Sepsis & Covid
Sepsis is a life threatening medical emergency, and can be triggered by COVID-19.
Sepsis 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, limb amputation and death. Yet with early diagnosis, it can be treated with antibiotics. It’s not rare, and affects 245,000 people, killing 48,000 in the UK every year, which is more than breast, bowel and prostate cancers combined.
The symptoms in adults are:
Slurred speech or confusion
Extreme shivering or muscle pain
Passing little to no urine throughout the day
Severe breathlessness
It feels like you’re going to die
Skin is mottled or discoloured
Sepsis can kill in under 24 hours, and can affect anyone, of any age, including those without existing health conditions. The Sepsis Trust is on a mission to end preventable death from sepsis. They do this by educating communities on what to look out for, and encouraging everyone to ‘Just Ask, Could It Be Sepsis?’
