22. Septicemia and Sepsis: Should You be Worried?

 For a definition for sepsis and septicemia, click here.About ¼ of a million people in the UK develop sepsis every year and approximately 20% will die as a result.For the US figures, check out this resource.This is where I got the mind blowing figure for how many bacterial cells just one bacterium can produce. For anyone interested in a deeper dive into our amazing immune system, this is the book for you!  Yes, our circulatory system is truly amazing and vast as we have about 60,000 miles of blood vessels for delivering oxygen, nutrients but unfortunately, also bacteria.Botulinum toxin is one of the most potent biological poisons known, I would definitely think twice about injecting this in my face!Although the blood clots associated with infection can be a disaster, they probably evolved to help limit the spread of bacteria and help us survive. Should you treat that fever? Talk to your healthcare provider but here’s what the Mayo Clinic suggests.Learn more about cellulitis here. What is lymphangitis and what does it look like?Check out this Cleveland clinic page to see who’s at risk of sepsis and what are the signs and symptoms to look out for.