Blood poisoning also dangerous for healthy people

World Sepsis Day: Healthy people can suffer from blood poisoning

09/14/2014

Hardly any disease is as underestimated in Germany as the sepsis, popularly also called blood poisoning. Not only are high-risk patients at risk, even previously healthy people can fall ill. This was referred to the World Sepsis Day 2014.

Often a small everyday accident is enough
Not only people with a weakened immune system can seize a sepsis, but also completely healthy people can suffer from a so-called blood poisoning. This was pointed out by the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) in Berlin on the occasion of World Sepsis Day on 13 September. Often, a small everyday accident is enough. „This can be a cut injury in the meal preparation or a cremation during grilling“, Prof. Gernot Marx, section spokesman for DIVI in the area of ​​systemic inflammation and sepsis, told the news agency dpa. „The biggest risk factor, however, is pneumonia.“

Symptoms are similar to those of a flu
Because the symptoms are similar to those of flu, sepsis is often not easy to spot. Symptoms that accompany a condition include fever, chills, accelerated heart rate, faster breathing, lower blood pressure, and palpitations. Most sufferers also feel greatly exhausted and have a restless sleep. „Those who suffer from the above symptoms and have previously suffered a wound or injury should not hesitate to go to a hospital or call an ambulance immediately“, according to Prof. Marx.

Act fast on suspicion
According to estimates, around 160,000 people in Germany contract sepsis every year, and as many as 60,000 of them die of it. According to experts, sufferers who detect and treat the infection within the first few hours have a chance of survival of 80 percent. However, if trading is only after six hours, the chance is only about 30 percent. Therefore, suspected not only the family doctor, but a clinic should be visited. Tragically, however, there is also a risk of infection in hospitals.

Two-thirds of those affected acquire sepsis in the hospital
Around two-thirds of those affected acquire sepsis from an infection in the hospital. Among other things, this has to do with the fact that patients who come to a clinic are often seriously ill and are particularly susceptible to infections due to a weakened immune system, for example as a result of diabetes or cancer. In addition to pneumonia or an open wound, abdominal diseases such as cecal or gall bladder infections, urinary tract infections or an inflamed tooth are risk factors for blood poisoning.

Red stripes are not a clear sign of blood poisoning
The assumption that blood poisoning is recognizable by a red stripe on the skin and that it becomes dangerous when it approaches the heart is widespread. However, the strip is by no means a clear early warning sign. According to experts, it only occurs in about one percent of all sepsis cases. Frequently, this red streak is merely an indication of inflammation, but in the worst case could become a blood poisoning. Therefore, a visit to a doctor is also advisable in this case. If a sepsis is diagnosed, sufferers immediately receive broad-spectrum antibiotics, some of them high-dose.

Risk patients will be vaccinated
Prof. Marx advises people over the age of 60 and at-risk patients to get vaccinated against pneumococcal infection. Pneumococci are "bacteria that can cause pneumonia and even sepsis". Basically, important is "a careful hygiene". Every little wound should always be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to reduce the risk of infection. In operating theaters, patients often receive preventive antibiotics prior to major surgical procedures and serious injuries. Also, the importance of hand disinfection is regularly pointed out, this is not ideal in Germany. World Sepsis Day has been taking place every year since September 13th, 2012, to raise awareness of the disease and its dangers. (Ad)