- **WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT**
People have been urged to learn the signs of sepsis after an MP told how they lost both their hands and feet to the condition.
Tory MP for South Thanet Craig Mackinlay thought he simply had the onset of a cold in September.
He would eventually wake up in the hospital after a 16-day coma to discover that his limbs had turned completely black and had to be amputated.
Mackinlay, 57, is making a heroic return to work as a ‘bionic MP’ and has said he also wants to raise awareness of the need to detect sepsis as quickly as possible.
So what are the early signs of the condition that kills an estimated 48,000 Britons a year, which equates to just over five every hour?
MP Craig Mackinlay has broken his silence after losing his hands and feet to sepsis, admitting he was ‘lucky to be alive’ after the horrific disease left him with four prosthetic limbs
Bacterial infections are one of the most common causes of sepsis. Blood tests may show an increase in the number of white blood cells, indicating that an infection is present
Sepsis is known as a ‘silent killer’ and occurs when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive in response to an infection such as a urinary tract infection or a respiratory infection.
This violent response causes the immune system to damage the body’s own tissues, which can lead to life-threatening organ failure.
Early symptoms of sepsis can be easily confused with milder conditions, meaning it can be difficult to diagnose.
People are advised to look out for six signs, identified by the acronym ‘SEPSIS’:
These include: slurred speech or confusion, extreme chills or muscle pain, no urination in a day, severe shortness of breath, and skin that is mottled or discolored.
Anyone who develops any of these symptoms is urged to seek urgent medical attention – and ask doctors: ‘Could this be sepsis?’
Other possible signs of sepsis include high temperature (fever), chills and chills, a rapid heart rate and rapid breathing are also indicators.
A patient can deteriorate rapidly if sepsis is missed early, so prompt diagnosis and treatment are critical – but this rarely happens.
If sepsis is caught early, it can be easily treated with intravenous antibiotics and fluids.
But these should be given as soon as sepsis is suspected, given the speed at which patients can deteriorate.
If a patient goes into septic shock, when their blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level, patients have only a 50 percent chance of survival.
Experts estimate that for every hour of delay in providing potentially life-saving treatment to a septic shock patient, the risk of death increases by 8 percent.
Part of the problem, as Mr Mackinlay has highlighted, is that sepsis in its early stages can be mistaken for a respiratory infection, flu or stomach upset.
Craig Mackinlay pictured at St Thomas’ Hospital on November 30 with blackened limbs after a sepsis
It is most common and dangerous in older adults, pregnant women, children under one year of age, people with chronic conditions, or those with weakened immune systems.
Over the past decade, the number of deaths from sepsis has increased dramatically, from 37,000 per year in 2013 to around 48,000 today.
Despite repeated awareness campaigns aimed at speeding diagnosis and treatment, sepsis now causes more deaths than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined.
It can occur at any age, but is most common in the elderly, and urinary tract infections are among the most common triggers.