SEPSIS is a life-threatening reaction to an infection and happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's tissue and organs.
Former President of the United States Bill Clinton has reportedly been struck down with the illness.
It's the primary cause of death from infection around the world - that's more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.
But what is sepsis and what are the signs of the blood infection you need to know? Here's all the information you need.
What is sepsis?
The condition is always triggered by an infection - but it is not contagious and cannot be passed from person to person.
Most often the culprit is an infection we all recognise - pneumonia, urinary infections (UTIs), skin infections, including cellulitis, and infections in the stomach, for example appendicitis.
Typically, when a person suffers a minor cut, the area surrounding the wound will become red, swollen and warm to touch.
This is evidence the body's immune system has kicked into action, releasing white blood cells to the site of the injury to kill off the bacteria causing the infection.
The white blood cells and platelets form blood clots in the tissues around the cut.
Blood vessels swell to allow more blood to flow, and they become leaky, allowing infection-fighting cells to get out of the blood and into the tissues where they are needed.
This causes inflammation, which appears to us as the red, warm swelling.
When sepsis happens, this system goes into overdrive.
The inflammation that is typically seen just around the minor cut, spreads through the body, affecting healthy tissue and organs.
The immune system - the body's defence mechanism - overreacts and the result is it attacks the body.
It can lead to organ failure and septic shock, which can prove fatal.
Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites can all trigger sepsis - though the most dangerous culprit is bacteria.
In developing nations, the condition remains a leading cause of death.
Known by its colloquial name "blood poisoning", sepsis is also often referred to as a "flesh-eating disease".
What is septicaemia?
The terms sepsis and septicaemia both refer to a blood infection that's typically caused by bacteria.
Even though the definitions are closely related, there are some small differences.
Sepsis occurs when your body reacts to a severe infection, whereas septicaemia is the name of the infection itself.
The NHS explains: "Sepsis can affect multiple organs or the entire body, even without blood poisoning or septicaemia.
"Sepsis can also be caused by viral or fungal infections, although bacterial infections are by far the most common cause."
What are the three stages of sepsis?
Sepsis affects the body in three distinct stages.
Stage One
An infection invades a specific part of the body - pneumonia affects the lungs, for example - triggering the immune system into action.
The germs and toxins produced by the bacteria or virus leave the original site of infection and enter the bloodstream.
This causes the inflammatory response known as SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome).
Read more: www.thesun.co.uk/health/17816...
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Негізгі бет Ғылым және технология Dr Philippa Kaye on the signs, symptoms and best ways to avoid sepsis
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