RIP Ricky.

[samboy]

Hi gang.

             My mate of over 55 years trod on a nail last week and died in hospital yesterday. I think it was sepsis.

             He'd only been retired a month. So be careful out there as you never know what's around the corner.

[JohnfromUK]

Sorry to hear, sepsis can be very dangerous and is difficult to treat especially if not caught quickly and put on IV antibiotic (in hospital).

[wymberley]

Very sorry to hear that. It seems a crying shame that he never got to enjoy the time that he'd earned. RIP.

[Blackpowder]

1 hour ago, samboy said:

Hi gang.

             My mate of over 55 years trod on a nail last week and died in hospital yesterday. I think it was sepsis.

             He'd only been retired a month. So be careful out there as you never know what's around the corner.

Lost a good friend  three years ago, scratched arm on Tuesday, amputated Thursday and died Friday. 

 

Blackpowder

 

[Centrepin]

Sorry to hear that. I know how serious sepsis is, my wife had it in October last year and again in January this year. Both times I thought I'd lost her but it wasn't her time and she's making slow progress. 

Condolences to his family.

[7daysinaweek]

Very sad indeed!

 

As John says the condition sepsis can be difficult to treat at times, sometimes difficult to recognise the symptoms and other times also difficult to diagnose. Sepsis can be in blood, bone or organs and sometimes all three. The reality is that sepsis is the leading worldwide health burden.

 

Centrepin, living with a loved one who has developed sepsis I can only begin to empathise. For many people sepsis will be something only heard about in recent years.  When someone has fortunately pulled through from sepsis what many are not aware of are both the short and long term psychological and physical impacts they can be left with after developing sepsis. Not forgetting the wider effect on the family. Have seen a good many people make encouraging progress.

Heres to her making a good recovery.

atb

7diaw

.

 

[Centrepin]

10 hours ago, 7daysinaweek said:

 

Heres to her making a good recovery 

.

 

Thanks, it's left her with many medical problems, not least adrenal insufficiency and insulin dependant.

[Keith 66]

Often it starts with cellulitis, this is a subcutaneous skin infection, I have had it at least 8 times needing antibiotics, first time caught my ankle on a sharp rsj doing steelwork, popped a varicose vein & got an ulcer, two bouts of cellulitis & antibiotics. Got the veins fixed & then it seemed every year i would get a recurence, Mosquito bite, Horsefly bite, scratch from a blackberry thorn. Worst was kneeling on a nail &  an emergency op & five days in Southend hospital on IV antibiotics. Only when i saw the surgeon 3 weeks later did i find that they get 3 or 4 a week similar cases, 50% will lose the limb. So there but for the grace of god go i!

It starts with a big red hard area round the injury or bite site, It will feel very hot &  the redness & swelling spreads rapidly up the limb. If it gets in the bloodstream you can see it tracking up the veins. Get to a doctor & dont **** about.

A friend was bitten by a horsefly on the back of his hand a month ago while out sailing & phoned me, I told him to get to the nearest town & he did so. The chemist gave him antihistamines & advised him to go to A&E By the time he got home a day later it had spread above his elbow & by the time he got to A&E up to his armpit.

He was kept in & recovered but they said one more day on the boat & he would have been in trouble.

[JohnfromUK]

I heard only earlier today that a very old friend of mine (and my former boss) died of sepsis earlier this week.  He had a long standing illness which left him vulnerable but still a shock.  A better boss would be hard to find.

[7daysinaweek]

Sepis can affect anyone at any stage of their life, the most vulnerable are children under the age of 6-7 as they do not have a fully developed immune system, older adults, individuals who are immunosuppressed such as having diabetes, liver or significant renal disease. Other conditions such as malignancy, alcoholism, pregancy and some medications also increase the risk of developing sepis such as immunosuppressants. Sepsis can also be caused by traumatic injuruies and delayed presentation injuries such as burns and deep puncture wounds, open fractures etc.

In simple terms sepsis is an overbearing response from ones own immune system that leads not only to the bad invading cells being targeted by the immune system but your own good cells too. This can lead to one or multi system failure.

When indivuduals lose limbs the most common cause is from an IGAS infection which is invasive group strep A bacteria, though other pathogens can lead to limb and flesh loss. Deep penetrating wounds can also cause limb loss and death from clot formation DVT/VTE/PE from intravascular and venous inflamation at the site or proximal to the injury due to inflamation.

@Keith 66 Unfortunately keith cellulitis recurrence likelihood is increased with each developing episode. You cannot fully eradicate the risk of developing cellulitis fully as it is most commonly caused by strep and staph aureus bacteria which are found commonly within our population and by some other less common common pathogens. Once the skin outer barrier is broken this can lead to the subsequent layer/layers being colonised thus increasing the risk of a cellulitic infection developing. Good skin management is essential for decreasing risk of potential recurrence such as, staying out of strong sunlight, use high factor sun screen neutral ph and insect skin friendly repellent. Good use of emmoilents, good fitting footwear and protective clothing when working. Not always is the site of the cellulitis the area for the portal of infection, sometimes cellulitis develops from such a thing as innocuous as fungal skin infection or a tiny scratch on the foot, hand or arm. As this is the likely portal of infection which has tracked further up and cellulitis develops at a different area of the affected limb. 

As you say early presentation if any concerns is best. The tracking you speak about is lymphnagitis and never to be ingnored if any suspicion that it is developing and get seen sharpish.

Sadly as we see from the posts above from Samboy, John, Blackpowder and centripin that being aware and having a suspicion of sepsis is more important than ever.

 

[islandgun]

7 minutes ago, 7daysinaweek said:

Sepis can affect anyone at any stage of their life, the most vulnerable are children under the age of 6-7 as they do not have a fully developed immune system, older adults, individuals who are immunosuppressed such as having diabetes, liver or significant renal disease. Other conditions such as malignancy, alcoholism, pregancy and some medications also increase the risk of developing sepis such as immunosuppressants. Sepsis can also be caused by traumatic injuruies and delayed presentation injuries such as burns and deep puncture wounds, open fractures etc.

In simple terms sepsis is an overbearing response from ones own immune system that leads not only to the bad invading cells being targeted by the immune system but your own good cells too. This can lead to one or multi system failure.

When indivuduals lose limbs the most common cause is from an IGAS infection which is invasive group strep A bacteria, though other pathogens can lead to limb and flesh loss. Deep penetrating wounds can also cause limb loss and death from clot formation DVT/VTE/PE from intravascular and venous inflamation at the site or proximal to the injury due to inflamation.

@Keith 66 Unfortunately keith cellulitis recurrence likelihood is increased with each developing episode. You cannot fully eradicate the risk of developing cellulitis fully as it is most commonly caused by strep and staph aureus bacteria which are found commonly within our population and by some other less common common pathogens. Once the skin outer barrier is broken this can lead to the subsequent layer/layers being colonised thus increasing the risk of a cellulitic infection developing. Good skin management is essential for decreasing risk of potential recurrence such as, staying out of strong sunlight, use high factor sun screen neutral ph and insect skin friendly repellent. Good use of emmoilents, good fitting footwear and protective clothing when working. Not always is the site of the cellulitis the area for the portal of infection, sometimes cellulitis develops from such a thing as innocuous as fungal skin infection or a tiny scratch on the foot, hand or arm. As this is the likely portal of infection which has tracked further up and cellulitis develops at a different area of the affected limb. 

As you say early presentation if any concerns is best. The tracking you speak about is lymphnagitis and never to be ingnored if any suspicion that it is developing and get seen sharpish.

Sadly as we see from the posts above from Samboy, John, Blackpowder and centripin that being aware and having a suspicion of sepsis is more important than ever.

 

great post.. is it more prevalent now than in the past ?  cant say iv heard about it, until the last few years

Edited August 30, 2023 by islandgun

[ditchman]

this is why i have no money.........i spent it thro my life on my pleasure (mostly game shooting...every week during the season)............so manytimes i have seen an heard of frugal savers being taken well before their time from someting like this.........

such a shame 

 

RIP

[Smokersmith]

Lost a mate well ahead of his time to this last year … 

Be aware and live every moment to the full!!

[7daysinaweek]

1 hour ago, islandgun said:

great post.. is it more prevalent now than in the past ?  cant say iv heard about it, until the last few years

There was a big push a few years back to highlight 'sepsis awareness' as the understanding of this condition has developed. Back in the day you can be sure that a great deal of deaths have been caused by sepsis that would have been documented as a death of unknown pathology.

The sepsis trust has some excellent information.

https://sepsistrust.org/about/about-sepsis/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E1KdIWTXGA_jNfIZHmGH_PcRaciZrqKvLA7h_fZPd1Jwz2IUm_bf9YaAiXBEALw_wcB

58 minutes ago, ditchman said:

this is why i have no money.........i spent it thro my life on my pleasure (mostly game shooting...every week during the season)............so manytimes i have seen an heard of frugal savers being taken well before their time from someting like this.........

such a shame 

 

RIP

Well said Ditchy!

Life for sure is  a fickle thing and for most of us we know not what is round the next corner.

My dearest lifelong friend died from a complication from sepsis he was only 54, never went on holiday and was frugal to the last. Always looking ahead he was when time flittered away.

Take life by the horns and live it!

With a modicum of risk and sensibility of course. 👍

[Keith 66]

Excellent post from 7days in a week, My doctor said much the same that once you have had cellulitis you become more prone to it, I had yearly bouts for about 8 years but touch wood nothing since for about 5 years, I would say im far more careful about insect repellent etc. It sure gave my mate a scare recently!

[team tractor]

A customer of mine was chatting about her son . Turned out is was a lad I went to school with . We chatted about his kids etc and his job. 
I told a mate about her a month later and he told me her son had just died . Got ill and dropped dead at 40 from sepsis

[Centrepin]

It's certainly something that needs more publicity. Thank you to @7daysinaweekfor his posts and the link.

The recovery from sepsis can take years and the slightest thing can set it off again.

The second time my wife had it, she had a chest infection. Despite calls to the Dr I couldn't get an appointment although I explained about the previous 3 months in hospital and the fact she had only just been discharged. Eventually because I perservered and insisted a doctor rang and insisted it was nothing more than a viral infection and would pass. Less than 10 hours later she was in a coma. On arrival at hospital she was given less than 1 hour to live. The doctors and nurses worked hard on her and although she was in a comatose state for near on a week she came round and is making a recovery.

It happens so fast she's rarely out of my sight for more than a few hours now, even then I have an indoor camera on her bed and never go anywhere I can't get at least a 4g signal. 

It really is frightening the speed of onset and for your own sakes, if you even suspect you or anyone else may have it, get to the the A & E and have it checked.

[7daysinaweek]

13 hours ago, Centrepin said:

It's certainly something that needs more publicity. Thank you to @7daysinaweekfor his posts and the link.

The recovery from sepsis can take years and the slightest thing can set it off again.

The second time my wife had it, she had a chest infection. Despite calls to the Dr I couldn't get an appointment although I explained about the previous 3 months in hospital and the fact she had only just been discharged. Eventually because I perservered and insisted a doctor rang and insisted it was nothing more than a viral infection and would pass. Less than 10 hours later she was in a coma. On arrival at hospital she was given less than 1 hour to live. The doctors and nurses worked hard on her and although she was in a comatose state for near on a week she came round and is making a recovery.

It happens so fast she's rarely out of my sight for more than a few hours now, even then I have an indoor camera on her bed and never go anywhere I can't get at least a 4g signal. 

It really is frightening the speed of onset and for your own sakes, if you even suspect you or anyone else may have it, get to the the A & E and have it checked.

No problem at all and all power to you Centerpin. Your good lady has certainly had a time of it but it sounds like she in your very loving hands. 👍

In my experience many patients who have a history of sepsis can for most recall their symptoms, however a common theme which is observed is reporting a type of 'physical fear feeling or foreboding' that they cannot quite explain, which may be accompanied by a specific symptom/symptoms of the source of the infection such as a urinary tract infection, chest infection, skin infection, injury etc, though this is not always the case. Sometimes the source of infection is unknown and is never established even after the episode of care is completed. 

Concerns from the patient or a very concerned realtive should trigger the requirement for a prompt face to face consultation/assessment especially with a previous hsitory of sepsis. The symptoms of sepsis can be mild onset or barn door and no one symptom fits all. As you infer in your wifes situation symptoms can develop fast and seek urgent review if concerned. 

One of the most prevalent symtoms of a developing sepsis is shortness of breath, other associated symptoms can be confusion (mild to severe depending on stage of the sepsis) agitation, decreased micturion (weeing little or none) severe muscle aches, mottling of the skin and rashes that sometimes do not blanch. Patients with advancing meningococcal sepsis may also dispaly additional signs of meningitis infection such as neck stiffness , light sensitivity and a rash which does not fade when a glass is pressed on it.

In adults, young children and infants who are non verbal this may be exhibited with high pitched crying, breathing difficulty, agitation, severe malaise, poor feeding, reduced micturition etc. 

Not always do individuals experience all these symptoms and an early developing sepsis may consist of only one or two initial symptoms.

The encouraging news for the majority of individuals with mild early signs of sepsis who present will not turn out to be sepsis. After blood cultures and additional tests the signs and symptoms can be attributed to a bacterial, viral or allergy presentation without a sepsis response. 

If in doubt get checked as you say and the sooner sepsis is suspected the sooner a sepsis six pathway can be initiated hopefully improving the outcome or excluding a sepsis pathology.

atb

7diaw