What is sepsis?

Sepsis is caused by the way the body responds to an infection. The infection can happen anywhere in the body. For example, a chest or urinary infection, or problems in the abdomen like burst ulcers, or even simple skin injuries like cuts and bites. Sepsis is sometimes called septicaemia or blood poisoning.

It is a life-threatening condition which makes the immune system go into overdrive as it tries to fight the infection. This can reduce the blood supply to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys, eventually leading to multiple organ failure and possibly death.

Signs and symptoms

Sepsis can be hard to spot. Anyone can develop sepsis but it is more common in the young and the elderly ot those whose immunity doesn't work properly due to medicines or a chronic illness.  It can initially look like flu or a chest infection. Symptoms can appear different in babies and young children from those of adults and older children.

In adults and older children, look for:

• slurred speech, light-headedness, confusion or dizziness
• extreme shivering or muscle pain
• difficulty passing urine or passing no urine over the past 24 hours
• severe breathlessness or rapid breathing
• ‘I feel sicker than I ever have before’
• skin may become blue, grey or blotchy (on dark skin look at the palms of the hands and the base of the feet)
• a high temperature
• a rash that does not fade when pressed under a glass

The symptoms of sepsis vary and they may not have all of these. It can be especially difficult to spot in young children and people with communication difficulties, a disability, or dementia.

In babies and young children, look for:

• A temperature of more than 38C in a baby under 3 months, or more than 39C aged 3-6 months
• Not feeding
• Vomiting repeatedly
• Passing no urine over the past 12 hours
• Skin is mottled, discoloured, blue, or pale
• Has a ‘fit’, or seizure
• Severe breathlessness or breathing rapidly
• Not responding or handling as they normally do
• The child being lethargic and/or hard to wake
• Feels abnormally cold to touch

They may not have all these symptoms.