September complete mag

Raising awareness
of sepsis
When a child (or indeed adult) has an infection, the body’s immune system automatically kicks
into gear to fight it off. When faced with a viral infection (like a cold or flu) or a bacterial
infection (like ‘strep throat’) a child, in particular, may experience symptoms like fever, sore
throat, body aches and a headache. In your experience as a childcare practitioner, you will
have probably seen these symptoms many times; and know that they are usually manageable;
and that a healthy immune response in the child would ensure full recovery within a few days.
• Low temperature (below 36 o C – check
three times in a 10-minute period)
The statistics
Sepsis affects between 27–30 million
people each year, and of those, between
6 and 9 million people die as a result. But
the most worrying statistic is that sepsis
is the most preventable cause of death
worldwide. Unfortunately, only between
7% and 50% of people are aware of sepsis
globally. This varies, depending on the
country and education level, but many are
unaware of the simple measures that can
be undertaken to prevent it, and many also
do not know that the risk of death can be
significantly reduced by early recognition of
the symptoms and early effective treatment.
The best way to prevent sepsis is to prevent
infections in the first place through the use
of vaccinations and good hygiene practices
- plus for some countries where sanitation
is an issue, having access to clean water
and hygienic birth situations.
How can we learn more and
raise awareness?
September 13th each year is recognised
as World Sepsis Day - an initiative formed
in 2012 by the Global Sepsis Alliance. You
can find so many useful resources on their
website, including a toolkit which enables
you to run educational sessions for parents
and a very informative short video, plus
lots of ideas on how to get involved to raise
awareness.
• Cycle in fancy dress and share your
photos online!
• Cycle food to vulnerable people
– again, taking care of the social
distancing guidelines.
Here’s what you can do in your
setting:
1. Download the toolkit from www.
worldsepsisday.org/toolkits and run
an education session for your parents
and staff. There is a comprehensive
toolkit on the website consisting of
information, resources and a “What
is sepsis?” video which runs for just 3
minutes, which you can use to get the
main messages over.
2. Sign the Sepsis Declaration and
share the link to it on your social media
channels asking your parents to sign
it too.
3. Wear pink for the day and tell
everyone why you are doing it.
4. Hold a pink picnic with the children
and serve all manner of pink food
such as fairy cakes, raspberries, pink
grapefruit and watermelon. You can
always make some pink bread for
sandwiches using some pink food
colouring – the children will love it!
5. Participate in the photo challenge
and share your photos on social media
using the hashtag #WorldSepsisDay.
Keep parents engaged
Getting involved in World Sepsis Day and
Cycle4Sepsis is a great way to keep that allimportant
engagement going with parents
and lets them know that you are aware of
and thinking about key health issues.
Why not ask them to send you their photos
from their activities so you can upload on to
your website, your social media pages or
even include in a newsletter?
Download our handy “how to avoid
spreading germs in your setting” poster
here.
For the month of September, get
30% discount on our CPD online
learning course for your staff -
Infection Prevention Control
However, on occasion, when the
immune system releases chemicals into
the bloodstream to fight an infection,
those particular chemicals can attack
normal organs and tissues. This immune
overreaction is called sepsis and can
cause inflammation, blood flow problems,
low blood pressure, breathing problems
and vital organ failure. Sepsis in
children – and adults – can be
life-threatening.
We know that sepsis is rare - but it
can be extremely serious if not treated
immediately and much work is still to be
done to raise awareness of this potentially
fateful infection. If you suspect a child in
your care has sepsis, then you should seek
medical help immediately, as it could be
life-threatening.
Here are the symptoms to look
out for in children under five
years old
• Mottled, bluish or pale complexion
• Very lethargic - or difficult to wake
from a nap
• Abnormally cold to the touch
• Fast breathing
• A rash that does not fade when you
press it
• Fit or convulsion
Additional symptoms can
include:
• Temperature over 38 o C in babies
under three months
• Temperature over 39 o C in babies
aged three to six months
• Any high temperature in a child
who cannot be encouraged to show
interest in anything
On a national level, the UK Sepsis Trust is
marking World Sepsis Day with a campaign
called Cycle4Sepsis – and is asking the
nation to cycle for the duration of the month
– either fundraising or just for fun - and this
year it’s a virtual challenge for everyone to
take part! More information on this can be
found here.
Here are some ideas that you
can share with parents and on
your social media channels:
• Head out on a cycling picnic, taking
care of the social distancing guidance.
• Go on a cycling ‘treasure hunt’ – round
the garden or outdoor space in your
setting.
32 September 2020 | parenta.com
parenta.com | September 2020 33