Sepsis is a dangerous illness overpowering your immune reaction to infection (Sepsis Fact Sheet – National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 2017). Your body reacts to the infection using your immune system to produce chemicals to fight off infection. This causes an extensive amount of inflammation throughout the body. As a result of this response secondary complications can happen and tissue damage including internal organs can die. Over 15 million individuals acquire sepsis yearly in the United States and 250,000 die annually (Get Ahead of Sepsis – Know the Risks. Spot the Signs. Act Fast, 2017).
Early identification, quick care and avoiding infection is vital. Anyone can get sepsis and most all infection can cause sepsis (Sepsis Fact Sheet – National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 2017).
Signs and symptoms of sepsis include:
* Delirium and / or incomprehension
* Difficulty breathing
* Fast heart rate
* Fever, chills
* All over body pain and aches
* Moist and sweaty skin
(Get Ahead of Sepsis – Know the Risks. Spot the Signs. Act Fast, 2017.)
Patients and family should be proactive to avoid infections, know the signs of sepsis and act fast if sepsis is suspected (Get Ahead of Sepsis – Know the Risks. Spot the Signs. Act Fast, 2017).
References
Get Ahead of Sepsis – Know the Risks. Spot the Signs. Act Fast. | Features | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/features/get-ahead-sepsis/index.html
Sepsis Fact Sheet – National Institute of General Medical Sciences. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Pages/factsheet_sepsis.aspx