SEPSIS

I had never heard the word SEPSIS before hearing it on Dr. Oz and neither had the parents of a 12 year old boy who had a minor scrap on his arm in basketball practice and was DEAD four days later. His coach did not send him to the school nurse nor did he clean the minor wound or apply any antiseptic. He did what most of us would do; he applied a band aide and sent the boy home.

At home his mother looked at it but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The boy felt fine, did his homework after supper and went to bed. At midnight his mother woke hearing him retch in the bathroom. The boy complained of SEVER PAIN IN HIS LEG, not his scraped arm.

The next morning he was still running a high fever, vomiting and complaining of INTENSE PAIN IN HIS LEG so his mother took him to the pediatrician. Unfortunately there were several cases of stomach flu going around and that was the diagnosis of the doctor who sent him home.

That night all of the above symptoms where worse so the parents took the boy to the ER, where he was once again diagnosed with the stomach flu and sent home. The next morning his symptoms were worse including black blotches appearing on his arms, legs and stomach. The parents called the pediatrician, who recommended they go to the hospital. 

The boy died within hours of entering the hospital. After his death the parents found the ER, as a matter of protocol on his FIRST visit, had in fact taking blood without their permission and without telling them they were testing for SEPSIS. The hospital never reported the positive results until after his death.

As you will see on Dr. Oz, a specialists reports that hundreds of thousands of people young and old die of SEPSIS every year but that 60% could be saved with EARLY detection.

So should you or anyone you know suffer the above symptoms after a minor scratch or scrap DEMAND a blood test to rule out SEPSIS. Ask when the results will be available and ASK to see those results.

Also keep in mind OVER USE OF ANTIBIOTICS can result in immunity when you need it the most.

PLEASE - PLEASE - PLEASE ask these questions anytime a physician wants to prescribe and antibiotic, ESPECIALLY for CHILDREN.

1. Why are you prescribing an antibiotic at this time?
2. Which antibiotic are you prescribing?
3. Who is the manufacturer?
4. What is the cost?
5. How long will I need to take it?
6. What results do you expect?
7. How soon should I see these results?
8. If that does not happen in the prescribe time frame what should I do?
9. What are the drawbacks of taking this particular antibiotic?

AND the most important question -- Are there any alternatives?

Print these questions out and take them with you to every appointment. And write down the answers. YOU have a RIGHT to KNOW.

Comments

[Tammy Klingenberg]

Thank you for sharing on Sipsis. I know first hand about this. I fought for my life with hospital infections after a surgery. Many ER visits, doctor visits and no one. Thought anything about. Until it was almost to late. Finally a doctor on call had me admitted into the hospital. But no doctor came to check on me for over 24 hours. The nurse said she ddnt know why no doctor had come. It took my husband yelling at the doctor office across from the hospital. Finally someone came. By then granegreen had set in. I'm here today somehow. But what a fight I had for 14 months with wound vac. People need to know what to look for and make doctors check and check again.

[Judy]

Oh how awful -- each of us must pass on the word about this deadly bacteria. Just got another reply that tells the story too vividly. Oh so sad. . .

Received a bad phone call today. A neighbor of ours wife, 53 yrs old died today. Several months ago she was going to take a bath, did not check the temp of the water, stepped in slipped and fell in to very hot water. Got herself out, drove to the hospital. Husband was out of town. In the hospital one day or so, they sent her home. After about a day or so at home she became very ill. Went back to the hospital, St. Francis where she is a nurse. She was in hospital 72 days, Sepsis had taken hold, put her in a coma, never woke up, took her off life support today, lasted 15 minutes. Funeral Thursday. Somehow this does not seem right.

UPDATE -- her obituary listed her cause of death as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) not SEPSIS. WebMD says ARDS can occur when a major injury or extreme inflammation somewhere in the body damages the small blood vessels including those in the lungs. As a result, the lungs are unable to fill with air and can't move enough oxygen into the bloodstream.

WebMD also lists several possible causes, one of which is SEPSIS.

How very very sad!

Makes you wonder how many people die of SEPSIS but you never know because the cause of is often not listed at all or is listed like the above example. We have to be alert and aware of sudden violent illness after a minor injury. And should that happen we must DEMAND a simple blood test to rule out SEPSIS before it is too late.

[Judy]

Dear Readers: I had sent this out via email to a few friends before posting and thought you might like to see their responses. I got several thank you's and the following sad stories. Lucky one is a health practitioner who offered up great suggestions for everyone's first aide kit.

The following products are anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial: oregano oil, olive leaf, goldenseal, colloidal silver to name a few. These can be found at your friendly health food store for a very minimal cost and should be kept in our medicine cabinets. Also, another addition might be to encourage anyone taking an anti-biotic to be sure to be taking a pro-biotic 2-4 hrs. away from the anti-biotic dose to help cut down on the side effects of diarrhea and/or candidiasis (yeast overgrowth). PLUS it would be wise to double up on the pro-biotic for a few weeks when the round of anti-biotics are completed.

Hi, Judy. Thanks for the reminder. My mom had sepsis from an untreated UTI infection and my aunt from an abcessed tooth. It is rough. My mom survived thanks to her lung doctor; but my aunt passed away, from a tooth that should have been removed when she first asked to see the dentist. The nursing home had me pay for a program that sent the dentist into the facility. It is so sad when it is not caught....especially with the hospitals running an initial test and never looking at the results.

One friend a funeral director says they get LOTS of death certificates stating Sepsis is the cause of death.

Another friend says she lost two good friends last summer to Sipsis. Both were in their 60's and died within 4 days of minor foot injuries.

Another said her adult son is still unable to work since he was given the antibiotic Cipro after an accident last June. She is livid now that she knows the dangers of this commonly prescribe drug.

Another friend is still anxious that his daughter may loose her leg after getting a hospital related infection right after surgery.

If you have a similar story please leave your comments here.

Wishing all of us the best of health.
Judy