Treating And Diagnosing Sepsis
Sepsis is life-threatening! Ladies, it means your body had an unusual reaction to an infection. Your body should have released infecting-fighting chemicals. But if this release is unbalanced? You'll get sepsis! This condition damages your organs. It can kill you if your blood pressure drops to the point of septic shock. There are a few at-risk groups for sepsis. They're seniors, young kids, those with poor immune systems, and pregnant ladies!
There's good news, though. Sepsis is treatable! Ladies, you'll get emergency sepsis treatment at a hospital. IV broad-spectrum antibiotics are up first! You'll get other intravenous fluids for sepsis in less than 3 hours. Specific sepsis antibiotics come after things like blood tests for sepsis. Surgery for sepsis is on the table too! And ladies? Don't forget to seek out supportive care for sepsis!
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are a major sepsis treatment. Ladies, broad antibiotics are the first treatment course you'll get for this! Their goal is to destroy the harmful bacteria causing your infection. You need broad ones first because they fight many different types of bacteria! IV antibiotics are used in the hospital. It's an emergency, after all! While you're getting them, ladies, doctors are going to do the tests they need to do. They'll find out what specific type of bacteria caused your sepsis!
Once they do that, you'll get the antibiotics to fight the right bacteria. They will be even more powerful! Remember to finish all of the antibiotics you're given, ladies. Not doing that means some bacteria will be left behind! This will make fighting the infection harder next time.
Intravenous Fluids
Intravenous (IV) fluids are one of the first two sepsis treatments! Ladies, you'll get IV fluids within 3 hours of being at the hospital for sepsis. They will stop your blood pressure from dropping too much! You aren't likely going to go into shock. IV fluids are so important for a couple reasons, ladies. IV fluids are going to lessen the damage from sepsis. They're also going to let doctors track exactly how much fluid they've given you.
Doctors will even control what fluids you're getting! Saline is the most common. It's made of water and sodium! Sodium is an electrolyte, and it's going to help your body absorb the fluid. Colloids are another type of IV fluid. They're thicker than saline and don't dissolve as fast. You might need some saline still, though. That's because you need to maintain balance in your body!
Vasopressors
You won't receive vasopressors first for sepsis. They come into play if you're still having problems with your blood pressure after getting an IV! Ladies, these meds are going to narrow your blood vessels. This drives your pressure up! They're only used when you have dangerously low blood pressure. You'll usually only get them for sepsis if you're in critical condition at the hospital! They're going to prevent organ damage. They'll even do that for other serious sepsis complications! After all, blood pressure that stays too low for too long is what triggers these! You might get vasopressors with other meds to help them be even more effective.
Blood Tests
Your doctor is going to do at least 1 blood test to check for sepsis. Ladies, they'll draw some blood from 2 sites! These samples are going to be checked for infection, clotting problems, electrolyte imbalances, and even compromised liver and kidney function. However, you need more than just a blood test to reach a diagnosis of sepsis. Ladies, your doctor will pair blood tests with a physical exam. They need to know about your symptoms too!
One of the tests they'll do on your blood is a complete blood count (CBC). This measures how many white blood cells you have! Ladies, having lots of them says that you have an infection. Doctors will also check your C-reactive protein levels. This spots inflammation! They'll do a blood culture to see what bacteria lead to your condition. And if they check your blood clotting? Tests they'll do include platelet counts and d-dimer tests!
Wound Secretion Test
Your doctor also needs to do wound secretion tests to see if you have sepsis. Ladies, this will help figure out what caused the infection! This means that doctors will use the antibiotics that fight the specific bacteria and fungi that caused your condition! A wound secretion test spots fungi, bacteria, and viruses in wounds. And ladies, all you have to do is show up for the test! Oh, and tell your doctor about the medications you take. Other than that, it doesn't require prep!
Your doctor is going to clean your wound. You can even get numbing meds to make sure you're comfortable! If it's an open wound, doctors use a cotton swab. Closed wounds need a syringe! Deeper wounds will see doctors cutting into your skin a bit first.