Sepsis is your body's overactive and extreme response to an infection. Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency. Without quick treatment, it can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and even death.

Sepsis happens when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. Bacterial infections are the most common cause, but other types of infections can also cause it.

The infections are often in the lungs, stomach, kidneys, or bladder. It's possible for sepsis to begin with a small cut that gets infected or with an infection that develops after surgery. Sometimes, sepsis can occur in people who didn't even know that they had an infection.

Anyone with an infection could get sepsis. But certain people are more likely to develop it:

• Adults 65 or older
• People with chronic (long-lasting) conditions, such as diabetes, lung disease, cancer, and kidney disease
• People with weakened immune systems
• Pregnant women
• Children younger than one

Sepsis can cause one or more of these symptoms:

• Rapid breathing and heart rate
• Shortness of breath
• Confusion or disorientation
• Extreme pain or discomfort
• Fever, shivering, or feeling very cold
• Clammy or sweaty skin

It's important to get medical care right away if you think you might have sepsis or if your infection is not getting better or is getting worse.

Severe cases of sepsis can lead to septic shock, where your blood pressure drops to a dangerous level and multiple organs can fail.

To find out if you have sepsis, your health care provider:

• Will take your medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
• Will do a physical exam, which includes checking vital signs (your temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing)
• Will likely order lab tests that check for signs of infection or organ damage
• May order imaging tests such as an x-ray or a CT scan to find the location of the infection

Many of the signs and symptoms of sepsis can also be caused by other medical conditions. This may make sepsis hard to diagnose in its early stages.

It is very important to get treatment right away. Treatment usually includes:

• Antibiotics.
• Maintaining blood flow to organs. This may involve getting oxygen and intravenous (IV) fluids.
• Treating the source of the infection.
• If needed, medicines to increase blood pressure.

In serious cases, you might need kidney dialysis or a breathing tube. Some people need surgery to remove tissue damaged by the infection.

To prevent sepsis, you should try to prevent getting an infection:

• Take good care of any chronic health conditions that you have
• Get recommended vaccines
• Practice good hygiene, such as handwashing
• Keep cuts clean and covered until healed

NIH: National Institute of General Medical SciencesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

Sexuality is a big part of being human. Love, affection and sexual intimacy all play a role in healthy relationships. They also contribute to your sense of well-being. A number of disorders can affect the ability to have or enjoy sex in both men and women.

Factors that can affect sexual health include:

• Fear of unplanned pregnancy
• Concerns about infertility
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• Chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease
• Medicines that affect sexual desire or performance

Shingles (herpes zoster) is an infection that causes a painful rash. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). This is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It may not cause problems for many years. But as you get older, the virus may become active again and cause shingles.

Shingles is not contagious. You cannot get shingles from someone else. But you can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have direct contact with fluid from their shingles rash.

The risk of spreading the virus is low if the shingles rash is kept covered. People with shingles cannot spread the virus before their rash blisters appear or after the rash crusts.

Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles. But the risk of shingles goes up as you get older. Shingles is most common in people over age 50.

People with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of getting shingles. This includes those who:

• Have immune system diseases such as HIV
• Have certain cancers
• Take medicines that weaken their immune system, such as steroids and medicines you take after an organ transplant

Your immune system may be weaker when you have an infection or are stressed. This can raise your risk of shingles.

It is rare, but possible, to get shingles more than once.

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching. It is usually on one side of the body or face. The pain can be mild to severe.

Up to several days later, you will get a rash. It consists of blisters that typically scab over in 7 to 10 days. The rash is usually a single stripe around either the left or the right side of the body. In other cases, the rash is only on one side of the face. In rare cases (usually among people with weakened immune systems), the rash may be more widespread. It might look similar to a chickenpox rash.

Some people may also have other symptoms:

• Fever
• Headache
• Chills
• Upset stomach

Shingles can cause other problems (complications):

• Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of shingles. It causes severe pain in the areas where you had the shingles rash. It usually gets better in a few weeks or months. But some people can have pain from PHN for many years, and it can interfere with daily life.
• Vision loss can happen if shingles affects your eye. It may be temporary or permanent.
• Hearing or balance problems are possible if you have shingles within or near your ear. You may also have weakness of the muscles on that side of your face. These problems can be temporary or permanent.

Very rarely, shingles can also lead to pneumonia, brain inflammation (encephalitis), or death.

Usually your health care provider can diagnose shingles by taking your medical history and looking at your rash. In some cases, your provider may scrape off tissue from the rash or swab some fluid from the blisters and send the sample to a lab for testing.

There is no cure for shingles. Antiviral medicines may help to make the attack shorter and less severe. They may also help prevent PHN. The medicines are most effective if you can take them within 3 days after the rash appears. So if you think you might have shingles, contact your provider as soon as possible.

Pain relievers may also help with the pain. A cool washcloth, calamine lotion, and oatmeal baths may help relieve some of the itching.

There is a vaccine, called Shingrix, to help prevent shingles and its complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get the vaccine. Your provider might also recommend the vaccine if you are over 19 and have a weakened immune system. The vaccine is given in two doses.

If you have shingles, you can help prevent spreading the virus to others by:

• Staying away from:
  • People with weakened immune systems
  • People who have not had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, especially if they are pregnant
  • Premature or low birth weight babies
• Keeping the rash covered
• Not touching or scratching the rash
• Washing your hands often

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Your small intestine is the longest part of your digestive system - about twenty feet long! It connects your stomach to your large intestine (or colon) and folds many times to fit inside your abdomen. Your small intestine does most of the digesting of the foods you eat. It has three areas called the duodenum, the ileum, and the jejunum.

Problems with the small intestine can include:

• Bleeding
• Celiac disease
• Crohn's disease
• Infections
• Intestinal cancer
• Intestinal obstruction
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Ulcers, such as peptic ulcer

Treatment of disorders of the small intestine depends on the cause.

Staphylococcus (staph) is a group of bacteria. There are more than 30 types. A type called Staphylococcus aureus causes most infections.

Staph bacteria can cause many different types of infections, including:

• Skin infections, which are the most common types of staph infections.
• Bacteremia, an infection of the bloodstream. This can lead to sepsis, a very serious immune response to infection.
• Bone infections.
• Endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves.
• Food poisoning.
• Pneumonia.
• Toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a life-threatening condition caused by toxins from certain types of bacteria.

Some people carry staph bacteria on their skin or in their noses, but they do not get an infection. But if they get a cut or wound, the bacteria can enter the body and cause an infection.

Staph bacteria can spread from person to person. They can also spread on objects, such as towels, clothing, door handles, athletic equipment, and remotes. If you have staph and do not handle food properly when you are preparing it, you can also spread staph to others.

Anyone can develop a staph infection, but certain people are more likely to get one, including those who:

• Have a chronic condition such as diabetes, cancer, vascular disease, eczema, and lung disease
• Have a weakened immune system, such as from HIV, medicines to prevent organ rejection, or chemotherapy
• Had surgery
• Are in the hospital
• Use a catheter, breathing tube, or feeding tube
• Have an implanted device, such as a pacemaker or artificial joint or heart valve
• Have burns, especially if they are deep or cover a large area of the body
• Are on dialysis
• Inject illegal drugs
• Do contact sports, since you may have skin-to-skin contact with others or share equipment

The symptoms of a staph infection depend on the type of infection:

• Skin infections can look like pimples or boils. They may be red, swollen, and painful. Sometimes there is pus or other drainage. They can turn into impetigo, which turns into a crust on the skin, or cellulitis, a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot.
• Bone infections can cause pain, swelling, warmth, and redness in the infected area. You may also have chills and a fever.
• Endocarditis causes some flu-like symptoms: fever, chills, and fatigue. It also causes symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and fluid buildup in your arms or legs.
• Food poisoning typically causes nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. If you lose too many fluids, you may also become dehydrated.
• Pneumonia symptoms include a high fever, chills, and cough that doesn't get better. You may also have chest pain and shortness of breath.
• Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) causes high fever, sudden low blood pressure, vomiting, diarrhea, and confusion. You may have a sunburn-like rash somewhere on your body. TSS can lead to organ failure.

Your health care provider will do a physical exam and ask about your symptoms. Often, providers can tell if you have a staph skin infection by looking at it. To check for other types of staph infections, providers may do a culture, with a skin scraping, tissue sample, stool sample, or throat or nasal swabs. There may be other tests, such as imaging tests, depending on the type of infection.

Treatment for staph infections is antibiotics. Depending on the type of infection, the antibiotics might be a cream, ointment, medicines (to swallow), or intravenous (IV) medicine. If you have an infected wound, your provider might drain it. Sometimes you may need surgery for bone infections.

Some staph infections, such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), are resistant to many antibiotics. There are still certain antibiotics that can treat these infections.

Certain steps can help to prevent staph infections:

• Use good hygiene, including washing your hands often.
• Don't share towels, sheets, or clothing with someone who has a staph infection.
• It's best not to share athletic equipment. If you do need to share, make sure that it is properly cleaned and dried before you use it.
• Practice food safety, including not preparing food for others when you have a staph infection.
• If you have a cut or wound, keep it covered.