A lot of people hear doctors talking about sepsis. This may lead you to wonder what sepsis is. Sepsis is a bacterial infection that is rather serious. This infection may originate in a variety of places in your body. It is usually a very serious infection and originates in the lungs, intestines, skin or the urinary tract. These bacteria generate toxins that impair the immune system and make it attack the host's own body. If sepsis affects the internal organs, it can cause some serious complications. If the infection reaches to the lungs, kidneys or the brain, it can eventually cause death as well.
The toxins produced by the bacteria may cause chemical changes in the body. This affects your heart rate, your temperature and even your blood pressure. It can cause a lot of dysfunction in the body. Sepsis is treated in a clinical setting and requires intensive medical care. In most of the cases, the patient has to be hospitalized as soon as the sepsis diagnosis is made.
Alternative Names: Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS)