Read the stories collected by the UK Sepsis Trust and a pattern jumps out. They almost all begin the same way. It’s just chicken pox. It’s just a fever. It’s just a cold. It’s just a pulled muscle. It’s just a fever.
Sepsis rarely announces itself. It starts as an ordinary infection, the kind everyone gets, and then the body’s response to that infection turns and starts damaging its own tissues and organs. By the time it looks serious, it can move very quickly indeed.
In the UK, around 245,000 people are affected by sepsis each year and roughly 48,000 die from it. That’s five people every hour. More than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.
The reason awareness matters so much is that it is treatable when it’s caught. Antibiotics work. The problem is time, and time is lost when nobody asks the question.
If You Suspect Sepsis Right Now
Call 999 or go to A&E immediately. Do not book a GP appointment and wait for it. Do not wait to see how things look in the morning.
When you get there, say the words out loud: “Could it be sepsis?” It sounds dramatic. It isn’t. It’s the phrase the UK Sepsis Trust encourages people to use, because saying it prompts a specific set of checks.
You will not be wasting anyone’s time. Emergency staff would far rather assess someone who turns out to be fine than see someone arrive too late.
What Is Sepsis?
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition where the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. The immune system, instead of fighting the infection in a targeted way, goes into overdrive and causes collateral damage. Left untreated it leads to shock, organ failure and death.
It always begins with an infection. Often something entirely routine: a chest infection, a urinary tract infection, a skin infection, an infected wound, or an illness following surgery. It isn’t known why some people develop this condition and immune system response from these common infections and others don’t.
There’s no single sign and no single test, which is a large part of why it gets missed. It’s also indiscriminate. It most commonly affects very young children, older adults and people with existing health conditions, but it can happen to someone who was completely fit and well a week earlier.
Signs of Sepsis in Adults
The UK Sepsis Trust’s public campaign asks people to look for any one of the following. One is enough.
- Slurred speech or confusion
- Extreme shivering or muscle pain
- Passing no urine in a day
- Severe breathlessness
- It feels like you’re going to die or a sense of impending doom
- Skin mottled or discoloured
The fifth sign listed here is not hyperbole. People who survive sepsis describe an overwhelming sense that something is catastrophically wrong, unlike any illness they’d had before. If someone says that, take it seriously.
If any one of these is present, call 999 or go to A&E and ask whether it could be sepsis. If you’re simply worried about an infection but none of these signs are there, call 111 or contact your GP.
Signs of Sepsis in Children
Children can deteriorate faster than adults, and the signs differ. A child may have sepsis if they:
- Are breathing very fast
- Have a fit or convulsion
- Look mottled, bluish or pale. On brown and black skin, colour changes may be easier to see on the inside of the forearms or on the palms
- Have a rash that does not fade when you press it
- Are very lethargic or difficult to wake
- Feel abnormally cold to touch
In children under five, also look for:
- Not feeding
- Vomiting repeatedly
- Not passing urine for 12 hours
The glass test still applies for the non-fading rash: press a clear glass firmly against the skin and see whether the marks fade. But do not wait for a rash. Many children with sepsis never develop one, and by the time it appears the illness is often well advanced.
One more thing, and it comes up repeatedly in accounts from parents who have been through this. If your instinct is telling you that something is badly wrong with your child, act on it. Parental instinct is not a clinical sign, but it has a good track record.
Why Time Matters So Much
Sepsis treatment is time-critical in a way few conditions are. NHS figures indicate that for every hour treatment is delayed, the risk of death rises by up to 8%. Hours matter. In some cases, so do minutes.
This is why the advice is always to go straight to emergency care rather than working up through appointments. There were more than 118,000 emergency admissions for sepsis in England in 2024/25, and NHS England has set a target of preventing one in four sepsis deaths by 2035, partly through wearable monitoring for people at higher risk.
The flip side is genuinely encouraging. Caught early and treated with antibiotics, most people recover. The gap between a good outcome and a terrible one is very often just how quickly someone asked the question.
Who Is at Higher Risk?
Anyone can develop sepsis, but risk is higher if you:
- Are over 75, or very young, particularly under 1
- Have diabetes
- Have a weakened immune system, including through chemotherapy or immunosuppressive medication
- Have recently had surgery, or a wound that isn’t healing
- Have a catheter fitted
- Are pregnant, have recently given birth, or have had a miscarriage or termination in the past six weeks
- Have a long-term condition such as kidney disease or liver disease
- Drink heavily or inject drugs
Maternal sepsis deserves specific mention. It can develop during pregnancy, during labour, or in the weeks afterwards, and symptoms are easy to attribute to normal post-birth recovery. If you’ve recently given birth and feel severely unwell, that warrants urgent assessment rather than waiting.
Reducing Your Risk
You can’t prevent sepsis reliably, but you can reduce the chances of the infections that lead to it.
- Treat infections properly. Don’t leave a UTI, a chest infection or an infected wound to sort itself out.
- Take antibiotics as prescribed, and finish the course when you’re told to.
- Keep wounds clean and watch for spreading redness, heat, swelling or pus.
- Keep vaccinations up to date, including flu, COVID and pneumococcal vaccines where you’re eligible.
- Look after your teeth. Dental infections can seed serious illness.
- Manage long-term conditions, particularly diabetes, where good control reduces infection risk.
None of this makes anyone immune. It reduces the number of opportunities.
After Sepsis: A Recovery That Gets Overlooked
Surviving sepsis is not the end of it. Around 40% of survivors experience ongoing physical, cognitive or psychological effects, sometimes described as post-sepsis syndrome.
That can include exhaustion that doesn’t lift, muscle weakness, joint pain, poor concentration and memory, disturbed sleep, hair loss, low mood, anxiety, and in some cases symptoms of post-traumatic stress after time in intensive care.
This part is frequently underestimated. People are discharged, told they were lucky, and then find themselves months later unable to work or think clearly, wondering whether something is still wrong. Recovery from severe cases of this condition is often measured in months rather than weeks.
If that’s where you are, it’s worth being reviewed properly rather than assuming it will pass. The UK Sepsis Trust runs a nurse-led support line on 0808 800 0029 and publishes guidance on sepsis recovery and post-sepsis syndrome.
Where a Private GP Fits, and Where It Doesn’t
Let’s be direct about this issue, because it truly matters.
Friends Medical Service is not where you go for suspected sepsis. Sepsis is an emergency, and emergencies go to 999 and A&E. No private GP clinic, ours included, is the right destination when someone has a red flag sign. If you take one thing from this post, take that.
Where a fast GP appointment does help is earlier in the chain, and afterwards.
Treating infections promptly. Sepsis starts with an infection, and infections left untreated because nobody could get an appointment are a genuine part of the problem. If you have a suspected UTI, a chest infection that isn’t settling, or a wound that looks infected, being seen quickly matters. Our GP appointments are available same-day and next-day, in person or by video.
Post-sepsis recovery. This is where private GP access can genuinely add something, because it’s an area that tends to fall between services. A longer appointment to work through what’s still not right, blood tests to check for anaemia, thyroid problems, kidney function and nutritional deficiencies contributing to fatigue, and counselling where the psychological aftermath is the harder part. Our Tired All The Time panel was built for persistent unexplained fatigue, which is one of the most common lingering effects.
Managing risk factors. Ongoing review of diabetes or other long-term conditions, and making sure vaccinations are current.
Myths vs Facts About Sepsis
- Myth: It is the same as blood poisoning.
- Fact: They’re often used interchangeably, but sepsis is the body’s own overwhelming response to infection, not the infection itself spreading through the blood.
- Myth: You’ll always have a high temperature.
- Fact: Some people with sepsis have a normal or low temperature. Feeling abnormally cold can itself be a warning sign, particularly in children.
- Myth: There’s always a rash.
- Fact: Many people that suffer this condition never develop one. Waiting for a rash before acting is one of the most dangerous misconceptions about it.
- Myth: It only affects people who are already unwell.
- Fact: Risk is higher in those groups, but sepsis can develop in someone previously fit and healthy.
- Myth: Only serious infections cause sepsis.
- Fact: It commonly follows ordinary infections such as UTIs, chest infections and skin infections.
- Myth: Asking “could it be sepsis?” will annoy the doctor.
- Fact: It’s the phrase clinicians and the UK Sepsis Trust actively want people to use. It prompts a specific assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if I think someone has sepsis?
You must call 999 immediately or go straight to A&E and make sure to ask directly whether it could be sepsis. Do not wait for a GP appointment.
Can sepsis be treated?
Yes. Antibiotics and supportive treatment are effective, and most people recover when it’s caught early. Outcomes depend heavily on how quickly treatment begins.
How quickly does sepsis develop?
It varies, but it can progress within hours. That’s why the advice is to seek emergency care rather than wait and see.
Is sepsis contagious?
No. The infection that triggered it may be, but the actual condition itself is your body’s own response and cannot be passed to someone else.
Can you get sepsis more than once?
Yes. Having had it happen to you previously raises your risk of it happening again, so recognising the signs early matters even more.
What is post-sepsis syndrome?
It is a cluster of ongoing physical, cognitive and psychological effects that affects around 40% of survivors. Fatigue, poor concentration, muscle weakness, low mood and anxiety are common. It’s real, it’s recognised, and it’s worth getting reviewed.
I’ve had an infection and I’m not improving. Should I be worried?
If an infection that isn’t responding to treatment, or is getting worse, it should be reviewed promptly. If any of the red flag signs above appear, that is a “call 999” situation rather than a GP one.
Where can I learn more?
The UK Sepsis Trust has comprehensive information and a nurse-led support line on 0808 800 0029. The NHS sepsis page also covers the known symptoms and when you should seek help.
The One Thing to Remember
Sepsis is common, it’s fast, and it’s treatable when caught. What stands between a good outcome and a devastating one is usually a single question asked early enough.
If someone is seriously unwell with an infection, call 999 and ask: could it be sepsis?
For infections that need seeing quickly, or for support with recovery afterwards, book a GP appointment or get in touch with Friends Medical Service.
