We would like to share this informative news page from the
V8 Register – MG Car Club.
Sepsis Awareness
In the UK alone, 52,000 people lose their lives to sepsis every year. This is more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined. Globally it affects 27 to 30 million people every year, sepsis claims 6 million lives a year. Yet with early diagnosis it is easily treatable. Be aware of the symptoms and just ask “Could it be sepsis?”
John Watson says “some official UK figures that say 230,000 have been affected by Sepsis over the last 12 months of which 52,000 died. This is more deaths that Breast, Prostate and Bowel cancer combined”.
WHAT IS SEPSIS?
Sepsis (also known as blood poisoning) is the immune system’s overreaction to an infection or injury. Normally our immune system fights infection – but sometimes, for reasons we don’t yet understand, it attacks our body’s own organs and tissues. If not treated immediately, sepsis can result in organ failure and death. Yet with early diagnosis, it can be treated with antibiotics.
SYMPTOMS
Sepsis can initially look like flu, gastroenteritis or a chest infection. There is no one sign, and symptoms present differently between adults and children.
HOW TO SPOT SEPSIS IN ADULTS
Seek medical help urgently if you (or another adult) develop any of these signs:
Slurred speech or confusion
Extreme shivering or muscle pain
Passing no urine (in a day)
Severe breathlessness
It feels like you’re going to die
Skin mottled or discoloured
HOW TO SPOT SEPSIS IN CHILDREN
If your child is unwell with either a fever or very low temperature (or has had a fever in the last 24 hours), call 999 and just ask: could it be sepsis?
A child may have sepsis if he or she:
1.Is breathing very fast
2.Has a ‘fit’ or convulsion
3.Looks mottled, bluish, or pale
4.Has a rash that does not fade when you press it
5.Is very lethargic or difficult to wake
6.Feels abnormally cold to touch
A child under 5 may have sepsis if he or she:
1.Is not feeding
2.Is vomiting repeatedly
3.Has not passed urine for 12 hours
25,000
children are affected by sepsis each year in the UK
1/4
of all sepsis survivors suffer permanent, life-changing after effects
5
people are killed by sepsis every hour in the UK