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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you know the signs of sepsis?

147 replies

SE13Mummy · 28/06/2014 23:16

This news story has been in the press, on the radio/TV this week because Sam, the son of friends of ours, died of sepsis. He shouldn't have.

Chatting to other friends, it seems as though very many people have never heard of sepsis although most are aware of the symptoms of meningitis. One of the reasons the Morrish family have gone public with their experience is to raise awareness of sepsis; Sam wouldn't have died if he'd received antibiotics.

The Sepsis Trust has lots of information, including this symptoms checklist.

OP posts:
DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 29/06/2014 21:50

My condolences to your friends OP.

I've had 3 bouts of cellulitis, the first one of which nearly killed me. Shivering, sweating and only when the tracking appeared did we realise it was more than summer flu. I was on 4 GRAMS of amoxycillin and erythromycin daily, and I wound up with severe diarrhoea for a fortnight. The subsequent bouts were spotted and stopped in three hours.

Original poster
SE13Mummy · 30/06/2014 21:43

Monday evening bump...

OP posts:
BoreOfWhabylon · 01/07/2014 08:37

This so deserves a bump

buddles · 01/07/2014 09:03

Thank you for posting this, can't say I was really aware of the symptoms.

OP so sorry for the loss of your friends beautiful boy, and for all other MNers losses Thanks

MyLatest · 01/07/2014 09:42

Thank you for this. I wasn't aware at all of the symptoms. MNHQ should make this a discussion of the day.

BoreOfWhabylon · 01/07/2014 10:10

Good idea. I will ask MNHQ to do so

fromparistoberlin73 · 01/07/2014 11:35

I am so so sorry for your friends loss

I hace a card with the signs of meningitis,I have also added this data to it

shouldbeelsewhere · 01/07/2014 14:12

This is a really useful post, thank you Thanks

Lilybensmum1 · 02/07/2014 15:51

I do know the signs as I am a nurse it's been a hot topic for us for a while now, it's usually treatable but time is critical, antibiotics ASAP!! I cried when I read about that little boy, let down by the people who should have given the care he needed not good enough. I thought to myself if my DCs were suspected to be septic I would be on the staff to give the antibiotics immediately or I would do it myself and bugger the consequences, I appreciate I'm Lucky as I'm a nurse.

RIP Sam tragic loss.

Waggamamma · 02/07/2014 16:03

Unfortunately yes I do, my friend has just lost her leg due to sepsis but she is very lucky to be alive. She has three children under three and has been in hospital for nearly three months now, she cannot use her hands and unsure if she will walk again as her other leg is badly damaged.

It presented as flu symptoms to begin with, then a sore ankle. She was lucky her mum sensed something wasn't right and took her to a&e. It took them a while to realise it was septic shock: ventilators, dialysis, etc kept her alive.

She is a strong young woman who will fight this but it's such a terribly sad thing to have happened.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 02/07/2014 16:14

Yes - DH has had it twice, once from from a scratch on the leg and again from an insect bite. He's had long term but thankfully not permanent consequences as a result and he has learned to take the early symptoms of blood poisoning very seriously and I think singlehandedly been a case study for male colleagues in particular who would usually not bother to slosh a bit of antiseptic about.

I'm really sorry to hear about Sam and other sad stories on this thread. We've been very lucky but what makes it so dreadful is that all these deaths are so avoidable.

MummytoMog · 02/07/2014 16:25

I didn't know those were the symptoms of sepsis, but I did take DD to A and E when she was running a high temperature, shivering uncontrollably and had freezing hands and feet. We sat in A and E for two and a half hours before we were seen. Thankfully it was just an ear infection, but I'm going to kick up more of a fuss if that happens again.

Greengardenpixie · 02/07/2014 16:47

I know its not the same but my ds had periorbital cellulitus and was put into hospital right away because the condition can cause sepsis. My boy was 2 at the time. He came in from playing in the garden with a sore eye. I thought it was something in his eye and was shocked when he was to be admitted into hospital after a doctor looked at him. If its not treated it can lead to septicemia as its an infection close to the brain stem. He was fine in the end but it was a shock. I was even more shocked when my dd then had cellulitus a few years on at the age of 4 but it was in her sinuses. She also had to be admitted to hopsital for treatment.
Poor little boy. My heart goes out to the family. Thanks for the post. I only wish that the story had a happy ending :(

Thumbwitch · 02/07/2014 16:48

I thought I did but having read it, I clearly didn't know as much as I thought. Thank you for posting and so very sad to read about your friends' experience and the loss of their little son. :(

Will share it on FB as well.

Meerka · 02/07/2014 17:12

I am so sorry about Sam. That poor little boy and his family.

We were very lucky becuase I got a uterine infectoin that tipped over into sepsis when I was 14 weeks preg). Had hyperemesis so I was weak. Did not recognise the symptoms at all but I thought I was feelign so ill because I couldn't keep liquids down at all, never mind food.

I sat down on the kitchen floor to rest, couldnt make it to a chair. Lay down to try to gather strength. Couldn't get up again. Thank GOD the phone was in my pocket, had to ring neighbour to help me up. Went to hospital later because the pain was so intense.

Temp of 40.3 (dropping like a stone to 34 within 3 hours) and speech-stopping contractions every 15 mins at that point, blue fingernails, intense sense of pressure in the anus, blood pressure dropping rapidly. Once they realised I wasn't just makign a fuss (!) they put me on broad spectrum antibiotics and were dead good, calling in my gyne from her day off.

She gave our baby only a 1 in 5 chance of survival. (am fighting tears even now writing this).

He survived, somehow, and is now a healthy 8 week old.

I am so grateful to the powers that be and to the medical staff, once they realised there was a problem at all.

574ejones · 02/07/2014 17:25

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. I had Sepsis in March this year and was okay one day, the next fighting for my life in ICU on a ventilator. Ten weeks later I finally came out of hospital lucky to be alive.

I am so glad you are raising awareness - I begged my husband not to call an ambulance and I wouldn't be here today if he hadn't.

Deverethemuzzler · 02/07/2014 17:27

I do.
DD had cancer and sepsis is a big killer of children on treatment.
I also know of a lot of cases of young children being overwhelmed by infection.
Its the world I inhabit as a bereaved parent.

Would I know if these things had not happened to my family? No, very probably not.

So well done for linking.

BitchyHen · 02/07/2014 17:42

Sorry to hear about your friend's little boy. I wasn't aware of sepsis until I had it about eighteen months ago. Thankfully good medical care saved my life, but I'm still suffering the after effects. Like a previous poster mine was due to cellulitis.

Eyelet · 02/07/2014 17:44

Thank you for linking - I didn't know the signs as I thought a rash had to be present

donnie · 02/07/2014 17:49

I had sepsis 4 years ago when a UTI which I didn't even know I had progressed to a severe kidney infection. Like so many others I thought I had flu, but when I was incapable of walking , my temperature was 41 degrees and my teeth were chattering with cold, dh took me to the GP. Luckily she sent me straight to hospital and within a few hours I was on IV antibiotics. It's the most ill I have ever been and I was in hosp for 8 days Sad.

Tragic about your friend's little boy, OP Sad

AphraBane · 02/07/2014 18:02

My condolences to your friends. And how horrible that they not only needlessly lost their son (when he could have easily been saved), but had to fight for justice afterwards.

My FIL died of sepsis. He'd got over cancer successfully but was left more vulnerable to infection and died very quickly from a scratch.

One point for people to watch: serious, deep puncturing cat bites have a 50% infection rate which can easily lead to septicaemia. If you get bitten there is apparently an 8-hour window to get started on antibiotics before the danger of infection rises. I had absolutely no idea until I was bitten by a rescue cat a few months back and the rescue worker essentially ordered me to get to A+E (was on a public holiday) and get ABs quickly. Even with the ABs the tiny wound swelled up alarmingly. The doctor drew a line around the swelling so we could trace if it was spreading overnight.

onestepbeyond · 02/07/2014 18:14

Thank you for sharing - I only knew about the rash. It terrifies me that this could happen to one of my dds and i might not realise in time or it could be mis-diagnosed or I could be told I'm over- reacting. How do you get health professionals to beleive you and not dismiss you?

uggmum · 02/07/2014 18:15

I didn't know the signs of sepsis until I had it. I became very ill, very quickly. I was constantly dismissed by my GP who insisted I had swine flu during a phone appointment. They then refused to come and see me and banned me from coming to the surgery as I might infect others.

I suffered at home for 3 weeks, getting more ill. I then insisted on an appointment and made the doctor take some bloods. I truly felt I was dying.

The results were then lost for a week. When the doctor found them ( with many phone calls and begging from me) they sent an ambulance. I was very ill and my liver was failing.

I spent 17 days in hospital on an isolation ward. Constant antibiotics and I did beat the infection. It took 6 months for my liver to return to normal.

There were many times that my sepsis could have been picked up. There was an official investigation and I received an apology from my GP. I agreed not to sue them on the basis that they ran an offsite training course for all the doctors at my surgery to make them aware of the symptoms. I just didn't want anyone else to go thru the same experience as me. I even did a video interview of my experience that was used on the course.

I made a full recovery. However, I'm now allergic to many antibiotics (developed during my illness) and it's a struggle to find any that I can take.

Pointlessfan · 02/07/2014 18:18

My baby and I were both treated for sepsis when she was born. I had no idea how serious it was! Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

beautifulgirls · 02/07/2014 18:50

Great post OP and sorry for the loss of your friends son. Well done too to MN for making this a discussion of the day. We have been through this with DD3 who is very lucky to still be alive. She developed strep A septicaemia 3 years ago now. She lost most of her right foot and had to have dialysis for a short while. She spent time in intensive care fighting for her life. Doctors do not miss these cases deliberately, but in her case she had been seen twice and diagnosed with a virus and sent away in the 24hrs before she developed a non fading rash that sent us rushing to A&E. It just goes to show how hard these cases can be to spot.