“This is blood poisoning” – mum’s warning for other parents
A mum has shared the terrifying story about her son’s brush with sepsis, a life-threatening complication of an infection, in the hopes of helping other parents.
“I’ve been in two minds whether to post this, but my husband convinced me as he said if I hadn’t been here, he wouldn’t have realised,” she told Tiny Hearts Education Instagram page.
“I am sure there are other parents who wouldn’t either, and the only reason I knew is because it had happened to a friend’s son 2 years ago and she had shared.”
It all started when her son and fallen over the zoo, cutting his hand and elbow.
“He took quite a bashing but once we got home I cleaned him up,” said the mum. “I rang school on Farm school day to make sure he washed his hands after digging, and I tried hard to ensure it was kept clean (hand and elbow). He’s an 8 yr old boy, however.”
“I noticed red tracking down his vein”
Although the wound didn’t look infected, it was getting bigger – then the mum noticed something that she knew to be a sign of something more serious: a red line.
“I noticed red tracking down his vein,” she said.
“I then checked his elbow – the same. So I took him down to the out of hours feeling a bit silly but when the doctor saw it, he commended me on recognising it and getting down ASAP.”
“This is blood poisoning/ sepsis. It isn’t something you can ‘leave’ until Monday when the doctors are back in the office,” she said.
Thanks to his quick-thinking mum, this kid is responding well to antibiotics. Now the mum wants others to know what to look for.
“If you spot this red line running from a wound, get your child seen straight away. Hopefully, my post might help someone the way my friend’s post from 2 years ago helped me. 😍”
What is the red line?
As Tiny Hearts Education explains, the red line is called Lymphangitis.
“This means the infection is in the lymphatic system, and it causes red lines from the wound that travel in the direction of the nearest lymph gland.
“If treated quickly, the condition can be mild, but if left untreated, complications can occur, and the condition can become very serious. When the infection crosses over into the bloodstream, like it did for this boy, it’s known as sepsis.”
They’ve also put together a very handy guide to sepsis which you can download here.
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