Perez Hilton’s Sepsis Story: What You Need to Know About Sepsis, Post-Sepsis Syndrome & Recovery

Sepsis affects an estimated 1.7 million Americans every year.

and takes roughly 350,000 lives, more than prostate cancer, breast cancer, and opioid overdoses combined.

Despite that, surveys from the Sepsis Alliance consistently find that fewer than 15% of adults can actually identify the symptoms of sepsis.

The risk of death from sepsis increases 4% to 9% for every hour that treatment is delayed, meaning recognizing it early isn't just helpful, it's the single biggest factor in survival.

Later in the show, I'm going to read a testimony from a patient of mine who almost died from sepsis.

Until he became very proactive with his health and decided that he had to get a third opinion, okay, and be proactive and ask for an infectious disease doctor when he went to the emergency department for the third time.

Let's define it.

Sepsis is the body's extreme life-threatening overreaction to an infection.

Instead of just fighting the infection, the immune system goes into overdrive and starts damaging your own tissue and organs.

It can lead to organ failure and death if not treated immediately.

It doesn't start as sepsis.

It starts as something else usually.

In Perez Hilton's case, it started with the flu.

He took flu medication on an empty stomach for about a week, which led to an ulcer, then a perforation in his stomach lining, then sepsis.

He was hospitalized for 21 days and needed surgery to address the infection.

He's since spoken publicly about it, saying, take medication with food.

That's very important.

Don't end up like me in the hospital for 21 days.

This isn't about Paris Hilton personally.

It's about something as ordinary as the flu and other things like taking medication can escalate that fast if the warning signs are not missed.

So remember, you have to be your own health advocate.

You have to be your own food advocate.