A shoe-shopping trip turned into a nightmare when a four-year-old girl in the United Kingdom developed potentially life-threatening sepsis after trying on a shoe without socks.
The girl鈥檚 mother, Jodie Thomas of South Wales, called her daughter鈥檚 five-day stay at the hospital 鈥溾�� on Facebook.
Sepsis is a dangerous condition caused by the body's extreme immune response to an infection. The subsequent inflammation can lead to a dangerous blockage of blood and oxygen flow to the body.
鈥淟eft untreated, sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death in extreme scenarios,鈥� Dr. Deborah Schonfeld, a pediatrician in the emergency room at Toronto鈥檚 Sick Kids Hospital told 麻豆传媒.
Thomas told The Sun newspaper that her daughter was crying in pain from the fever and that doctors thought they might need to operate.
But they managed to avoid that by draining the infection from the four-year-old鈥檚 foot. Surgery isn鈥檛 often required but it might be if antibiotics don鈥檛 deal with the infection first, Dr. Schonfeld said.
The mother wrote on Facebook that parents should always carry a spare pair of socks when shoe-shopping, but Dr. Schonfeld said that that might not be necessary.
The Sick Kids physician, who wasn鈥檛 involved in the case and didn鈥檛 know all of the specifics, suspects that the 鈥渕edical emergency鈥� likely stemmed from Thomas鈥� daughter getting a cut or scrapeto her foot before or while she tried on the shoes.
Shoe-shopping without socks isn't 'inherently high-risk'
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think trying on shoes without socks is an inherently high-risk thing (to do),鈥� Dr. Schonfeld said. While she said severe cases of sepsis are relatively rare it, can happen more often than one might think. Thomas鈥� story should make parents more vigilant, however,because there鈥檚 always a risk of bacteria, which are nearly everywhere, breaking past the skin and getting into the blood.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to remember that one: we should avoid potentially contaminated surfaces when you have open cuts or sores. And two, we should pay attention to any early signs of infection.鈥�
These can include spreading redness, pain, pus and high fever. Parents noticing those signs and getting medical attention can prevent the infection from spreading into the blood and developing sepsis.
For parents who might be worried during shoe-shopping, Dr. Schonfeld said that there are preventative measures they can take to avoid infections.
These include regularly washing your hands, promptly cleaning cuts or scrapes and making sure kids are up to date on their vaccinations.
