Getting an infection is bad enough. But things can get even worse when an infection leads to sepsis.

Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. In other words, it’s your body’s over-active and toxic response to an infection.

This Sepsis Awareness Month, celebrated each September, take steps to learn more about sepsis and raise awareness in others. It could help save lives.

Some people are at higher risk

Your immune system usually works to fight any germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) to prevent infection. If an infection does occur, your immune system will try to fight it, although you may need help with medication such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics. However, for reasons researchers don’t understand, sometimes the immune system stops fighting the “invaders,” and begins to turn on itself. This is the start of sepsis.

KNOW THE SIGNS OF SEPSIS IN CHILDREN.

Some people are at higher risk of developing sepsis because they at higher risk of contracting an infection. These include the very young, the very old, those with chronic illnesses, and those with a weakened or impaired immune system.

Patients are diagnosed with sepsis when they develop a set of signs and symptoms related to sepsis. Sepsis is not diagnosed based on an infection itself. If you have more than one of the symptoms of sepsis, especially if there are signs of an infection or you fall into one of the higher risk groups, your doctor will likely suspect sepsis.

Learn more about sepsis

You can help by learning more and knowing the symptoms of sepsis:

S – Shivering, fever, or very cold

E – Extreme pain or general discomfort (“worst ever”)

P – Pale or discolored skin

S – Sleepy, difficult to rouse, confused

I  – “I feel like I might die”

S – Short of breath

Sepsis progresses to severe sepsis when in addition to signs of sepsis, there are signs of organ dysfunction, such as difficulty breathing (problems with the lungs), low or no urine output (kidneys), abnormal liver tests (liver), and changes in mental status (brain). Nearly all patients with severe sepsis require treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU). Septic shock is the most severe level and is diagnosed when your blood pressure drops to dangerous levels.

Sepsis a costly condition

Sepsis has been named as the most expensive in-patient cost in American hospitals in 2014 at nearly $24 billion each year. Forty percent of patients diagnosed with severe sepsis do not survive. Up to 50 percent of survivors suffer from post-sepsis syndrome. Until a cure for sepsis is found, early detection is the surest hope for survival and limiting disability for survivors.

Source: Sepsis Alliance (2017) Definition of Sepsis: sepsis.org/sepsis/definition. For additional information on sepsis, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.