This article was originally published by Sara Tipton at Tess Pennington’s Ready Nutrition.
Blood poisoning can be deadly and is not all that uncommon. Therefore, knowing the signs of blood poisoning can save a life, as one mother in the United Kingdom recently found out!
Alexandra Ruddy’s 8-year-old son had fallen at the zoo about a week prior to her taking him to the hospital in the United Kingdom. According to a post she shared on Facebook along with a photo of her son’s red wrist which he injured in the fall. Although she ensured the wounds remained cleaned and they didn’t appear infected, she noticed he developed “red tracking” near the injuries as they headed to the beach one day.
“I took him down to the out of hours feeling a bit silly but when the doctor saw it he commended me on [recognizing] it and getting down ASAP,” Ruddy wrote in the post that has now been shared more than 40,000 shares. Unfortunately, her son had blood poisoning. His wound has developed sepsis. “It isn’t something you can ‘leave’ until Monday when the doctors are back in the office,” she added according to Yahoo.
The odd red streak is what alerted this mother to danger and prompted us to detail the deadliness of blood poisoning and the signs to look for. Because this mother knew her son’s life was at stake, she was able to get him to help immediately.
“That kind of infection where it spreads up into the body like that and causes a red streak, we see with reasonable frequency, and it is a sign of bacterial infection that’s spreading into the body, and that could potentially turn into sepsis,” says Anne F. Brayer, M.D., who is board-certified in pediatric emergency medicine. “Sepsis is really defined by an overwhelming infection that goes over what the body’s defenses can handle.”
What is “Blood Poisoning?”
Blood poisoning is a serious infection that occurs when bacteria are in the bloodstream. Despite its name, the infection has nothing to do with poison. Although not a medical term, “blood poisoning” is used to describe bacteremia, septicemia, or sepsis.
The presence of bacteria in the blood is referred to as bacteremia or septicemia. Keep in mind that the terms “septicemia” and “sepsis” are often used interchangeably, though technically they aren’t quite the same. Septicemia, the state of having bacteria in your blood, can lead to sepsis which is a very severe and often life-threatening state of infection if it’s left untreated. Any type of infection — whether bacterial, fungal, or viral — can cause sepsis and become deadly and these infectious agents don’t necessarily need to be in a person’s bloodstream to bring about sepsis. This is why it’s important to know what to look for and seek medical attention immediately if you or anyone you know appears to have blood poisoning.
What To Look For
Some of the symptoms of blood poisoning are similar to those of the flu or the common cold. However, if you’ve had surgery recently or you’re recovering from a wound, it’s important that you call your doctor immediately after experiencing these possible signs of blood poisoning.
The symptoms of blood poisoning include:
- chills
- moderate or high fever
- weakness
- rapid breathing
- increased heart rate or palpitations
- paleness of the skin, especially in the face
You also want to watch for more severe symptoms which should prompt immediate action to get medical attention, as the blood poisoning could quickly become life-threatening. Those symptoms are:
- confusion
- red spots on the skin that may grow larger and look like a big, purple bruise
- red streaking often coming from a wound
- shock
- little to no urine production
- organ failure
Prompt treatment is essential!
A doctor will test the area to determine which bacteria or fungus is causing the infection in order to administer the appropriate antibiotic, but you shouldn’t wait to get that figured out. A blood infection can spread quickly and become much more dangerous the longer it goes untreated. Do NOT hesitate to go to the emergency room. According to the Mayo Clinic, septic shock has a 50 percent mortality rate. Even then, if medical treatment is successful, sepsis can still lead to permanent damage and your risk for future infections may also be greater.
Long Term Side Effects
Unfortunately, even if you do everything right and seek medical attention in a timely manner, you could end up with some permanent damage, which is why avoiding infections is the best way to prevent blood poisoning. Some of the long term effects can be:
- blood clots
- organ failure, requiring surgery or lifesaving measures to be administered
- tissue death (gangrene), requiring removal of the affected tissue or possibly amputation
Preventing Infections
Proper cleaning and bandaging of wounds will help prevent infections. Clean the wound well and use bandages to keep out infectious organisms. Before treating or cleaning a wound, wash your hands with warm soapy water. Then, follow these steps:
- Stop the bleeding. Minor cuts and scrapes usually stop bleeding on their own. …
- Clean the wound with running water. Rinse the wound with water Keeping the wound under running tap water to reduce the risk of infection. Wash around the wound with soap. Remove all debris with tweezers cleaned with alcohol.
- Apply an antibiotic or petroleum jelly. This will help keep the wound moist and prevent scarring.
- Cover the wound. Apply a bandage, rolled gauze or gauze held in place with paper tape. Covering the wound keeps it clean.
- Change the dressing. Do this once a day or whenever the bandage becomes noticeably dirty.
- Watch for signs of infection. The signs of an infection or “blood poisoning” are listed in this article; scroll up to see.
Knowing the signs of blood poisoning could help save your life or the life of someone else. Your quick reaction will also be important should things take a turn for the worst!
(If your organs are failing, you may have blood poisoning, possibly.)
Something to keep in mind, if you literally want to be responsible for your own well being, is that sanitation is one of the most resource-intensive, public works projects, in human history.
People, who really just want a couch and some air conditioning — here, is an excuse for big govt.
Can you make soap, shampoo, and a hot shower. Can you make even a bucket, or that solar shower pouch with a working nozzle. Can you make…
I can make soap, shampoo, and a hot shower. I can make a bucket, a solar shower pouch with a working nozzle, I can bring home the bacon and cook it up in a pan. Shazam!
People, if you don’t want a minder, who does every little thing for you, you have to do it all for yourself — everything.
amazing, just like the article, not much has changed
If you’re anti-vax, the kid could have trouble with lockjaw also.
h ttps://rampages.us/kdamian/2016/04/18/smallpox-and-the-revolutionary-war/
“Inoculation was first introduced in the 17th century, with some controversy. Some believed that intentionally infecting oneself with the disease was not only dangerous, but also violated the ultimate plan of God by circumventing his will. Inoculation involves intentionally infecting a person with smallpox through an incision. *[using puss, blood, and scabs.] The person may become ill with a mild form of the disease, and remains contagious for at least two weeks, but once completed they should be immune to further infections.”
*My comment.
Big Pharma wants you to plug their product, when you go the doctor.
As I am watching commercials for Crohn’s and psoriasis auto-immune suppressants, you are supposed to warn the doctor if anyone in your house has been vaccinated.
Is it because they are spreaders?
Hard to tell what’s good or not about the vax. I had vaxes 60 years ago. I will still get the tetanus booster if needed.
I would like to say, the social security and medicare Ponzi are an important part of my life, so payment is dependent on y’all youngsters. Please getch yer nose to the grindstone like I did for my grandpap and mam, and mom and dad, to pay for their old age.
Thank you
These people are infecting themselves with diseased tissues, becoming spreaders, and blaming the non-participators.
Article: Are Flu Shot Symptoms Contagious?
Source: LiveStrong.com
https://preview.tinyurl.com/y4lenuef
Colloidal silver?
h ttp://newsbite.it/index-id-Weird%20News-zk-18607.html
I bet, it works on a microscope slide.
“Red streaking…” (naked communist?)
No kidding, that’s the one you really have to be cognizant of.
When you see that red line going from a little bitty scratch toward an artery, that is the time to act quickly. Get yourself to the emergency room. Cause you are going to die!
I had this happen twice and I had no idea how serious it was until the doctor told me. Don’t ignore this. I can’t emphasize this enough. Treat your skin with care. If you see a scratch start to ooze, that’s a sign of infection. If a red line appears, that’s a sign that the infection is serious no matter how insignificant the cut or scratch; even if you don’t feel that bad or even feel fine.
I was embarrassed to see a doctor for such a little nothing and I was minutes away from dying.
It happened again and I still thought it was nothing, but it wasn’t.
Don’t be afraid to put an antibacterial cream or antibacterial wipe in your every day bag. And don’t think because you’re tough that you can ignore an infected scratch that is running.
A word to the wise is sufficient.
.
😉 book title
In the old days, blood poisoning was fairly common. Before anti- biotics. I looked at some of the death certificates of my ancestors, and the cause of death was often blood poisoning. They were subsistence farmers. Mostly.
There were lots of possible astringents and clotting agents, on an old farmstead.
The deaths were possibly unnecessary.
(I guess, if you knew them all, you would be the country doctor and not the farmer.)
For minor cuts or wounds, nothing works better than good old Rubbing Alcohol, the more it burns the better it feels after it stops. So stop whining and pour it on. Trekker Out