Information for the public
What is sepsis?
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is a rare but serious reaction to an infection. If you get an infection, your body's immune system responds by trying to fight it. Sepsis is when this immune system response becomes overactive and starts to cause damage to the body itself.
It can be hard to tell if you have sepsis. You might not even have a fever or high temperature, you may just feel very unwell.
Sepsis needs to be treated urgently because it can quickly get worse and lead to septic shock. Septic shock is very serious, as it can cause organ failure and death.
Anyone with an infection can get sepsis. But some people have a higher chance of getting it than others.