September is Sepsis Awareness Month and Tahoe Forest Health System wants to inform the community of this life-threatening condition.

Sepsis is a medical emergency. It is the body’s life-threatening response to an infection. Any kind of infection can lead to sepsis, but common infections include Urinary Tract Infections, Strep Throat, Influenza and MRSA. Sepsis is not contagious.

According to a news release, more than 1.6 million people are diagnosed with sepsis in the U.S. each year. 258,000 of those patients will die from it … that’s more than prostate cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.

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Knowing the symptoms can save lives:

S – Shivering, fever, very cold

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E – Extreme pain or discomfort

P – Pale or discolored skin

S – Sleepy, difficult to rouse, confused

I – “I feel like I might die”

S – Shortness of breath

There is no simple test for sepsis, but it can be prevented by preventing infection. Sepsis can be treated successfully in most cases if caught and treated early.

For more information about sepsis, visit http://www.sepsis.org.

Source: Tahoe Forest Hospital