a nurse I was in an ambulance, being blue lighted to hospital. On IV antibiotics within the hour.