Baby has Blood infection..?!
Question: My brothers baby was brought into this world 2 months early. Weighed only 4 lbs... well it hasnt been able to breathe on its own until the other day. But the baby still isnt eating on its own. Soooo... they went to the hospital yesterday and the doctor told them that the baby has a blood infection.. What does this mean exactly? And how do they help this little baby? They said someone with a cold could have caused this. But my question is.. do they do a blood transfusion on a baby? Or can he fight this??? Any thoughts or ideas or personal experience is greatly appreciated!! THANKS!!!
Answers: My brothers baby was brought into this world 2 months early. Weighed only 4 lbs... well it hasnt been able to breathe on its own until the other day. But the baby still isnt eating on its own. Soooo... they went to the hospital yesterday and the doctor told them that the baby has a blood infection.. What does this mean exactly? And how do they help this little baby? They said someone with a cold could have caused this. But my question is.. do they do a blood transfusion on a baby? Or can he fight this??? Any thoughts or ideas or personal experience is greatly appreciated!! THANKS!!!
A blood infection means that a bacterial infection is in the bloodstream, and that means the infection is everywhere in the body, instead of a localized infection. This is a very risky situation - its all or nothing - if antibiotics start to work in the first 24 hours, it goes away, if the antibiotics don't work in this time frame, it usually causes organ damage and is often fatal.
A blood infection is called sepsis. It can be caused by many things. Bacteria, virus, fungus. Infection of lungs as pneumonia. INfection of skin, a large variety of things. It is most common in infants and elderly as their immune system is not as healthy and in the babys situation, not really active. They will probaly give antibioctics but watch out and make sure that they switch them if not taking effect within a day. She or he could develop an immunity to them. It could be caused from surgery if the baby had been taken by c-section or had surgery right afterward, by nurses and or doctors and others not cleaning their hands properly EACH time they come into see the baby and so on. I would take a deep breath and pray that all goes well. I would not overdue the worry at this point, but make sure that the family takes an ACTIVE part in the babys care. No one cares for a child like the family does. God Bless and good luck!
"Blood poisoning" is not a medical term. As the term is usually used, it refers to the effects of bacteria in the blood (bacteremia)