Sepsis Awareness Month serves to educate the public about a medical condition that affects more than a million Americans every year and kills up to half of them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner with the Guthrie County Hospital Stuart Clinic Carly Schwartz says sepsis is a serious illness that can develop when the body’s normal reaction to fight an infection goes awry and can quickly become life threatening, “So sepsis can start with a localized infection. And when I mean localized infection I’m talking about like a urinary tract infection, when you just have burning with urination or you have an open wound, say a cut on your leg. Just a local infection that just has a little puss coming out of it. Well, when that infection spreads you can get symptoms like fever, kind of all over body aches, and that means that the infection is spreading from a localized infection to a generalized overwhelming infection.”

This overwhelming infection can lead to blood clots and organ damage, and in severe cases sepsis can weaken the heart, shut down other organs, and also possibly lead to death. Schwartz says those at a higher risk for sepsis include those with weakened immune systems, infants and children, elderly people, people with chronic illnesses, and those who suffer severe burns or physical trauma. You can learn more about sepsis and how to prevent it by listening to a Let’s Talk Guthrie County program with Schwartz today on air and at raccoonvalleyradio.com.