Mum saves son from potentially deadly sepsis by spotting early sign

A mother of an 8-year-old boy quickly decided to take her son to the out of hours clinic after he fell ill the previous week at the zoo.

He had two symptoms: a fever and a mysterious red stripe on his arm.

The stripe turned out to be a vital sign that the small wound he had on his arm had become infected.

The doctor promptly diagnosed sepsis, a blood infection that can be deadly if not spotted quickly.

READ MORE: Studies find dads are losing friends when they become fathers

She decided to share her son’s story on Facebook in order to warn other parents of the early signs of sepsis.

She admits she almost didn’t share the story, but her husband convinced her.

She wrote: “Yesterday on our way to the beach he showed me his hand. I wasn’t happy as I noticed red tracking down his vein. I then checked his elbow - the same.

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.”

READ MORE: Woman left “shocked” after her friend dropped her baby

“The only reason I knew is because it had happened to a friend’s son 2 years ago and she had shared.” She explained.

She urges parents to realise the signs of sepsis and explains it’s not something that can be “left until Monday when the doctors are back in the office”.

READ MORE: Woman gets stuck in child’s toy car

Her son’s antibiotics are working and he is well in himself. However, she urges parents to get your child seen “straight away” if there’s a red line running from the wound along the vein.

She finishes: “Hopefully my post might help someone the way my friend’s post from 2 years ago helped me.”

The post has been shared almost 40,000 times since with parents thanking her for highlighting the signs.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Style UK: