Sepsis- An Infection Response.

16 days ago

I used to think sepsis was an infection in itself, but recently I found out that, sepsis is an occurrence that takes places when the immune system dramatically responds to an infection.

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Sepsis happens more with younger children, older people, people with health conditions, or a weak immune system. When sepsis happens, the immune system in response to the occurrence could injure the tissues and organs, it can also create a life threatening condition.

At the same time, an. abnormal chain reaction in the clotting system could cause blood clot to form in the blood vessel. This would reduce the flow of blood to different organs in the body, causing serious damage and eventual failure in those organs.

Sepsis could be an infection response to an infection affecting the skin, urinary tract, the lungs, and basically other parts of the body.

Sepsis only happens when there is already an existing infection, so when a patient with infection shows any of these symptoms, it is best to rush them in for an emergency case.

Tachycardia, a rapid pulse.
Difficulty breathing.
A sweaty skin.
Extreme discomfort or pain.
Swelling around a point of injury (if there is one).
Fever, shivering, or chills.

In a severe situation, sepsis can also create a case of; a cold and pale skin, low urine volume, dizziness or fainting, sudden fear of death, slurred speech, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and breath shortage.

Healthcare providers have been able to classify sepsis into three categories, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock.

The most common cause of sepsis is due to bacterial infections. Fungal, parasitic, and viral infections are also potential causes of sepsis. While sepsis in itself isn't contagious, the infection that is causing the sepsis may be transferrable to another person.

Quickly identifying an infection, and treating them before they generate into sepsis would save one the danger and stress that comes with sepsis, as it is a life-threatening condition.

As sepsis gets worse, important organs like the heart, brain, and kidney would no longer be able to get as much blood as required. A lot of people recover from cases of mild sepsis, but there have been recordings as to the mortality rate of 30-40%.

A combination of several tests are used by physicians to identify sepsis in a patient. Physical examination, laboratory tests, X-rays and other test combinations are used.
Tests are carried out for low blood pressure, check for high respiratory rate, the use of Glasgow coma scale to determine the level of consciousness of a patient.

Additionally, blood tests are carried out to check abnormal liver and kidney function, clotting issues, and electrolyte misbehavior.

Test can also be conducted to evaluate the level of oxygen in the blood. Urinalysis and urine culture, imagine tests like X-rays or CT scan.

Treating sepsis has to be done in the hospital, antibiotics will be administered for the treatment of a bacterial infection. IV fluids would be administered for the maintenance of blood flow into the organs, and to also prevent the patient's blood pressure from dropping too low.

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In a case of organ failure, other treatments like dialysis for kidney failure, or mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure.

Vasopressor medications are administered to tighten blood vessels because in some cases, patient may be required to get to an adequate blood pressure, and pain relief to help with pains.

It could also be a case of required surgery, where the damaged tissues need to be taken out.
Since sepsis happens due to an infection, the ways to prevent infection from happening is what we have to consistently look out for if we do not want sepsis to catch up with us.

The practice of good hygiene is necessary, hands must be washed regularly with soap and water. Hygiene is also very necessary, and all areas must be kept clean at all times.

Routine medical checkup helps a lot too, this way infections or other medical problems are found out timely and treated accordingly. As septic shock is so dangerous that it can cause death within 12 hours.