When people get ill, they often refer to their illness with a term they know well, even if it is not a medical term. This is the case with sepsis, a life threatening condition caused by the inability of the body to defend itself against an infection which has spread around the body. While the term “sepsis” is the correct and preferred medical term, it is also commonly referred to as “blood poisoning” and “septicaemia.” Both of these terms can be used interchangeably for sepsis and have done so for many years, but the preference amongst doctors and medical specialists is for the word “sepsis.”
What is sepsis / blood poisoning?
When there has been an infection anywhere in the body, the body’s reaction is to defend itself by galvanising a set of responses, controlled by the immune system. Basically, the body is able to recognise the difference between its own cells and tissue and foreign “invaders” like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In most cases, the body is quite able to restrict the infection to the place where it first occurs. Depending on how nasty the pathogens are, this ability to isolate and destroy these potentially dangerous and unwanted micro-organisms may be fast or slow. The problem occurs when the infection spreads around the body through the blood stream. The pathogens, usually bacteria, or toxins released by pathogens, can then cause damage to not just the blood itself, but to other organs throughout the body.
Origin of the term “blood poisoning”
It is this expansion of the original infection that explains why the term “blood poisoning” came into use. Doctors now recognise the spread of an infection as the early stage of sepsis. If sepsis is untreated, it can cause death as the infection spreads to organs beyond the blood stream and compromises their ability to function normally. Sepsis can be treated, but treatment is most effective if the original infection is dealt with as swiftly as possible. If left to its own devices, a body wide spread of a pathogenic infection can overwhelm the body’s immune system. Some people are more susceptible than others. This includes young people, elderly people, those with a weakened immune system and anyone with diabetes or cancer. Patients who have just undergone major surgery are also at risk.
How sepsis develops
Sepsis can actually begin with the most innocuous of infections. It could start with a small cut or abrasion, e.g. when someone falls over and cuts themselves. It could develop from a stomach infection, or even when someone brushes their teeth. However, although many infections could theoretically cause sepsis, most do not. Sepsis is a preventable condition. If it occurs in a hospital, or in a nursing home, or develops in someone who has just been released from hospital, then it suggests that this is due to negligence on the part of staff who were in charge of that person’s care. The symptoms of sepsis are clear. Three symptoms in particular when they occur together may be recognised as evidence of sepsis. When sepsis is diagnosed, then it must be treated with urgency or there is a very real risk of a rapid worsening of the condition of the person and this could lead to that person’s death.