Is your child at risk? Let's be aware of sepsis!

As a mother or father, you can't tell anyone the fear you have for your child. We all know the fear that comes to our mind when our child has a cold or a fever, right? But did you know that sometimes a bacterial infection that starts out as a very common condition can develop into something incredibly serious and life-threatening inside our bodies? That dangerous condition is what we call sepsis in medicine. We definitely need to be aware of this.

Simply put, what is sepsis?

Imagine, when a germ, especially a bacterium, enters our body, our immune system starts to fight it. This is normal. But in a condition called sepsis, this immune system response goes out of control and goes into overdrive. That means, this immune system starts to attack not only the germ, but also the healthy tissues and organs in the body.

It is like an army defending a country, attacking not only the enemy but also the innocent people in the country. As a result, our body's organs start to fail one by one. What happens if the functioning of major organs like the kidneys, liver, lungs, and heart stops? It is life-threatening. About a third of people who develop sepsis worldwide die. Some survivors face life-long complications, such as chronic pain, organ failure, and sometimes even the need to amputate limbs.

Is it true that children are at greater risk?

Yes. Sepsis is most common in older people, but it can also affect children in a very dangerous way. The main problem is that the symptoms of sepsis in children are very difficult to recognize in the early stages. They are very similar to the symptoms of a common cold or flu. Also, young children do not know how to express their pain and discomfort by saying, "I feel so bad here." Because of this, we may not know until the disease is severe inside the body.

Even doctors say that these symptoms can be challenging to recognize because they can vary from child to child. In the United States alone, 18 children die from sepsis every day. This gives us an idea of ​​the seriousness of this condition. But the best part is, if we as parents are aware of this and recognize the symptoms early, we have a great chance of saving our children's lives.

This true story will teach you a lot.

Sometimes it's when we hear a story that we really understand the seriousness of something. This is the story of Zach, an 11-year-old son. His mother, Marnie, is a doctor.

One night, after playing baseball, Zack started crying. He said his head hurt, he was dizzy, and his knee hurt. Mom and Dad thought he must have hurt his knee while playing. The next morning, his knee still hurt, so Mom gave him some painkillers and sent him to school. But after a while, the school called.

Even though she was a doctor, Marnie couldn't imagine what was happening to her own son. She took Zach to another doctor at her place of work. He took some blood and tested him, and started him on antibiotics.

But when the blood report came back, an inflammation marker was very high. They went to see a bone specialist. At that time, Zach was in a lot of pain. The doctor thought it might be a joint infection. But Zach's condition got worse and worse. By the next night, he was in so much pain that he couldn't even move. Then he lost consciousness.

"He asked me for water at about 3 p.m.," Marnie recalls. "As I was about to give him the bottle of water, he looked at me and said, 'Can someone please airlift it to our house?'" At that moment, Marnie knew something was wrong. She quickly took Zach to the nearest hospital's emergency room (ETU). From there, he was transferred to a hospital with a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

"At that time, no one had any idea what was going on. No one said, 'He has sepsis.' They thought it was a tick-borne disease. But they knew his lungs, liver, and kidneys were failing."

In the intensive care unit, Zach was given powerful antibiotics and put on a ventilator. Two days later, doctors discovered that Zach had developed a severe infection (osteomyelitis) in his right thigh bone, which had caused sepsis. Zach was quickly operated on to drain the pus.

For about two weeks, Zach was unconscious and on a ventilator. High fever, medication to maintain blood pressure, and lung damage... It was hell for his parents. But after two weeks, his condition gradually improved.

How to recognize the symptoms of sepsis?

Zach's story shows us how vague the early symptoms can be. Therefore, as parents, we need to be very attentive to the following symptoms. If your child has one or more of these, especially when he has a fever or other infection, do not delay. See a doctor immediately. If necessary, go directly to the hospital's Emergency Department (ETU).

"Golden Hour" and Treatment

Doctors say that if sepsis is suspected , it's important to start antibiotics as soon as possible, without waiting for a diagnosis to be confirmed. Starting treatment within the first hour can mean the difference between life and death. This is called the "Golden Hour."

As in Zach's story, even children who survive can have complications that affect them for the rest of their lives. Zach still has nerve damage in one of his legs, which means that leg won't grow properly. He also has attention problems and anxiety. This means that the battle with sepsis doesn't end after he leaves the hospital.

Sepsis, Pediatrics, Children's Health, Bacterial Infections, Fever, Symptoms