Fire safety

• Keep matches and lighters out of sight and reach of young children

• Stub your cigarette out properly and avoid smoking if you’re really tired (or in bed) - you may fall asleep with it in your hand

• Change your chip pan to an electric one if you can. If not, never fill the pan more than half full

• Store your hair straighteners safely. A growing number of house fires are caused by hair straighteners left switched on

• Take care not to overload electrical sockets. For example, if you use the combination of a toaster and a kettle on an extension lead running from one socket, it’s dangerously overloaded.

• With your family, work out the best route for you to get out of the house. Talk about it together and make sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency

• Keep the stairs and the escape route clear of clutter at night

• Keep keys to any doors on your escape route in one place so you know where they are in an emergency.

• You need a working smoke alarm both upstairs and downstairs, to warn you quickly if a fire starts

• Test your alarms every month

• If your alarm keeps going off while you’re cooking, don’t remove the battery – the chances are you’ll forget to put it back. Instead move it further away from the kitchen or fit one that has a silencer button

• Encourage children to get involved in testing the smoke alarms.

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Visit the safety advice section of the Child Accident Prevention Trust website: www.capt.org.uk

Sepsis, or blood poisoning, is the reaction to an infection in which the body attacks its own organs and tissues. If not spotted and treated quickly, it can rapidly lead to organ failure and death. The numbers are staggering – every year in the UK 250,000 people are affected by sepsis; 52,000 people die because of sepsis and 79,000 suffer permanent, life-changing after-effects.

Sepsis is an indiscriminate killer, claiming young and old lives alike and affecting the previously fit and healthy. It’s more common than heart attacks and kills more people than bowel, breast and prostate cancer and road accidents combined. Current practice for diagnosis and treatment could be costing the UK economy up to £15.6 billion annually. But despite the statistics and the condition’s devastating impacts, awareness of sepsis is astonishingly low.

As sepsis presents differently in adults and children knowing the symptoms is crucial, so that we can advocate not only for ourselves but for friends and family and other members of our community.

If your child is unwell with either a fever or very low temperature (or has had a fever in the last 24 hours), call 999 and just ask: could it be sepsis?

A child may have sepsis if he or she:

– Is breathing very fast

– Has a ‘fit’ or convulsion

– Looks mottled, bluish, or pale

– Has a rash that does not fade when you press it

– Is very lethargic or difficult to wake

– Feels abnormally cold to touch

A child under 5 may have sepsis if he or she:

– Is not feeding

– Is vomiting repeatedly

– Has not passed urine for 12 hours

We still don’t know why some people who get an infection develop sepsis and others don’t. People are more likely to develop sepsis after a viral illness like a cold, or a minor injury. But it can affect anyone, regardless of age or state of health. However, some people are more likely to get sepsis, including those who are very young or very old, those who are malnourished and those who are pregnant or have just given birth.

We can’t always prevent sepsis but, if it does strike, getting help early can stop it in its tracks. The first, vital step is to ensure that families and friends are aware of the condition. This awareness will enable people to advocate for their loved ones; if you or someone you know is ill with an infection, knowing to ‘Just Ask: Could it be Sepsis?’ might well save a life.

However, by preventing infection we can reduce our risk of developing sepsis. It’s important that we maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet, and pay attention to sanitation and hygiene. Washing our hands, ensuring that we avoid where possible contact between people with symptoms of infection and those who are vulnerable, and encouraging everyone to accept the vaccinations that offered will all play a part in preventing the thousands of needless deaths every year from this deadly condition.